- At A Glance - FAQS

MISSION

Founded in 1999, the Equinox Chamber Players ensemble is one of Saint Louis’ most dynamic performing chamber groups. Their multi-cultural music crosses international boundaries while bridging the gap between classical music and storytelling. Equinox celebrates community life with commissioned works inspired by environmental surroundings, historical and present day culture, and everyday heroes of our community.

PURPOSE

With a unified goal of both educating and entertaining, Equinox performs a diverse repertoire that embraces the musical heritages of many ethnic traditions. Their growing repertoire includes music of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.

The Equinox Chamber Players regularly perform concerts and educational outreach events for students and adults in schools and centers throughout Saint Louis City and County.

Through concerts and educational outreach, Equinox serves to:

• Interpret history and current events through music
• Introduce music of many different countries
• Align music with the study of relationships between people and the environment
• Allow accessibility to the creative process of composition and storytelling
• Introduce classical and contemporary composers to many considered underserved in access to the arts and arts education
• Encourage community awareness of the importance of music education in our schools
• Contribute to the library of contemporary music

REPERTOIRE

The music of Equinox has a unique flair!

Equinox continues to build new repertoire every year by commissioning new works and arrangements, championing new voices from the US and around the world. Please visit their "programs" section of the website to view our diverse programming.

Their programs have included accompaniment by narrators, singers, dancers, photographers and visual artists. Their repertoire includes works with slide show or Power Point accompaniment sound-tracks culled from personal resonances, the stories of everyday heroes and reflections of contemporary life.

RECOGNITION

Equinox Chamber Players have been aired on over 155 PBS radio stations and on as many as 150 NPR stations.

Designated White House Millennium Council Partners (1999-2000) in connection with the NEA initiative Continental Harmony: New Music for the Millennium, Equinox is featured in the PBS documentary Continental Harmony which was awarded the Cine Golden Eagle award (2002)

The ensemble has been featured in the Chamber Music America magazine in an article on the synthesis of classical and “world” music, the St. Louis Magazine, St. Louis Women on the Move and many other national newspapers.

AUDIENCES

The audiences of Equinox range from seasoned symphony concert-goers, to avant-garde aficionados, to first time classical music listeners, elementary school age through older adults.

COLLABORATION

Collaborations with some of Saint Louis' finest institutions as well as national and international associations have included:

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, E. Desmond Lee Music Education Collaborative, University of Missouri, Young Audiences-St. Louis, Webster U. Community Music School, PBS, NPR, Dillard U. (LA), Boston Evening Academy, Northeastern University (MA), Impact Model Mugging (MA), St. Louis African Chorus, International Consortium for the Music of Africa and its Diaspora, International Arts Festival, Ghandi-King Season for Non-Violence Conference, American Composers Forum, Missouri History Museum, Lewis & Clark State Historic Site (Il.), Shepley Music Program, Crescendo Concert Series, Ethical Society, Sheldon Concert Hall, Saint Louis Contemporary Art Museum and many others.

ARTISTIC QUALITY

All members of Equinox have performed with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and numerous orchestras and ensembles in the U.S. and abroad. Please view their website for detailed biographies of the players.

RECORDINGS

2007 Albany Records release of Dark Winds Rising, music of Philllip Bimstein, John Lampkin and Beth Denisch

2006 Starkland Records release of The Bushy Wushy Rag on Larkin Gifford’s Harmonica, by Phillip Bimstein

2003 Juxtab Records release Jordan and the Dog Woman and Women, Power and the Journey, by Beth Denisch

2000 The Bushy Wushy Rag, by Phillip Kent Bimstein

OUTREACH COMMISSIONING PROJECTS

Annual educational outreach projects are designed in addition to their concert season. Each project theme is complemented by a new commissioned work. Surrounding the premier, the ensemble and composer-in-residence perform educational workshops in area schools, senior centers and additional educational centers.

2007 Freeing the Caged Bird, by Barbara Harbach, a tribute to four St. Louis authors: Maya Angelou, Sara Teasdale, Kate Chopin and Emily Hahn, accompanied with guest scholar Dr. Kathleen Nigro’s Power Point presentation. Premiered at the Ethical Society, March 2007.

2006 A Walk Through Shaw’s Garden, by John Lampkin. In connection with the St. Louis Earth Day celebration, inspired by the life and legacy of Mr. Henry Shaw. Premiered at the Missouri Botanical Garden & aired on From the Garden - Live!® April 2006.

2005 Fun-damentals for Woodwind Quintet and Audience Participation, by Gwyneth Walker. In connection with national Music In Our Schools Month®. Premiered at University of Missouri -St. Louis, March 2005.

2004 Sacagawea: Three Life Episodes, by David Cleary, in connection with the bicentennial commemoration of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Premiered at Missouri History Museum, March 2004.

2003 Women, Power and the Journey, by Beth Denisch, in connection with national Women’s History Month. inspired by the lives of Katherine Dunham, Tina Turner, Mary Engelbreit and Madame CJ Walker. Premiered at Missouri History Museum, March 2003. (Boston and St. Louis outreach events)

2003 Migrations, by John Lampkin. Inspired by the migratory patterns of five different animal species of land and sea. Premiered at Saint Louis Contemporary Art Museum, November 2003.

2001 Three African Portraits, by Lucius Weathersby, in connection with the International Festival of African and African American Music. Premiered at Washington University, February 2001. (St. Louis and New Orleans events)

2000 The Bushy Wushy Rag, by Phillip Kent Bimstein, in connection with the national project Continental Harmony, inspired by the community of Sainy Louis, baseball and ragtime music. Premiered at Fair St. Louis, July 2000.

SUPPORT

Supporters over the years have included organizations such as the Saint Louis Symphony, Regional Arts Commission - St. Louis, Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, Arts & Education Council-St. Louis, Young Audiences-St. Louis, U.niversity of Missouri- E. Desmond Lee Fine Arts Education Collaborative, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Frank G. and Florence V. Bohle Scholarship Foundation, George & Alice Rich Charitable Foundation, BMW Auto Haus, Target Foundation, Posey Family Foundation, and private donors, as well as the American Composers Forum and the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funds provided by the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Land O' Lakes Foundation.

View the "At a Glance" FAQ in PDF.

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