Rachel Franklin SONOS 250th
SONOS
COMING TO AMERICA:
A 250-Year Musical Journey
“The SONOS trio are fearless musicians who delivered an exquisite performance that kept our audience engaged throughout. Their music is a wonderful collaboration spanning cultures and times. Rachel’s overwhelming knowledge of her subject matter and the balance of history and their
incredible musical talent creates magical partnership that your audience will never want to end!”
-Janet Hendricks, former Director of Education, Programs and Design, Academy Art Museum
“The SONOS trio provides an intimate listening experience that is almost magical. The blend of jazz, classical, and folk music spans continents, cultures, and time in a truly unique way.”
-Michael Kurtz, President Emeritus, Friends of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra.
SONOS is Chamber Music with a Twist. Led by acclaimed pianist Rachel Franklin and featuring the consummate talents of violinist Christian Tremblay and fretless bass player Jonathan Miles Brown, their programs explore the cross-pollination between different musical art forms, with compelling stories of how these musical cultures intersect. Blurring the edges between timeless chamber works and jazz improvisation, SONOS have performed widely throughout the mid-Atlantic area, delighting audiences with their imaginative storytelling, unique instrumental sounds, and fiery virtuosity.
Coming to America celebrates the extraordinarily rich cultural and musical heritage of the United States, fueled and fertilized by the contributions of those who came for a better life, those who came to escape persecution, and those who came enslaved. The program features spirituals and immigration songs, jazz, and classical works from Beethoven to Bernstein.
COMING TO AMERICA:
A 250-Year Musical Journey
Rachel Franklin
British-born concert pianist Dr. Rachel Franklin is a renowned performer and music lecturer. As a Pro Musicis International Award winner, she gave her solo debuts in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, and Jordan Hall, Boston. The Boston Globe enthused about her “differentiations of color, touch and ” and described a performance on her solo debut CD as “inferior…to the recorded performances by Cortot and Rubinstein.” She has also given European Pro Musicis solo debuts in Paris and Rome, and London critics have applauded her “stunning individuality,” and “amazing power and solidity of technique.” The Washington Post has praised her “cool-headed bravura and panache” and the Baltimore Sun lauded the “warmth and electricity in her playing.” Recent successes include concertos with the Columbia Orchestra, the Arlington Philharmonic, the Washington Sinfonietta, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, and many others. She is also doubly talented as an accomplished jazz pianist, and has led her classical/jazz chamber ensemble SONOS for over a decade.
Deeply committed to musical outreach and education, Rachel has a busy dual career as a popular music speaker, and since 2020 she has been greatly in demand for her unique online presentations. She is one of the Smithsonian Associates’ most popular live-streaming lecturers, and her topics explore intersections between classical and jazz music, film scores, and the fine arts. She also lectures for the 92 nd St. Y’s online Roundtable program. She is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Strathmore Music Scholar in Residence and gives all the BSO’s pre-concert presentations at their Bethesda, MD venue, Strathmore Hall. She has been a featured speaker at the Aspen Ideas: Health Conference in Colorado, presenting and performing on the subject of Music and the Natural World, and she has twice given the Plenary Lunchtime Performance for the prestigious Renaissance Weekend New Years conference in Charleston, SC.
Her wide range of musical expertise has brought her back repeatedly to enthusiastic audiences across the region such as the Easton Academy Art Museum, the Chesapeake Film Festival and many others. One of her most popular presentations has been a unique show she gave on 90 years of film music Oscars for the Avalon Theatre Chevy Chase’s annual gala.
Christian Tremblay
Dr. Christian Tremblay enjoys a diverse, exciting career as performer and pedagogue. Most recently he performed in multiple concerts and coached chamber music as string faculty for the prestigious Heifetz International Music Institute. He is Director of the Performance Academy for Strings, and Chair of the String Department at the Peabody Preparatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is also violin and chamber music faculty at Peabody Conservatory. Christian Tremblay holds a Diplôme D’Études Supérieures II from the Conservatoire de Musique de Québec where he studied with Liliane Garnier-Le Sage. He also earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Conservatory studying with violinist Martin Beaver. Christian Tremblay has been heard in cities throughout Canada and the United States as a recitalist and chamber musician. He is a member of the SONOS classical/jazz trio with pianist Rachel Franklin and bassist Jonathan Miles Brown, and is Principal Second violin with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, performing regularly with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and National Philharmonic.
Jonathan Miles Brown
Dr. Jonathan Brown started his musical career as a chorister in the choir of Truro Cathedral, UK where in addition to singing at services and concerts he gave several solo recitals around the South West of the UK. At university he took up the electric bass, imparting his “singing” to the instrument. Subsequently he performed with a wide range of jazz artists in formats including UK and European jazz festivals, BBC broadcasts, and venues such as the National Theatre, London and Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. These days, when he’s not running various biotechnology projects, he can be found playing in jazz venues in the DC area. He has been a frequent performer at the annual Maryland Summer Jazz festival and is a regular member of the “workshops” run by Annapolis based sax star Jeff Antoniuk. Jonathan’s instrument is a Jazz Bass, originally hand built by Leo Fender, which he has ultra-customized by removing the frets, re-siting the bridge and adding numerous self-designed features and circuits. The result is a wide sonic spectrum, from woody warmth to metallic brilliance, with glittering harmonics and large dynamic range. Commented the Baltimore Sun: “The warm sound Brown produces is like no other I’ve heard.”
Contact SONOS at rff@rachelfranklin.com