by Joe Deninzon | Mar 29, 2016 | News, Uncategorized
DENINZONEWS: THE LATEST ON VIOLINIST/VOCALIST/COMPOSER JOE DENINZON
Happy Spring!
But I could have said that two months ago. It’s like winter never happened this year, but that’s a whole other conversation…
February and March were jam-packed, with Stratospheerius and Sweet plantain concerts in Brookyln, the Bronx, Western PA,and upstate NY. Also had a blast at the annual ASTA conference in Tampa, where I got to see old friends, give two presentations on modern electric string techniques and career advice, and got to jam with the likes of Christian Howes, Mike Block, and Darol Anger, to name a few.
Got a lot of great things coming up in the next two months, including a Sweet Plantain tour of the Virgin Islands, shows with Stratospheerius, my jazz group, studio projects, and more!
SWEET PLANTAIN PERFORMS IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
www.sweetplantain.com
www.facebook.com/sweetplantain
www.twitter.com/@sweetplantain
Friday April 8th
7:30 P.M.
The SIs Frank concert Series
St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay, St. John
Cost: $35. For info, call (340) 779-4322
Saturday, April 9th, 8 PM
The Forum Presents: Sweet PLantain, Live in-House Event
Prior-Jollek Hall, Antilles School, St. Thomas
$15 public, $10 teachers, $5 students. For info, call (340) 228-4777
Sweet Plantain is:
Joe Deninzon-violin/mandolin/vocals
Eddie Venegas-violin/trombone
Orlando Wells-viola
Leo Grinhauz-cello
Friday, April 15th
CEG Presents
Evening starts at 8 P.M. Stratospheerius goes on at 11:15 P.M.
470 Driggs Ave (btwn. North 11-12th Street)
Brooklyn, NY
The club is located at 10th & Driggs in Williamsburg, 3 blocks from the first stop in Brooklyn off the L Train.
Wednesday, May 4th, 7 P.M.
Performance with Highland High School Orchestras
Highland High School Auditorium
4150 Ridge Rd.
Medina, OH 44256
Thursday, May 5th, Joe Deninzon performs with Circuline
Circuline is one of the hottest up and coming Modern Progressive Rock Bands out there. I am honored to be sitting in with them at two upcoming shows.
Thursday, May 5th, 7-10 P.M.
10th St. Live
104 N. 10th St.
Kenilworth, NJ 07033
Saturday, May 6th
2 P.M.-3:30 P.M.
Majestic Theater
25 Carlisle St.17325Gettysburg, PA, US
Here’s a track I guested on on their debut album.
JOE DENINZON JAZZ GROUP TO PERFORM AT ASBURY BIERGARDEN
Thursday, May 19th
8 P.M.-11 P.M.
Asbury Biergarten
http://www.asburybiergarten.com
527 Lake Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
https://www.facebook.com/Asburybiergarten
Feat:
Joe Deninzon-violin
Steve Benson-guitar
Lucianna Padmore-drums
Gaku Takanashi-bass
REGISTER NOW FOR THE 6TH ANNUAL MARK WOOD ROCK ORCHESTRA CAMP!
This is the ONLY CAMP IN THE WORLD centered around electric strings, but is also open to vocalists, guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, and bassists. I am honored and humbled to be among world-renowned faculty including Doctor David Wallace, Sean Grissom, Laura Kaye, Haydn Vitera, and the trailblazing Mark Wood, who build my 7-string “Viper” electric violin!
The camp takes place July 10th-17th at Midamerca Nazarene University in Olathe, KS.
Check out 3 of the latest songs from Stratospheerius! Our last single, “Take Your Medicine,” is getting rave responses and trending on Reverbnation.com
Give the string player in your life new abilities to rock out and blow people’s minds!
ORDER “JOE DENINZON’S BOOK/DVD/CD “PLUGGING IN” FROM MEL BAY PUBLICATIONS
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
by Joe Deninzon | Oct 7, 2015 | Joe Deninzon, News
DENINZONEWS FALL 2015: THE LATEST ON VIOLINIST/VOCALIST/MANDOLINIST/COMPOSER
JOE DENINZON
www.joedeninzon.com
www.stratospheerius.com
www.facebook.com/stratospheerius
www.twitter.com/joedeninzon
www.sweetplantain.com
Dear Friends,
What an incredible ride it’s been! After another unforgettable residency at the
Grand Canyon Music Festival with
Robert Bonfiglio, Gran Canyon School of Rock, Sweet Plantain, and the NACAP program, I lived out a long-time dream of mine and premiered my Concerto for Seven String Electric Violin and Orchestra with the
Muncie Symphony Orchestra on September 19th! I’m still pinching myself to make sure it was real! So grateful to Douglas Droste and all the kick-ass musicians at the Muncie Symphony for this incredible opportunity. The orchestra did an amazing job tackling what was not exactly an easy piece of music to play and making everything I imagined in my head come to life. I hope to take this piece to as many orchestras as possible, but I will cary this day in my memory as long as I live. This premier was definitely on that short list of lifetime milestones!
Here’s what’s next:
October has
Stratospheerius back on the road tour dates in Nyack, NYC, State College, Erie PA, and Detroit.
In November, I will be playing in the San Diego and Orange County, CA areas with renowned harmonica virtuoso,
Robert Bonfiglio.
November also has Stratospheerius playing out in Long Island, and I will be premiering a new Electric Violin composition for
Gene Pritsger’s Composer’s Concordance at Spectrum on November 29th.
In December I will be touring, opening for the legendary
Martin Barre, guitarist with
Jethro Tull. I will be performing as a duo with one of my favorite musicians,
Randy McStine, a guitar prodigy and brilliant singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. We’ll be coming through Sellersville, PA, Erie, Cleveland, and Binghamton, NY. During all of this, I plan on writing a ton of new music to finish off the new Stratospheerius album, which I’m aiming to put out next year, so stay tuned…
Below is ALL the info about EVERYTHING:
Friday, October 16th, 10 P.M. $5 admission
118 Main St., Nyack, NY 10960
Thursday, October 22nd
Cafe 210
210 W College Ave.
State College, PA 16801
Friday, October 30th
Gussy’s Bar & Grille
20-14 29th St.
Astoria, NY 11105
Pre-Halloween Sonic Voyages Fest
Saturday, November 28th
Even Flow Bar & Grille
150 E. Main St.
Bay Shore, NY 11706
Other Upcoming shows
Saturday, October 17th 10 P.M.
Mehanata
113 Ludlow St.
New York, NY 10002-3204
Robert Bonfiglio-harmonica
Stephen Benson-guitar
Friday, November 13th, 7:30 P.M.
Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center
590 Palm Canyon Dr.
Borrego Springs, Ca 92004
760-767-4275
Saturday, November 14th, 7:30 P.M.
Ramona Concerts
1521 Hanson Lane
Ramona, CA 92065
760-789-7474
Monday, November 16th, 7:30 P.M.
Fullerton, CA 92831
714-535-8925
Joe Deninzon premiering new solo Electric Violin Composition
Composers Concordance Concert Series
Sunday, November 29th 6 P.M.
Spectrum
121 Ludlow St. #2
New York, NY 10002
Thursday, December 10th, 8 P.M.
24 W Temple Av & Main St/Bethlehem Pike (off Rte 309)
Sellersville, PA 18960-2421
215-257-5808
Friday, Dec 11th, 8 P.M.
65 Front St.
Binghamton, NY 13901
607-724-2412
NEW PRESS
Joe Deninzon interview for INTERNATIONAL MUSICIAN
Joe Deninzon Interview for Loudini Rock N Roll Circus
Stratospheerius New Single, ‘TAKE YOUR MEDICINE.” and other singles
(JPEG)
Check out 3 of the latest songs from Stratospheerius! Our last single, “Take Your Medicine,” is getting rave responses and trending on Reverbnation.com
GIVE THE STRING PLAYER IN YOUR LIFE A PARADIGM SHIFT!
ORDER “JOE DENINZON’S BOOK/DVD/CD “PLUGGING IN” FROM MEL BAY PUBLICATIONS
by Joe Deninzon | Sep 9, 2015 | Joe Deninzon, News
Sept 19th World Premier Joe Deninzon Electric Violin Concerto with
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It’s been 16 months of hard work.
I am proud to announce the world premier of my “Dream Diary: Concerto for Seven-String Electric Violin and Orchestra” with Muncie Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, September 19th at 4 PM!
I will give a pre-concert talk about the piece at 3:00.
This performance takes place at Sursa Hall on the campus of Ball State University, 2000 W. University Ave., in Muncie, IN.
Tickets are $30 advance and $35 at door. They are $5 for students from Kindergarden through Senior High ages.
For more information, please call 800-382-8540 and 765-289-1241.
The website is www.munciesymphony.org.
https://www.facebook.com/events/446146335570424/
Here is some more information about the piece:
DREAM DIARY: CONCERTO FOR 7-STRING ELECTRIC VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA
Growing up as a classically trained violinist, I fell in love with rock and jazz at the age of 12, and my musical tree sprung new branches. While continuing my violin studies, I took up guitar and electric bass. In the late ’80s/early ’90s, the guitar hero reigned supreme in the rock world. Virtuosos such as Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt, and Eric Johnson were highly revered. Every band had a guitarist who could “shred” and for one of the rare times in history, instrumental rock albums were on the Billboard charts. These guitar virtuosos influenced the way I approach the violin and were one of the reasons I started playing the electric violin. Dreams were a recurring theme in their music; Joe Satriani had a popular instrumental rock album titled “Flying in a Blue Dream, and Steve Vai’s “Passion and Warfare” was a huge influence.
In interviews, I read that Steve Vai kept a dream diary, writing down his dreams while they were still vivid when he woke up. He allowed those dreams to influence his compositions. Through my observations as a composer and songwriter, the best and easiest creations have come to me in my sleep or during a daydream, times when I was not fully conscious, as if someone or something was channeling them through me. I started a musical “dream diary” to write down melodies and themes that spontaneously came to me.
The DREAM DIARY concerto has a great deal of surreal imagery and is very dream-like. I researched the cycles of sleep, and thought it would be interesting to write a musical composition that loosely follows these different cycles. When you first fall asleep, you experience vivid sensations known as hypnagogic hallucinations. You are straddling the line between the real world and the dream world. There are sudden jerks of wakefulness followed by sensations of falling and/or flying. Hence the first movement is titled “Falling and Flying.” This movement is truly a tribute to the rock guitar albums of my youth.
The second movement, “Delta Waves,” represents a deeper stage of sleep where you are less likely to respond to outside noises and stimuli. The third is titled “Rapid Eye Movement,” the stage where most dreams occur, and the fourth is “Waking Dream,” when you are having the most vivid dreams, the ones that stay in your memory after you wake up. Although the music is loosely programatic, I leave the interpretation of the dreams being represented to the listener.
There have been some amazing concertos written for the electric violin, but I wanted to feature different effects and sonic textures I developed over the years while performing with my band, Stratospheerius, and show the rich palette of colors this instrument is capable of. I do this by incorporating distortion pedals, way, delay, loops, synths, whammies, and covering the range of the 7-string violin, who’s lowest note is a whole tone below cello range. The soloist plays in bass, alto, and treble clef.
Let me add that the opportunity to write and perform this concerto is a dream come true for me. If you are in or near Munice, IN on September 19th, and I hope to see you at the performance!
by Joe Deninzon | Sep 7, 2015 | News
MUNCIE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO PREMIER JOE DENINZON
ELECTRIC VIOLIN CONCERTO SEPTEMBER 19TH
The Muncie Symphony Orchestra will present the world premiere of
Joe Deninzon’s “Dream Diary: Concert for 7-String Electric Violin and Orchestra” on Saturday, September 19, at 4 PM.
Also on the program are Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide Overture” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4.”
Joe will give a pre-concert talk about his work at 3:00 P.M.
This performance takes place at Sursa Hall on the campus of Ball State University, 2000 W. University Ave., in Muncie, IN.
Tickets are $30 advance and $35 at door. They are $5 for students from Kindergarden through Senior High ages.
For more information, please call 800-382-8540 and 765-289-1241.
The website is www.munciesymphony.org.
Joe Deninzon (www.joedeninzon.com) will be playing a seven-string “Viper” electric violin with the orchestra. Hailed by critics as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin” because of his innovative style on acoustic and electric seven-string violin, Joe transcends many genres. A 14-time BMI Jazz Composer’s grant recipient and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, he recently was commissioned to write a solo piece for violinist Rachel Barton Pine that was premiered at Interlochen, MI. in June of 2015.
Joe is the lead singer and violinist for the progressive rock group Stratospheerius, which had its fifth album, THE NEXT WORLD released on Steve Vai’s Digital Nations. Joe is also a member of the Latin classical hip-hop string quartet, Sweet Plantain. His work as a violinist and string arranger can be heard on over 100 CDs and jingles. He has worked with Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Phoebe Snow, Everclear, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Robert Bonfiglio, Les Paul and many other projects.
As an educator, Joe has taught rock violin at Mark O’Connor’s String Camp and Mark Wood’s Rock Orchestra Camp. In 2012, Mel Bay Publications released his book/CD/DVD, “PLUGGING IN” about electric violin technique and improvisation. He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Violin Performance and Jazz Violin from Indiana University and a Master’s in Jazz/Commercial violin from Manhattan School of Music.
“Dream Diary: Concerto for Seven String Electric Violin and Orchestra,” was inspired, in part, by Joe’s roots in studying classical music and falling in love with ‘80s/‘90s guitar virtuosos such as Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt. Joe observes, “Dreams were a recurring theme in their music; Joe Satriani had a popular instrumental rock album titled ‘Flying in a Blue Dream.’”
Joe was further inspired by Steve Vai’s “Passion and Warfare” and the guitarist’s mention that he kept a dream diary, “writing down his dreams while they were still vivid when he woke up. He allowed those dreams to influence his compositions.”
Stating his best ideas come to him when he dreams (including daydreams), Joe’s “Dream Diary” concerto offers surreal imagery and is “very dream-like.” In the concerto, Joe also uses rock guitar effects on his violin such as distortion, delay, whammies, wah-wah, and loops.
Here is a recent interview Joe did with International Musician, where he discuses his latest projects, including the Concerto:
http://internationalmusician.org/joe-deninzon-pushing-the-limits-of-violin/
The Muncie Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra established in 1948. The Orchestra was formed to build community connections through music while giving Ball State University faculty and students an outlet to pursue musical excellence in performance. Over the years the MSO evolved and consists of approximately 80 musicians, including resident BSU music faculty and student and professional freelance musicians performing in a variety of orchestras in the Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois Tristate area.
The MSO seeks to provide its audience with rewarding musical experiences and to promote social exchange among attendees of the musical events. As an organization that celebrates the cultural vibrancy of the local communities, the MSO uses music as a way to engage, educate, entertain, and enrich through traditional classical and pops concerts, children’s concert, chamber events, and community engagement programs.
Conducting the orchestra is artistic director/conductor Douglas Droste.
www.joedeninzon.com
www.munciesymphony.org
by Joe Deninzon | Sep 2, 2015 | Articles
http://internationalmusician.org/joe-deninzon-pushing-the-limits-of-violin/
