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 | Aug 12, 2015 | News
DENINZONEWS SEPT 2015: The Latest on Violinist/Vocalist/Composer JOE DENINZON
Dear friends,
I hope you’re having some adventures this summer and making great memories. Summer is winding down, and it’s been an incredible ride for me so far! Some very special things brewing in late August and in the fall. Here’s a look at where I’ve been and where I’m going:
July found me returning again to the incredible electric rock string nerd wonderland that is the
Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp in Olathe, KS. This year has to have been one of the best so far, with my longtime friend
Mazz Swift joining the faculty, as well as the incredible
Haydn Vitera, who I call the “Carlos Santana of the electric violin”, being another addition to the family. I can’t say it enough, this camp really is a family; people who are primarily string players from all over the U.S. and other parts of the world, who have a deep passion for rock, electric strings, and pushing musical boundaries. It is always a beautiful experience, so much so that people stay in touch and come back year after year! Incredible camaraderie between the students and the faculty, which I am so blessed to be a part of. Here are some pics of me channeling Peter Gabriel while performing “Watcher of the Skies” with the incrombarable keyboardist/tech guru
Matt Vanacoro, the great
Laura Kaye and bassist
Paul Ranieri as well as shots from my solo faculty performance. Hope to see you all next year!
www.mwroc.comThe following week, I came home to Cleveland, where I grew up, but hadn’t performed in a few years, put together an incredible band of local musicians, and played to a full house at
Nighttown! Thanks to everyone who came out: old friends, new friends, family, etc. Thank you to Nighttown, Jim Wadsworth for organizing the show, and my partners in crime, guitarist
Dan Wilson, bassist
Alferdo Gerierri, and drummer Billy Ransom. Here’s an excellent article that came out during the week leading up to the show from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
For 16 years now (holy shit!!), I have been coming back to one of the Seven wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon, to take part in the
Grand Canyon Music Festival. I started out just performing with its co-founder, world-renowned harmonica virtuoso
Robert Bonfiglio. In 2006, my friend Chris Millateri and I had an idea to get the local community in Grand Canyon Village more connected to the festival. With the invaluable help of Rene Westbrook, who got the funding, The Grand Canyon School of Rock was born! This will be our 8th year!
This is truly a passion project of mine. I work alongside guitarist Steve Benson, the local high school music teacher Bentley Monk. Together, we work with kids from Grand Canyon HS, many of whom are novice musicians. We put a band together in 3 days, culminating in two 45-minute performances at the end of the week.
I can honestly say that in my professional life, the two weeks that I look forward to the most each year are MWROC and the Grand Canyon Music Festival.
This year, I am happy to announce that for the first time, my group
Sweet Plantain will be taking part in both the Grand Canyon Music Festival and the NACAP (Native American Composers Apprentice Program). In addition to performing two concerts of our music, we will be traveling throughout the Navajo and Hopi reservations, where local kids spent time learning to write and notate music, and will be performing a free concert of their original works on Sunday August 6th.
It all happens at the Shrine of the Ages. South Rim, Grand Canyon Village. Here’s the schedule:
Thursday, September 3rd
7:30 P.M.
Robert Bonfiglio-harmonica
Joe Deninzon-violin/mandolin/vocals
Steve Benson-guitar
$15 admission
Friday, September 4th
4:00 P.M.
Grand Canyon School of Rock performance.
FREE to the public!
Friday, September 4th
7:30 P.M.
Joe Deninzon-violin/mandolin/vocals
Orlando Wells-violin
Edward Hardy-viola
Leo Grinhauz-cello
$15 admission
Saturday, September 5th
7:30 P.M.
Sweet Plantain performs
Sunday, September 6th
4:00 P.M.
Sweet Plantain NACAP performance
FREE to the public!
September 19th World Premier Joe Deninzon “Dream Diary” Electric Violin Concerto!!
It’s official! I will be premiering my electric violin concerto with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra. here is the official press release:
MSO Presents the World Premiere of Joe Deninzon’s
“Dream Diary: Concerto for 7-String Electric Violin and Orchestra”
Hailed by critics as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin,” Joe Deninzon will be performing his seven-string electric violin concerto with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, September 19, at 4:00PM. This performance takes place in Sursa Hall on the campus of Ball State University. Sursa Hall is located at 1809 W. Riverside Ave., in Muncie, IN.
For ticket info, please call the Emens Box Office at
765-285-1539.
A 14-time BMI Jazz Composer’s grant recipient and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting contest, 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. Mr. Deninzon has worked with Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, and dozens of other projects.
As an educator, Joe has taught rock violin at
Mark O’Connor’s String Camp and
Mark Wood’s Rock Orchestra Camp. Mel Bay Publications released his book,
PLUGGING IN on electric violin technique. Joe 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” 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.
Stating his best ideas come to him when he dreams, 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.
Appreciating his style and passion, MSO Artistic Director / conductor, Douglas Droste, approached Deninzon with an idea for a concerto for rock violin and orchestra. “I cannot wait to bring this concerto to Muncie, with the hopes that it will attract new audiences and give our long-time concertgoers a new twist on an old genre.”
Also on the program are Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide Overture” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4.” As part of the 3:00PM pre-concert talk, Mr. Deninzon will share more about his work.
About Muncie Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1948, the Muncie Symphony Orchestra 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 East Central Indiana, 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.
Sweet Plantain performs at David Gotay Memorial Concert
On April 3rd, 2015, our dear friend and colleague, cellist/composer David Gotay, lost his battle with kidney cancer. He was an incredible talent and beautiful soul who can never be replaced. Not a day goes by that we don’t remember David. On September 22nd, there will be a Memorial Concert for David Gotay, featuring
Gene Pritzger’s Sound Liberation,
Sweet Plantain, , and many other artists. Here’s all the info:
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015 at 7pm
DROM NYC
85 Avenue A
(between 5th & 6th Streets)
New York, NY 10009
Stratospheerius New Single, ‘TAKE YOUR MEDICINE.” and other singles
Check out 3 of the latest songs from Stratospheerius! Our last single, “Take Your Medicine,” is getting rave responses and trending on
Reverbnation.com
Joe Deninzon-electric violin/vocals/mandolin
Lucianna Padmore-drums
Aurelien Budynek-guitar
Jamie Bishop-bass
Media
Check out this interview I recently did with Cindy Mitch @ Blogtalkradio.com
Education station
GIVE THE STRING PLAYER IN YOUR LIFE A PARADIGM SHIFT!
ORDER “JOE DENINZON’S BOOK/DVD/CD “PLUGGING IN” FROM MEL BAY PUBLICATIONS
_____________________________________________________________________
