MJWB Archived News

From 2016 MJWB will no longer be publishing to this blog. This page will be MJWB archived news from 2015 and before.

Groanbox, BMF Orchestra perform at venues from trail to concert hall

What do you get when you mix accordion with violin, folk with classical music? Nature sounds played on an assortment of instruments, or instruments made from an assortment of natural objects? You’ll have to come to the concerts masterminded by Michael Ward-Bergeman in partnership with the Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra to find out.

Full article here: Breckenridge Music Festival

League of American Orchestras Conference 2015 Tune-Up Party

The League of American Orchestras Conference 2015 Tune-Up Party is hosted by The Cleveland Orchestra at one of Cleveland’s other impressive civic spaces located just across the street from Severance Hall – the Atrium at the Cleveland Museum of Art. With its spectacular design by visionary architect Rafael Viñoly, the Atrium is the place to be for the post-concert celebration to mingle with colleagues and enjoy the party Cleveland Style!

Musical performance by Joey’s Confession – featuring Alisa Weilerstein, Jamey Haddad, Keita Ogawa, and Michael Ward-Bergemann, Dominick Farinacci, and Jason Vieaux on Wednesday, May 27 at 9pm.

More info

Return to the NY Phil with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble

Michael will return to the NY Philharmonic for performances with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble February 19-21. More info here: NY Phil and the Silk Road Ensemble

NY Philharmonic 2013 Gala

Michael performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Jamey Haddad, Cyro Baptista and the NY Philharmonic for their 2013 Opening Gala on September 25, 2013.  The performance was broadcast live on WQXR and will be televised on Live from Lincoln Center on PBS stations nationwide on December 31st, 2013 at 8pm EST.


NY Times Review
NY Phil Press Release

GIG 365 : MJWB Recording Release

I am pleased to announce the release of my GIG 365 : MJWB recording.  In 2011 I performed at least one gig on each day of the year in a wide range of venues.
I performed extensively throughout North America, and also in Europe and Venezuela.  The songs on this recording represent music that was meaningful to me during the journey, interspersed with a few conversations I had along the way.
The material is rooted in New Orleans and the Greater Mississippi Delta region.  The culture, history, music and people of this region left a profound impact on me during my GIG 365 travels.
The recordings took place in Bucharest, Romania and Cleveland, OH in 2012.  I was blessed to have my friend Ionita Manole organize some of the finest Roma Gypsy musicians in the world to record three tracks with me.   The remaining musical tracks were recorded with drummer Jamey Haddad.  I studied hand percussion at the feet of Jamey while I was attending Berklee College of Music.  We found ourselves on some of the same gigs after I graduated and became great friends.   I was also backed up on two tracks by a trio of fine, delightful vocalists from Gainesville, FL directed by Timothy Mulberry, Jr : Ryoanne McKnight, Cedrica M. Daniels and Shalita "Shae" Colbert.  I can't thank all of these musicians enough for giving themselves so completely to the music.
The conversation tracks are from videos that were taken during the year of GIG 365.  They represent some of the memorable people I was fortunate enough to meet and speak with.
The quite stunning GIG 365 drawing was done by Kate Cragoe Mayfield.   I met Kate during GIG 365 and she offered to do a drawing for me.   She asked me for a list of some of the more memorable gigs I had done and picked the six which adorn the cover.  They are clockwise from top right:

GIG #99/100 & #316/317 Square and Compass, Worth Matravers, UK w/Groanbox
GIG #124 @ St. Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, London, UK
GIG #43 @ Floyd's Country Store, Floyd, VA
GIG #151 Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In, Seligman, AZ
GIG #68 @ Jackson Square, New Orleans, LA with fiddle player Joseph McGinty
GIG #149 @ Old Town Square, Albuquerque, NM with Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ Franciscan Charismatic Religious Community

You can listen to excerpts from the recording at CD BABY. You can buy a CD or download tracks from there, or on Itunes, Amazon, and other online music retailers.  If you dig it, please spread the word and like my GIG 365 page and leave some feedback. I will be posting concert appearances, reviews, interviews and more there and on the GIG 365 blog.

 

Groanbox Rides Again

Groanbox has announced its first UK Tour of 2012.  Date and venue information can be found here:
Groanbox 2012 Spring UK Tour

Joey's Confession Returns to Cleveland

Michael is back in Cleveland with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and percussionists Jamey Haddad, Keita Ogawa and Marcus Santos for another Friday's at Seven on May 11 at the glorious Severance Hall.  An interview with Mike Telin is -here-, and info about another Cleveland gig earlier in the day at the Happy Dog is -here-.

Calling All Cultural Entrepreneurs

On an average day at noon, Spangler Center at the Harvard Business School draws small groups for lunch and quiet study. But on Monday, September 26, a surprise performance by the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma packed the lounge. The sounds of bird whistles and the gaita drifting through the hallways drew such an overflow crowd that even HBS Dean Nitin Nohria had to find space sitting on the floor.

The audience had gathered for more than a concert. The message behind the music was an invitation for the arts and business communities to collaborate.

In town to workshop a new piece with the Silk Road Ensemble, Michael Ward-Bergeman (interviewed in our September issue) joined in the flash concert at HBS on his accordion. This video above appeared on his Gig 365 blog.

Read the rest at the October 2011 Silk Road Ensemble Newsletter - here -

GIG 365 in The Concord Journal

Concord — When Susan Ehrreich-Sisak went to Verrill Farm in Concord last week to pick up some corn for her grandchildren, she didn’t imagine she would be dancing the polka on the farm’s patio, too.

Read more: Accordion player brings year long gig tour to Concord - Concord, MA - The Concord Journal

New Release from Groanbox

Groanbox, the North American world roots trio, are releasing their fifth album on October 31, 2011, to be launched at King's Place, London on October 28th.
The band wrote, rehearsed, and recorded all of the material for their latest release, Guts, Lungs & Bones in a cottage perched at the bottom of a green, sheep-flecked and brook-bordered hill in the Scottish Lowlands over a period of ten days in August 2011.
Recorded live with producer/engineer Oscar Cainer at the helm, the album features ten original compositions and one traditional number, Death Don’t Have No Mercy.

Supporting the King's Place gig is John Ellis, mostly known for his work as a guitarist with major UK acts such as Peter Gabriel, The Stranglers, Peter Hammill and many more. He is also a songwriter and composer of electronic music. He has released 6 albums of instrumental music written for installations. His current song-based project is called THE PINCH. It consists of songs and instrumentals mostly played on acoustic guitar.

Big Old Big One

Videos and pics from MJWB's GIG 365 GIG #263 on September 20th, 2011 w/Eran Shaysh posted here: BIG OLD BIG ONE

Silk Road Project Commission : "Damagomi"

The Silk Road Project September 2011 Newsletter:
New Commission from MJWB : "Damagomi"

Column of Lasting Insignificance : GIG 365

Click -here- for a feature on GIG 365 from the legendary John Wilcock, co-founder of the Village Voice. Wilcock's weekly "Column of Lasting Insignificance" has been running for over 50 years.

GIG 365 in the news

USA TODAY: One man, one accordion, 365 days a year

ACCORDION UPRISING: Michael Ward-Bergeman (of Groanbox fame): 365 gigs in 365 days

GIG 365

On January 1, 2011 MJWB launches the GIG 365 project (one gig for each day of 2011) in Venezuela. He will share a wide variety of music in places throughout the Americas and Europe with people from all walks of life. Visit www.gig365.com for more information.

Read the feature in Venezuela's El Universal newspaper here:

Ward-Bergeman interpreta música sacra en Betania

English Translation here:

Ward-Bergeman plays sacred music at Bethany

Golijov World Premiere in Phoenix

World premiere rehearsal with Phoenix Symphony (l to r): Osvaldo Golijov (composer), Jamey Haddad (percussion),
Jeremy Flower (laptop/electronics), Michael Ward-Bergeman (accordion), Kayhan Kalhor (kamancheh)

Read Phoenix Symphony conductor Michael Christie's blog on the piece -here-

Daytrotter Session with Christina Courtin

Tracks from the Daytrotter Session featuring Christina Courtin from a while back have been posted. Ryan Scott on guitar, MJWB on accordion. Listen here: Daytrotter Session

Aspen Times Review

Tablas, banjos and hyper-accordions do not usually appear on programs at the Aspen Music Festival, but what a refreshing and dazzling change of pace they provided this week. The sheer virtuosity of masters such as Zakir Hussain (tabla), Béla Fleck (banjo) and Michael Ward-Bergeman (hyper-accordion) puts them in that rarefied place where classical finds harmony with the rest of the musical world.

Read the entire review here: Exotic sounds in the Aspen Music tent

Livingston Sessions

Livingston Sessions, the fourth release from Groanbox has been getting rave reviews. Click here to read.