The Taliesin Duo's programs take the listener from the timeless sounds of 17th and 18th century concert music to the contemporary, improvisatory and percussive sounds associated with jazz and flamenco music. The Taliesin Duo, Delaine Fedson and Elaine Barber, met in 1992. As a result of playing together in the Austin Symphony, the pair eventually gravitated to playing harp duos, and they have given several highly successful concerts in the Central Texas area, including a U.S premiere of Spanish composer Martin Zalba's "Caledioscopes" at Southwestern University in 2001.
Taliesin is a Welsh phrase (tal iesin) meaning "radiant, or shining, brow", and is the name of an actual 6th Century Welsh bard and a mythological Celtic shape-shifter associated with metaphysical poems who was self-described as timeless, eternal and all-knowing. The architect Frank Lloyd Wright made the term Taliesin part of the collective consciousness by naming his Wisconsin and Arizona homes, Taliesin and Taliesin West. For harpists, Taliesin's musical connection is two-fold: the noted harpist Marcel Grandjany was a close friend of Wright, and spent many summers teaching a select group of students at Taliesin, and the timeless, eternal beauty of the sound of the harp seems to shift shape with each century.
Sample Program:
| Concerto for Harp in Bb | G.F. Handel (1685-1759) |
| Andante Allegro Moderato Allegro | Arr. Fedson & Barber |
| Duo en Fantasie pour Deux Harpes | F.J. Nadermann (1781-1835) |
| Adagio Rondoletto | |
| Caleidoscopes: images (U.S. Premiere) | Martìn Zalba (b. 1958) |
| Quatre Préludes pour Deux Harpes, Op. 16 M. | Tournier (1879-1951) |
| Tranquillo Pas trop vite Lent Allegretto |
|
| Ma Mere L'Oye | M. Ravel (1875-1937) |
| I. Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant II. Petit Poucet IV. Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes V. Le Jardin Féerique |
arr. Escosa |
| Baroque Flamenco | D. Henson-Conant (b. 1952) |
For Taliesin Duo Bookings Contact: Melissa Frye
booking@delainefedson.com
Chanté Duo
Martha MacDonald and Delaine Fedson have been performing together since 1989 as members of the Austin Chamber Ensemble, touring throughout Texas France and Germany and performing on a regularly scheduled concert series in Austin. The clarinet/harp duo is unique and the repertoire performed is rarely heard. In addition to music by classical composers such as Bachofen, contemporary music by film composers Paul Reade and Alex Shapiro is programmed as well as a unique work for Eb, Bb and A clarinets and Harp by Houston composer Todd Frazier based on birds of the coastal Gulf region of Texas.
For Chanté Duo Bookings Contact: Dr. Martha MacDonald
martha@delainefedson.com
Fees:
FEE RANGE FOR A PUBLIC PERFORMANCE/CONCERT
$1200-$3000
FEE RANGE FOR A SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
$300-$600
RESIDENCY SERVICES
$600-$1000
MASTER CLASSES
$200-$400
