Violinist Johnny Gandelsman’s solo performance pairs the unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 3 by J.S. Bach with newly commissioned works as part of his This Is America project. Celebrating the country’s rich cultural tapestry and myriad perspectives, the program also features composers Clarice Assad, Rhiannon Giddens, Tyshawn Sorey and Conrad Tao. The Boston Globe describes Gandelsman as “a delightfully unconventional fiddler…with a balletic lightness of touch and a sense of whimsy and imagination that are rare.”

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Johnny Gandelsman - Violin

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

Johnny Gandelsman, a founding member of Brooklyn Rider and a member of the Silkroad Ensemble, presents a new commissioning project developed during the pandemic, called This is America. Johnny Gandelsman has commissioned 20 new solo violin works from a diverse group of American and U.S.- based composers, including Rhiannon Giddens, Maya Miro Johnson, Angelica Negron, Tyshawn Sorey, Conrad Tao, Tomeka Reid, Olivia Davis, and many others.  "This is America celebrates America’s rich cultural tapestry and its myriad perspectives, thoughts, and ideas,” explains Gandelsman. “Each composition reflects on the current state of American society in a personal and intimate way, looking through an unflinching lens at universal topics like separation, loneliness, hope and love."

Johnny Gandelsman: This is America

LACO has teamed up with New York City’s Kaufman Music Center (KMC) to present a special digital performance. The program includes eight world premieres by the 2019/20 Luna Composition Lab Fellows Olivia Bennett, KiMani Bridges, Madeline Clara Cheng, Ebunoluwa Oguntola, and Sage Shurman, with the Luna Lab Meets LACO participants Anya Lagman, Chloe Villamayor and Emily Webster-Zuber.

Luna Lab Meets LACO

Violinist, producer, and 2024 MacArthur Fellow Johnny Gandelsman will perform a solo violin program of works from his This is America project at Caramoor, featuring the New York premiere of a Caramoor commission by Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer Tyshawn Sorey. Experience this reflection of the complex times we are living in through these intimate musical portraits of joy, uncertainty, isolation, and love. Don’t miss this profound, emotional journey.

Ebunoluwa Oguntola

Events

Upcoming events

Jul 5, 2026

Johnny Gandelsman: This is America · Caramoor

Past events

Feb 18, 2022

Johnny Gandelsman - Violin · San Francisco Performances

Feb 15, 2022

Johnny Gandelsman: This is America · Philharmonic Society of Orange County

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