Violin and guitar duo itsnotyouitsme to perform

Caleb Burhans (left) and Grey McMurray make up itsnotyouitsme.

BOWLING GREEN, O. – itsnotyouitsme, a duo of amplified violin and electric guitar, will perform two concerts next month as part of the Music at the Forefront series sponsored by the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at Bowling Green State University.

The first concert, at 8 p.m. on Feb. 8, will be held at the Clazel Theatre, 127 N. Main St. in downtown Bowling Green. A donation of $2 to $5 is suggested. The duo will give a second performance, also at 8 p.m., on Feb. 9 in Bryan Recital Hall of BGSU’s Moore Musical Arts Center; it is free and open to the public.

Both programs include original music composed by the duo and other works by Philip Glass, John Cage, Rob Haskins and Franz Schubert.

itsnotyouitsme is the coming-together of two intense and prolific musical streams: violinist/composer Caleb Burhans and electric guitarist Grey McMurray. In the midst of successful solo careers, Burhans and McMurray began playing together in 2003 as itsnotyouitsme, blending and distilling their mutual love of everything from Brian Eno to J.S. Bach. Since then, the duo has carved out a unique niche in the musical scene with their ambient, post-rock, jazz-tinged and genre-defying instrumental soundscapes.

Burhans and McMurray are two of New York's busiest musicians, each performing in a wide diversity of styles. Burhans, a 2009 Leonore Annenberg Fellow in the Visual and Performing Arts, is a founding member of Alarm Will Sound, and serves as violinist/violist and occasional countertenor with ACME, Signal, Newspeak, and the Wordless Orchestra, among others. Equally busy as a composer, Burhans' “oh ye of little faith...(do you know where your children are?),” for Alarm Will Sound, was commissioned by Lincoln Center for the reopening of Alice Tully Hall.

McMurray has played with The Exit, Matmos, Tyshawn Sorey, Beyondo, Zeena Parkins, Shane Endsley, and David Crowell, among others. He has appeared on recordings by Jerseyband as well as the critically acclaimed So Percussion album "Amid the Noise” (Cantaloupe Records). In addition to his work on these projects, McMurray has written music for a documentary about East Timor and collaborated on numerous visual art projects.

itsnotyouitsme's debut album, “walled gardens,” is available on New Amsterdam Records. Since its release, “walled gardens” has captured the imagination of listeners and the attention of critics. The album was featured in New York magazine's Approval Matrix and The New York Times 2008 list of Best Classical CDs. A live album, “fallen monuments,” also on New Amsterdam, was released in 2010.

Music at the Forefront is an annual concert series featuring performances by accomplished and innovative performers of contemporary music. For more information, contact the center at 419-372-2685 or email kdoles@bgsu.edu.                                  

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(Posted January 23, 2012 )