In honor of International Women’s Day, Melodia -- multi-lingual global initiative which highlights women composers — celebrates women composers from around the world with performances of songs by celebrated Russian composer Alexandra Pakhmutova, American composers Carole King, Caroline Shaw, and more. Tune in online on March 8 at 7:00 p.m. for a performance and a live discussion with the musicians!

About the musicians:

Laura Ann Singh is a multilingual American singer, recording artist and composer, often associated with musica popular brasileira (MPB) and Latin boleros. She is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed ensemble, Miramar, which has performed internationally in Europe, Russia, and South America as well as the Tiny Desk concert series on NPR and headlined the annual Globalfest music festival in New York City. She has recorded music for Daptone Records, Barbes Records, and Electric Cowbell. Her repertoire pulls from all over Latin America, especially Brazil, but includes American Songbook standards, women composers, and original music. She is also the co-director of Melodia, a performance and new media program which highlights women composers from around the world. 

Marlysse Rose Simmons is the pianist, composer and director of the salsa band Bio Ritmo and bolero ensemble Miramar. Simmons was born and raised in the Washington DC Metro Area. Her mother, a native of Chile, introduced Simmons to a variety of Latin American musical styles. Upon finishing her degree in classical music in 1997 from The University of Maryland, her focus quickly changed to improvisation, arranging, composition and the study of various folk music traditions from around the world. In 2002 she joined the salsa orchestra Bio Ritmo and immediately became a driving force behind the band’s mission and music. Together with singer Rei Alvarez, Simmons helped lead Bio Ritmo to become recognized as one of the top innovative indie-salsa orchestras of the last two-decades. In 2009, Simmons, Alvarez and vocalist, Laura Ann Singh, founded the Latin bolero project Miramar. Their debut album on Brooklyn’s Barbes Record received critical acclaim and led to performances and features across the USA, France, Russia and Puerto Rico. In March 2019 Miramar released a 45 vinyl album on the legendary Daptone Records. Simmons received her Masters of Composition degree from Brooklyn College in Fall of 2018, where she studied with grammy-award winning composer/pianist/band-leader Arturo O’Farrill. She also worked as a music teacher in New York City public schools for O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance and was commissioned to arrange a big band piece for the O’Farrill Jazz Orchestra.

Stephanie Barrett started studying cello privately in Leesburg, VA, with Jennene Estes at the Catoctin School of Music. Throughout her academic years, she performed in various cello master classes for world-renowned cellists including Bonnie Hampton, Hannah Holman, Zuill Bailey, Timothy Eddy and Clive Greensmith. She has also participated in chamber music master classes and workshops with the Maia Quartet, Roger Tapping of the Takacs Quartet, the Brooklyn Rider String Quartet, the Aviv Quartet, the Penderecki Quartet, the Emerson Quartet, and members of the Tokyo String Quartet. She spent her summers studying and performing at Wintergreen Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Zephyr Chamber Music Festival, and Eastern Music Festival. Stephanie received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Music in Performance in cello from VCU. She completed her Performance Master’s Degree at Lynn University in 2018 under the tutelage of David Cole. Stephanie is the cellist of the Richmond-based string quartet, Rosette. She was appointed as the middle and upper school strings director at St. Catherine’s School in August 2021.

Treesa Gold is a vibrant performer in the Richmond area. She frequently records for Spacebomb Studios, and is a member of the string quartet, Rosette, who champions music written by a diverse swath of living composers. A great lover of opera and orchestra, she is Concertmaster of the Opera on the James, and Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Williamsburg Symphony.  Before moving to Richmond, Mrs. Gold lived in New Orleans and was a member of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra from 2004 to 2006. Mrs. Gold has multiple degrees in Violin Performance from Indiana University, where she studied with Paul Biss. She is also a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, under the tutelage of Hal Grossman. Starting violin at age 2 in the Suzuki studio of Alice Joy Lewis, she holds a strong belief in children’s potential and its importance for the betterment of the world and is carrying on that tradition as a Suzuki teacher herself. She has been given the honor of teaching at many festivals, both nationwide and internationally.  Treesa is married to double bass player, Matt Gold and together they played in the rock band, Goldrush, for six years. Treesa and Matt are also the happy parents of two children, Kit & Artemis.

***

ALL AMERICAN CENTER IN MOSCOW EVENTS ARE FREE OF CHARGE / ВСЕ МЕРОПРИЯТИЯ АМЕРИКАНСКОГО ЦЕНТРА В МОСКВЕ БЕСПЛАТНЫ

***

Tune in to watch this live-streamed performance and discussion on the American Center in Moscow’s YouTube channel and VK page on March 8, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. MSK.

You can register below and leave your valid email address to receive a reminder 30 minutes before the online event begins on March 8, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. MSK.

To join other AMC Online programs, please check the American Center’s website and TimePad calendars.