5BMF 2015 Continues 3/15 with GUNS N' ROSENKAVALIER at Rockwood Music Hall

Five Boroughs Music Festival's 2014-2015 Season continues in March with the genre- blurring "rock recital", GUNS N' ROSENKAVALIER! With arrangements by composer John Glover and baritone Andrew Wilkowske and English lyrics by Kelley Rourke, "Guns N' Rosenkavalier" melds art song with rock song, resulting in musical mashups spanning the works of Kate Bush and Brahms, REM and Strauss, and more.

The program stars a group of talented artists with the unique ability to apply their classical sensibilities to modern works: Baritone Andrew Wilkowske leads the lineup on vocals and electric guitar, joined on stage by pianist David Moody and the all female pop-French horn quartet Genghis Barbie. "GnR" is a dream come true for anyone who has ever wondered how some of today's songwriters would have fared with 19th century audiences - or how Schubert and Schumann might have shredded on electric guitar...

The concert is set for Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 7:00 PM (Doors at 6:30) at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2 196 Allen Street, Manhattan . $25 General Admission -- Floor seating (Tables); $25 General Admission -- Balcony seating; $20 General Admission -- Standing room/Bar stools. Rockwood Music Hall is a 21+ venue. ID required. Tickets are available now via Rockwood Music Hall (Ticketfly).

After performing to sold-out crowds at Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Glimmerglass Opera, and the Mill City Summer Opera in Minneapolis, "Guns N' Rosenkavalier" will make its New York City debut on March 15th with 5BMF. Conceived by baritone Andrew Wilkowske and composer John Glover and developed by Milwaukee Opera Theatre and its artistic director Jill Anna Ponasik, the program offers up a variety of creative song pairings along the lines of Robert Schumann with Patti Smith and Franz Schubert with Van Halen. "Guns N' Rosenkavalier" rocks and rolls through centuries of song, and proves that a good song is a good song, no matter its origin. By experiencing ingenious arrangements of everything from Queen and Springsteen to Kate Bush, Madonna, and Lady Gaga in the same program as several beloved me?lodies and Lieder, audience members can judge for themselves just how far apart these genres really are. And Rockwood Music Hall's Stage 2 is just intimate enough to make one feel that this hilariously original show has been spontaneously dropped into the listener's living room.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Baritone ANDREW WILKOWSKE displays an engaging combination of musical talent and masterful stage presence across the operatic and recital platforms. Recent engagements have included Ponchel in Silent Night with Opera Philadelphia; the Vicar in Albert Herring with Florentine Opera; Guglielmo in Cosi? fan tutte with Intermountain Opera Bozeman; and La Rocca in Un giorno di Regno with Glimmerglass Opera. Current engagements include Papageno in Die Zauberflo?te with Minnesota Opera; Ponchel in Silent Night with Cincinnati Opera; and Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow with Boston Lyric Opera. Widely recognized for his expertise in modern repertoire, Mr. Wilkowske recently premiered Our Basic Nature, a solo New Music Theater piece by John Glover and Kelley Rourke with American Opera Projects and Nautilus Music Theater. As Noah in the Minnesota Opera world premiere cast of The Grapes of Wrath in 2007, he was featured on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show, and on the complete recording of the opera available on P.S. Classics. He also reprised the role of Noah with the Collegiate Chorale at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Wilkowske has participated in the Merola Opera Program, Glimmerglass Opera's Young American Artist Program and the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and the University of Minnesota Duluth. More info at www.andrewwilkowske.com

Pianist DAVID MOODY has served on the faculty of the Vocal Arts Department at the Juilliard School of Music since 2009, and was principal coach and assistant conductor at Glimmerglass Opera since 2004. He was the assistant conductor for the Opera Company of Philadelphia from 1999 to 2007, participating in more than 20 productions, and was a former member of the opera and voice faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music. As a pianist and vocal coach, he has been employed by the Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Philadelphia Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, and Chautauqua Institution's school of music. Mr. Moody enjoys an active career as a recitalist and has performed concerts presented by such organizations as the Marilyn Horne Foundation, Astral Artistic Services, and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

GENGHIS BARBIE, the leading post post-feminist feminist all-female horn experience, is the most innovative and energizing chamber ensemble of its generation and beyond. With a combined 24 years of conservatory training, Genghis Barbie delivers a visceral and unadulterated musical adventure. Performing arrangements of pop music from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's and today, contemporary commissions, and classical works, they are the most versatile and expansive group on NYC's classical/pop/rock/jazz/indie/ alternative/punk/electro-acoustic scene. In addition to their busy New York City performing schedule, the ladies of Genghis Barbie have performed as Contributing Artists at the 2011 International Horn Society Symposium in San Francisco, played Schumann's Konzertstu?ck with the Southern Methodist University Wind Ensemble, and appeared on TV's "America's Got Talent." In May 2012, Genghis Barbie made their Carnegie Hall debut in the premiere of a new concerto for four horns, commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony. As educators, they have toured numerous universities presenting workshops, masterclasses, and lectures on musical entrepreneurship. They have released four studio albums: a self-titled debut album, a holiday album entitled "Genghis Barbie: Home for the Holidays," "Genghis Baby: Songs for Noa," and the newly released "Amp it Up!" More info at www.genghisbarbie.com/

FIVE BOROUGHS MUSIC FESTIVAL - Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to presenting traditional and contemporary chamber music in all five boroughs of New York City. With the dual aims of bringing affordable, high-caliber chamber music concerts to all parts of NYC and of cultivating new audiences for the genre, 5BMF engages top composers and performers from the New York City region and beyond and partners with many local cultural institutions. 5BMF's programming is rooted in familiar classical music traditions, but is inclusive of a broad range of styles; art song recitals, early music, jazz, new music and other non-classical forms are all represented.

Founded and led since 2007 by Artistic Director Jesse Blumberg, 5BMF has presented over 40 traditional and contemporary chamber music programs in seven complete cycles around NYC. Described as "imaginative" by the New York Times and "vital" by WQXR's Operavore blog, 5BMF's commitment to musical outreach and diverse programming has attracted positive attention from the NYC arts community from its earliest days; highlights include a performance for over 1,500 music lovers at the Third Annual Bryant Park Fall Festival in 2010, and the annual presentation of free outdoor concerts for Make Music New York.

5BMF's artist roster is comprised of diverse, talented emerging artists and distinguished musicians alike. 5BMF's venues are just as eclectic, and have included historic NYC landmarks such as Steinway Hall, the University Church at Fordham University, Flushing Town Hall, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, to name merely a few. Outreach initiatives include public masterclasses; artist talk-backs; and the donation of programming to charitable causes. In 2011, 5BMF presented the World Premiere of its ambitious Five Borough Songbook, a collection of 20 newly commissioned vocal chamber works from 20 composers. Over the course of the 2011-2012 season, 5BMF premiered the Songbook in each of NYC's five boroughs, and released a 2- CD album of the collection with GPR Records.

Further information can be found at www.5BMF.org or via email at info@5BMF.org.

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