Out Today: Apollo Chamber Players Release MoonStrike On Azica Records

Apollo Chamber Players today releases its sixth album, MoonStrike, on Azica Records. MoonStrike is a universal celebration of storytelling, space, and folk song, realized through new works by Jennifer Higdon, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, and Pierre Jalbert. Tate's title work, MoonStrike, is narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington, the first American Indian citizen to fly in space. All three works were commissioned by Apollo Chamber Players as part of its 20x2020 project, launched in 2014 with a mission to commission 20 new multicultural works before the end of the last decade. The New York premiere of MoonStrike will take place on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon's In the Shadow of the Mountain (2020) is inspired by her upbringing in the Great Smoky Mountains and incorporates the sounds and colors of the region. Higdon shares, "The resonance of that area led me to choose, for my first opera, Charles Frazier's novel Cold Mountain. The struggles of survival in Appalachia, the majesty of its natural features, and the sonorities of the mountain's music, color the quilt of that opera and of this string quartet."

Next is the title work, MoonStrike (2019), by Chickasaw composer and U.S. Cultural Ambassador, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate. The work honors the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing through American Indian moon legends as narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington. Tate explains, "American Indian legends are very colorful and have a tendency to take twists and turns within the narrative. Regarding the Moon, it is very consistent that the traditional tales involve trickster characters and competitions for ownership of this precious object." MoonStrike features three diverse American Indian legends, and is bookended with an arrangement of a Calusa Corn Dance. MoonStrike also draws inspiration from Apollo Founder Matthew J. Detrick's love of space and childhood dream to become the first person to play the violin in space.

Rome Prize-winning composer Pierre Jalbert's L'esprit du Nord "Spirit of the North" (2019) is a three-movement work that fuses three French-Canadian folk songs with his unique, contemporary musical language. The first movement, "Chanson de Lisette," is a playful theme and variations, while the second movement, "Cantique (Canticle)," contains two religious folk tunes: a Passion and a tune entitled "Les Pélerins." The third and final movement, "Fiddle Dance," was inspired by the French-Canadian fiddling tradition.

Celebrating its 15th season, Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players "performs with rhythmic flair and virtuosity" (The Strad) and "recasts music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation" (Strings Magazine). The ensemble's globally-inspired programming and multicultural new music commissions have garnered international acclaim, including sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall and in Havana, Cuba, a Chamber Music America Residency Partnership award, and regular features on American Public Media's Performance Today.

Released on the Grammy-winning Azica Records label, Apollo's fifth studio album, With Malice Toward None, reached No. 1 on Amazon's Hot New Release chart, and Strings Magazine praised the album's message, which tackles "politics, identity, and what it means to be a citizen of a nation balanced between an idealized past and a just and multicultural future." The ensemble's catalog of records has been featured on hundreds of radio and media stations worldwide.

A passionate advocate for contemporary music and underrepresented composers, Apollo successfully concluded a bold initiative to commission 20 new multicultural works by the end of the last decade. 20x2020 features a diverse roster of the world's leading composers and instrumentalists including Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Pamela Z, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, Hector del Curto, Vân Ánh Võ, and Tracy Silverman. The ensemble's community partners include schools and universities, at-risk youth centers, refugee and veterans service organizations, and public libraries.

Apollo was founded in 2008 by violinist and music entrepreneur Matthew J. Detrick. Learn more at www.apollochamberplayers.org.

MoonStrike Track List
1. Jennifer Higdon - In the Shadow of the Mountain (2020) [16:05]

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate - MoonStrike (2019)
2. Corn Dance [1:10]
3. Prologue [0:30]
4. I. Origin of the Moon [6:38]
5. II. The Man Who Married the Moon [10:09]
6. III. Raven Steals the Moon [7:43]
7. Epilogue [0:14]
8. Corn Dance Reprise [1:18]
John Herrington, narrator

Pierre Jalbert - L'esprit du Nord "Spirit of the North" (2019)
9. I. Canson de Lisette [4:59]
10. II. Cantique [7:14]
11. III. Fiddle Dance [3:38]

Total Time: 59:45

APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS
Matthew J. Detrick, violin I
Anabel Ramirez Detrick, violin II
Whitney Bullock, viola
Matthew Dudzik, cello

Producer, Recording and Mastering Engineer: Alan Bise
Apollo Founder, Artistic & Executive Director: Matthew J. Detrick
Cover Image and Artwork: Dustin Mater
Graphic Design: Teresa B. Southwell
Recorded at: Sauder Hall, Goshen College (Goshen, IN)

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