Soundbox Ventures Opens Season of LISTEN HEAR Salon Concerts in December

 Soundbox Ventures opens its season of the “Listen Hear” Salon Concerts at St. Boniface Episcopal Church with “Preludes with Marisa,” Saturday, December 16, 7 p.m. The program features the world premiere of the young Catalan composer Marc Migó’s “L’illa deserta,” a collection of 12 preludes for solo piano performed by the Paris-based American pianist Marisa Gupta. The concert also showcases Stravinsky’s “Divertimento” for violin and piano, an arrangement of “The Fairy’s Kiss” ballet, to be performed by Marisa Gupta and Soundbox’s artistic director Max Tan. The musical performances will be preceded by a fireside-styled chat hosted by Tan with Gupta and Migó on the question: Why do composers dedicate music to other people? A light reception with the artists follows the performance. The program is free; registration is required. Register at www.soundboxventures.org/events. St. Boniface Episcopal Church is located at 5615 Midnight Pass Road on Siesta Key.

“Every Soundbox program centers on a musical question,” says Tan. “What excites me about the ‘Listen Hear’ series this year is the opportunity to explore what inspires composers to write music that deeply moves us. I have all the time in the world for both Marc and Marisa who are generous, articulate artists and deeply thoughtful friends. This event is a delightful adventure you won’t want to miss!”

Migó explains that title “L’illa deserta” refers to a “conversation I had with Dr. Philip Lasser early in my studies at Juilliard. The conversation led to being genuine in my compositional endeavors, hence, he suggested I write ‘desert island music.’ This meant to compose without the need to prove anything to anyone but instead to follow my inner, unconditional voice, as if I was living on a desert island, far removed from civilization. Following that precept, I composed 12 preludes that make up this book which inhabits another kind of island; one not deserted but imbued with memory and dreams.”

Pianist Marisa Gupta has a versatile musical life, performing solo and chamber music, ranging from rare repertoire of the past to a deep commitment towards music of today, performed with heartfelt conviction and a deep intellectual engagement. Born in the United States of Thai and Indian parentage, Gupta made her debut performing Prokofiev’s 1st Piano Concerto with the Houston Symphony. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including top prizes at the Concours Maria Canals (Barcelona), the Viotti Competition (Vercelli, Italy), Corpus Christi and Kingsville International Music Competitions, a Solti Foundation Award, a Fulbright scholarship for study in the UK, and many others. She was an Edison Visiting Fellow at the British Library (for the study of early chamber music recordings and performance styles) and was named a finalist by the BBC for its New Generations Thinkers Scheme, an initiative inviting leading British 

Gupta received the Diplôme de Soliste from the HEM Genève in Switzerland and her doctorate at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has given lectures, masterclasses, and lessons at numerous institutions and has served on the faculties of The University of Huddersfield (UK) and The University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music.

Taiwanese American violinist Max Tan has been praised as “eloquent” (New York Times) and “warmly rhapsodic” (Boston Globe) for “rhetorical playing that transcends the barlines” (Wieniawski Gazette). Forging a varied career as performer and educator, he has performed internationally on some of the world’s most venerable stages, soloing with the Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, The Juilliard Orchestra, amongst others. 

Recipient of the 2023 Gershen Cohen Violin Award, Tan makes his Carnegie Hall recital debut with pianist Marisa Gupta on April 3, 2024. His writings about music have appeared in “The Juilliard Journal” and “L’education musicale.” A Harvard alum and current doctoral candidate at Juilliard, Tan is founder and artistic director of Soundbox Ventures, the concertmaster of Opera Philadelphia, and assistant faculty of violin at Juilliard’s Pre-College 

After receiving a Deutsche Grammophon CD collection from his grandfather for his 16th birthday, Marc Migó became unexpectedly and passionately drawn to its contents. This discovery led him to seek out guidance from pianist Liliana Sainz and composer Xavier Boliart. Three years later, he enrolled at ESMUC (Superior Music School of Catalonia). In 2017, thanks to a scholarship issued by Fundación SGAE, Migó moved to New York to continue his musical studies. He pursued his master’s degree at The Juilliard School, where he was awarded the 2018 Orchestral Composition Prize. In 2019 he received The Pablo Casals Festival Award for his Cello Sonata “Cerdanyenca,” two Morton Gould Young Composers award by ASCAP and the New Juilliard annual commissioning competition award. Migó also has been a fellow at the 2020 Minnesota Orchestra Composer’s Institute, a winner of the George Enescu Prize 2020, the recipient of the first ever Dominick Argento Fellowship for Opera Composition (2022), and the 2023 Leo Kaplan Award by Ascap, among other international recognitions. 

Marc Migó is currently a C.V. Starr fellow at Juilliard. 

Founded in November 2022 by violinist Max Tan, Soundbox Ventures is a project-based performing arts management organization headquartered in Sarasota.  Tan explains that the mission is to “build meaningful connections between musicians and audiences by organizing artist residencies and concerts that focus on making the artist process accessible.” Tan adds that the group’s pilot “Listen Hear” series was incubated at the Sarasota Art Museum last season.

The “Listen Hear” series is “an interactive exhibition for music,” says Tan. “Each program examines a specific way we hear expression and meaning. Imagine walking into a musician’s living room and witnessing music being written, or artists gathering to explore chamber music…all with food and drink!” He adds that the series was inspired by Alex Ross’ book “Listen to This.” 

“One of the joys of being an artist is to connect with a local community of friends and to produce art that is homegrown,” says Tan. “Think of Soundbox as the musician’s sandbox; it provides the resources to enable them to develop a project and then share it with the local community. I am extremely excited for this series and other projects ahead – stay tuned!”

Mia Laity, the executive director of Soundbox Ventures, says that the Soundbox team “believes in facilitating as many opportunities as we can for every individual to engage with music in a way that nourishes their inner artist. I’m especially excited to watch the ‘Listen Hear’ series further spread its wings in the grand space of St Boniface’s sanctuary. The space is ideal for gathering; the room is an acoustical instrument in itself; and the context of the sacred space is in perfect harmony with the invitation to contemplate profound beauty in community.”

For more information about Soundbox Ventures, visit SoundBoxVentures.org.

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