First show (Shooka Afshar and Matt Savage): Timeless Voices: Persian Folk Meets Classical Opera Second show: Cassie Kollman and Sebass Guerrero Duo
Shooka Afshar sings Persian Folk Tunes with an operatic approach, while Matt Savage accompanies her with a jazzy arrangements of those tunes. And in the 2nd act, Matt and Shooka will present classical art songs and operatic arias.
Cassie Kollman and Sebass Guererro Duo
Cassie Kollman and Sebass Guererro offer an innovative presentation of contemporary voice and electric bass. With a shared language of improvisation, they create a unique blend of music which presents a diverse collection of moods and themes. While the instrumentation is sparse, the sound is deep. In the years that Cassie and Sebass have been collaborating, they have each developed a strong ear to the other’s musical voice, and as a result their work together is nuanced, intuitive, and intimately collaborative. The listening experience is both upbeat and contemplative, edgy and optimistic, groove-based and harmonically-intricate. Cassie and Sebass perform original compositions, and unique arrangements of their favorite tunes.
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Cassie Kollman is a contemporary vocalist, songwriter, and bandleader who
possesses an informed command of her craft and performs a wide range of
musical genres, mostly those rooted in Black American traditions; including jazz,
r&b, blues, soul, pop, musical theater, New music, and classical. Her
specialization is vocal improvisation.
Cassie released her debut album, Lady in Shoes, in 2021; an eclectic mix of
groove-based, richly-textured, and imaginative original compositions and
collaborations. Cassie’s songwriting is introspective, personal, and emotionally
nuanced. An agile vocalist and deep listener, Cassie creates compositions and
arrangements that are vocally ambitious, harmonically intricate, and lyrically
exploratory. The result is a soulful, quirky, blues-based experience of jazz-pop
music.
Cassie holds a Masters of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Music from the
Longy School of Music of Bard College, and teaches studio voice in the Boston
area. Cassie’s main project, Cassie Kollman and Friends, performs frequently in
the Boston area. A former grade-school music teacher and non-profit manager,
Cassie is passionate about arts accessibility, music education, and live
community events.
https://www.cassiekollman.com/
Sebastian Guerrero started his music path when he was 5 years old. Upon being
asked about the instrument he wanted to play by his parents, he replied “bass”.
However, life took him on a longer journey going through violin, piano, guitar and
drums lessons, until one day a bassist was needed at his church and his dad, the
worship leader, requested him to try it. That’s where he met his first true love. After
moving from his Bogota to Medellin, he was offered a chance to prepare
academically for undergrad in a music program, and there he met his second love:
upright bass. He completed his undergrad studies at EAFIT University in Medellin,
Colombia, and his master’s degree at Longy School of Music in Boston,
Massachusetts.
Sebastian has had the chance to participate in different projects throughout his
career, participating with them in nationally and internationally acclaimed festivals
and music events in Colombia, as well as collaborating in recording sessions.
Traditional Colombian music, jazz combos, rap bands, salsa orchestras,
indie-alternative artists, amongst others have made him part of their crews. He’s also
developed a passion and ability for band leading and “on-the-spot” arranging, which
he has used in his own music (mainly jazz oriented) and in other projects. He’s been
a schoolteacher for ensembles and had several private students under his tutorship.
Currently living in Boston, he has performed in venues such as Wally’s Café Jazz
Club, Scullers Jazz Club, Regattabar, amongst others. He’s also currently involved in a
South American music project, and he regularly performs with a variety of artists that
range between Antillean music and Country music.
Harvard Music Award Winning Soprano, Vocal Coach, and City of Boston Certified Artist,
Shooka Afshar, is a distinguished classical/opera singer from Iran, composer, flutist,
pianist, and music entrepreneur. Trained in vocal therapy at the Boston Medical Center
for 7 years, she combines her comprehensive understanding of voice mechanics with her
artistic skills to guide and heal others through music. She completed her undergraduate
and received her Master’s degree in Classical Vocal Performance at Longy School of
Music in Boston in 2014.
As a fervent advocate for women's rights, Shooka's recent mixed media project, an opera
titled "Women / Immigration / Fight or Flight," portrays women overcoming extreme
challenges to discover their true selves and break free from society's chains. This opera
premiered online at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in March 2021 and in person in
March 2023.
In July 2022, Shooka led an artist in residency near Milan, Italy, composing and touring
her latest mixed media art "The Manipulation Project". This contemporary piece
includes a music band with graphic scoring, painters, and dancers, exploring the
psychological journey and empowerment of individuals in manipulative relationships
and how they can eventually leave the toxic relationship. She will be touring both this
project and her opera "Women / Immigration / Fight or Flight" starting Fall 2024.
Singing Iranian folk tunes with a classical technique, Shooka honors the legacy of her role
model, Monireh Vakili, a world-renowned Iranian opera singer who passed away a few
decades ago. In 2017, she formed the Sarazamin Ensemble, with Matt Savage as the
constant member and pianist, and a rotating lineup of talented musicians.
Her dedication to her craft and advocacy, coupled with her recent tour and composition
work with a dynamic group of musicians, painters, and actors in Italy, underscores her
commitment to pushing artistic and societal boundaries. With a documentary detailing
her life story soon to be released, created by Asma Khoshmher for the documentary
department at Emerson College, Boston, Shooka Afshar continues to be a symbol of
artistry, resilience, and empowerment in the classical music and opera scene.
www.shookaafshar.com
https://www.sonicbids.com/band/shooka-the-quantum-soprano/
https://www.instagram.com/shookathequantumsoprano/
Matt Savage, age 31, has had a remarkable 20+ year professional
career as a jazz musician, bandleader and composer with
ensembles of different size. He’s played with some of the biggest
names in jazz, including Chick Corea, the Ellington All Stars, Chaka
Khan, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Watson, Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath,
Jason Moran, Arturo O’Farrill, John Pizzarelli, Joshua Redman, Terri
Lyne Carrington, Jon Faddis, Jerry Bergonzi and Donny McCaslin
among others. He’s also opened for rock legends Neil Young and
Stephen Stills, and has performed with Steve Earle, Jackson
Browne, Shawn Colvin and Al Stewart. Along the way, he’s
recorded fifteen projects as a leader. He is a Bösendorfer piano
artist.
As a composer, Matt has garnered respect and recognition. He
composed and recorded the score for a full-length documentary film,
Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story. The movie, which
premiered in 2014, chronicles the life of the late jazz alto
saxophonist Frank Morgan. Additionally, Savage wrote almost all
the songs on his albums, several of which have been used in short
documentaries, on web sites, in school music curricula and in
government educational materials.
Matt currently leads the Matt Savage Quartet and the Matt Savage
Groove Experiment. His latest album is a quartet record called The
Whole Package! This collection of eight originals and three covers
was released on June 16th, 2023.
Savage has toured worldwide, including performances at The
Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Blue Note (NYC),
Bohemian Caverns, Smalls Jazz Club, The Town Hall, Dizzy’s Club
Coca-Cola, Scullers, the Jazz Standard, the Pantages Theatre, the
Iridium, the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz
Festival, Heineken Jazzaldia (Spain), the Costa Rica International
Jazz Festival, the International VSA Arts Festival, the Jacksonville
Jazz Festival, the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, the New
Orleans Jazz Festival, the Earshot Jazz Festival, tours of Japan,
China, India, Spain, Curacao, Aruba and Singapore.
Media appearances have included Marian McPartland’s “Piano
Jazz,” NPR’s “All Things Considered,” “Late Night with Conan
O’Brien,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” the “Today” Show,
ABC’s “20/20,” the Discovery Channel, BBC, Telemundo TV, and
news shows and documentaries worldwide (including the U.S.,
Germany, France, Japan and the U.K.) The Wall Street Journal,
JazzTimes, JAZZIZ, TIME, WIRED, Der Spiegel, The Jerusalem
Report, People Magazine, TIME for Kids, American Way, The Globe
and Mail, the Toronto Star, The Boston Globe, the New York Daily
News, and others have featured Matt in print.
Having received his Bachelor’s Degree from Berklee College of
Music and his Master’s Degree from Manhattan School of Music,
Matt balances his professional music career with teaching. Back in
the Boston area, Matt is an adjunct professor at Longy School of
Music of Bard College, Saint Anselm College, and Bunker Hill
Community College, and he also teaches at Community Music
Center of Boston. He gives masterclasses and workshops
domestically and internationally (in English and Spanish) as well as
private piano lessons.
https://www.savagerecords.com/wordpressnew/
