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Featuring the music of two incredible living composers and Franck’s “Piano Quintet” 

Re-live the album release performance and
listen to William Shaub and Dosia McKay’s interview on the album release with NPR’s Melony Dodson.

THE STORY BEHIND  GRIT AND GLITZ
five Knoxvillian musicians come together

Over the past calendar year, five of East Tennessee’s musicians gathered with a purpose: record an album together featuring living composers that we love, a touch of virtuosity, and a dab of Hollywood glam.

After performing Franck’s Piano Quintet on the Knoxville Symphony’s Concertmaster Series in a performance dedicated to the legendary Jascha Heifetz (the Franck being one of Heifetz’s favorite pieces of chamber music), we knew we had to put it on a disc. All of us deeply admire Jascha Heifetz and his legacy, and we resolved to record it in loving memory.

Dosia McKay’s Grit and Glitz for String Trio was the PERFECT piece to pair alongside a piece like the Franck Piano Quintet, a “high energy, show-off piece, venturing out into the territory of catchy pop and rock melodic gestures, stretching their boundaries until it breaks into cadenza-like sections exploring jazz harmonies”. Except this quote is from Dosia McKay herself, describing her own piece: Grit and Glitz. It perfectly describes the Franck aesthetic, too. 

The chemistry of this pairing of pieces was unmistakable. Oh, and did we mention Dosia McKay is based in Knoxville, just like the members of the Quintet? We are proud to share her music with the world.

Carlos Simon is undeniably one of today’s most important composers and is currently Artist-in-Residence of the Kennedy Center. His string trio, Loop, made its debut by members of the New York Philharmonic in 2020 during the pandemic, when everyone was going loopy. At the Knoxville Symphony’s Concertmaster Series in 2021, Loop instantly made a splash, with feedback from our audience demanding that this fresh, exciting piece be performed again. Here we present this virtuosic, 4 minute Loop paired alongside the similarly passionate Grit and Glitz, which share the rock melodic gestures that run like a thread through this album.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy GRIT AND GLITZ. All five of us thank you from the bottom of our hearts for listening, downloading, and if you so desire, sharing about this news.

  • William Shaub, Concertmaster, Knoxville Symphony
    Gordon Tsai, Associate Concertmaster, Knoxville Symphony
    Joshua Ulrich, Viola, Knoxville Symphony; Formerly Altius Quartet
    Adam Ayers, Cello, Knoxville Symphony
    Kevin Class, Piano, Professor of Piano at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5-15-2024

“Grit and Glitz” on the air & in the press