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Jolt
for piano, percussion, berimbau, and bass

Jolt was inspired by my recent trips to Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It begins with a solo on the berimbau and progresses into a rhythmicaly cacaphonous introduction. The rest of the piece is based on a piano ostinato that alternates between 4/4 and 5/4 throughout. I chose the title because of the fast changes that happen texturally and rhythmically.

Cristina Spinei
composer

Cristina Spinei (b. 1984) has been called “one of the most talented young composers in America” by Grammy award winning composer/conductor Jose Serebrier. At 24, Ms. Spinei is in demand from choreographers, film directors, and musicians. Her compositions have been commissioned by the Ebony Strings Quartet, the ETA3 Trio, Kathleen Dyer Dance NY, London Central School, Mary Seidman and Keystone Dancers, Metropolis Ensemble, the New York Choreographic Institute, Pacific Northwest Ballet, St. John’s Church, Treetops Chamber Music Society, and by Jazz at Lincoln Center saxophonist Victor Goines.

Ms. Spinei is the Wet Ink Fellow for Metropolis Ensemble this current season. She is the recipient of the Composition Award from the Arts Recognition and Talent Search, the Pia Gilbert Scholarship, and the Marvin Hamlisch Scholarship in Composition. Spinei has been a finalist for the Sackler Composition Prize and the Sundance Composers Lab. Ms. Spinei received her BM and MM in composition from the Juilliard School where she studied with Christopher Rouse.

Looking ahead, Ms. Spinei’s music will be performed at La MaMa ETC Annex Theater in December and by Metropolis Ensemble in the fall of 2009. She collaborated with Mary Seidman and Keystone Dancers to compose the score for the full-length dance MAMA, a modern folktale.

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