David Balakrishnan
Encyclopedia
David Balakrishnan is the founder of the Turtle Island Quartet.
, where he quickly established his reputation as a talented young improvising violinist, appearing on many recordings and making guest appearances with the David Grisman Quartet and jazz violin legend Stephane Grappelli
. In 1981 he undertook a Masters Degree program in music composition at Antioch University West, where his groundbreaking work integrating stylistic elements of jazz, European classical, American folk and Indian classical music led to the creation of the Turtle Island Quartet in the fall of 1985.
His tenure with TIQ has included several recordings on labels such as Windham Hill, Chandos, Koch and Telarc, which released their most recent CD, 2008 Grammy winning “A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John Coltrane.” Their previous Telarc release, “4+Four,” in collaboration with the Ying Quartet
, also won a Grammy in the same category, Classical Crossover, in 2006. Balakrishnan has also himself received two GRAMMY nominations in the category of best instrumental arrangement, the first for his arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie
's "A Night In Tunisia" from TIQ's first recording, and the second for his arrangement of “You’ve Changed,” from their 2002 release Danzón, featuring clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera. Other TIQ credits include soundtracks for major motion pictures, TV and radio credits such as the Today Show and All Things Considered
, feature articles in People
and Newsweek
magazines, and collaborations with famed artists such as The Manhattan Transfer
, pianists Billy Taylor
and Kenny Barron, the Ying Quartet
and the Parsons Dance Company
.
Balakrishnan has been awarded numerous composing grants, both from private sources such as conductor Marin Alsop
, who commissioned his piece for violin and orchestra, “Little Mouse Jumps,” as well as national service organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts
and Meet The Composer
foundations. In 2005 he received a MTC/ASOL “Music Alive” three year extended residency with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, for which he is composing six orchestral works. The NCO also commissioned Balakrishnan’s composition “Darkness Dreaming,” which premiered in April 2004 with guitarists Sharon Isbin
and John Jorgenson
. His piece, “Spider Dreams” (1992), has been widely performed and recorded throughout the world by a diverse array of musical organizations, including a live recording by Turtle Island with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Neeme Järvi
on Chandos Records. A 2002 commission awarded by a consortium of presenters headed by the Lied Center of Kansas City resulted in a string octet entitled “Mara’s Garden Of False Delights,” which is featured on Turtle Island String Quartet
’s Grammy winning Telarc release, “4 plus Four.” His most recent commission is again from the Lied Center, who received a Creative Campus grant from the Duke foundation, for which Balakrishnan is composing a full length work involving theatre, dance, video, and Turtle Island with the KU wind ensemble that is an artistic response to the social issues concerning the various theories of evolution, both scientific and cultural, entitled “The Tree Of Life.”
Groove In The Louvre, for guitar, string quartet and string orchestra
The Second Wave, for guitar and string octet
Confetti Man, for String Orchestra
Darkness Dreaming, for violin, two guitars and Chamber Orchestra
Mara’s Garden Of False Delights, for string octet
InterPlay for Mandolin Quartet and Violin
Concertino For Jazz Violin And Orchestra: Little Mouse Jumps
Spider Dreams, seven movements for jazz string orchestra
The Iron Fist Of Fashion, two movements for string quartet and big band
Life
After graduating from UCLA in 1976 with a B.A. in music composition and violin, he moved to the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, where he quickly established his reputation as a talented young improvising violinist, appearing on many recordings and making guest appearances with the David Grisman Quartet and jazz violin legend Stephane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....
. In 1981 he undertook a Masters Degree program in music composition at Antioch University West, where his groundbreaking work integrating stylistic elements of jazz, European classical, American folk and Indian classical music led to the creation of the Turtle Island Quartet in the fall of 1985.
His tenure with TIQ has included several recordings on labels such as Windham Hill, Chandos, Koch and Telarc, which released their most recent CD, 2008 Grammy winning “A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John Coltrane.” Their previous Telarc release, “4+Four,” in collaboration with the Ying Quartet
Ying Quartet
The Ying Quartet is an American string quartet. The Ying siblings from Winnetka, Illinois, formed the quartet in 1988 while studying at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music. The quartet began performing in the farm town of Jesup, Iowa, as the first artists involved in the National...
, also won a Grammy in the same category, Classical Crossover, in 2006. Balakrishnan has also himself received two GRAMMY nominations in the category of best instrumental arrangement, the first for his arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
's "A Night In Tunisia" from TIQ's first recording, and the second for his arrangement of “You’ve Changed,” from their 2002 release Danzón, featuring clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera. Other TIQ credits include soundtracks for major motion pictures, TV and radio credits such as the Today Show and All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, feature articles in People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
and Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazines, and collaborations with famed artists such as The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer is an American vocal music group. There have been two manifestations of the group, with Tim Hauser being the only person to be part of both...
, pianists Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in...
and Kenny Barron, the Ying Quartet
Ying Quartet
The Ying Quartet is an American string quartet. The Ying siblings from Winnetka, Illinois, formed the quartet in 1988 while studying at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music. The quartet began performing in the farm town of Jesup, Iowa, as the first artists involved in the National...
and the Parsons Dance Company
Parsons Dance Company
-External links:*** accessed 23 June 2007**...
.
Balakrishnan has been awarded numerous composing grants, both from private sources such as conductor Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
, who commissioned his piece for violin and orchestra, “Little Mouse Jumps,” as well as national service organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and Meet The Composer
Meet the Composer
Meet the Composer is an American organization founded in 1974 by the composer John Duffy as a project of the New York State Council on the Arts. It seeks to assist composers in making a living through writing music by sponsoring commissioning, residency, education, and audience interaction...
foundations. In 2005 he received a MTC/ASOL “Music Alive” three year extended residency with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, for which he is composing six orchestral works. The NCO also commissioned Balakrishnan’s composition “Darkness Dreaming,” which premiered in April 2004 with guitarists Sharon Isbin
Sharon Isbin
Sharon Isbin is a widely-recorded American classical guitarist, recording artist, concertizer, and the founder of the Guitar Department at the Juilliard School.-Early life and education:...
and John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson is a US musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, Jorgenson is also proficient in the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel, piano, upright bass, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone...
. His piece, “Spider Dreams” (1992), has been widely performed and recorded throughout the world by a diverse array of musical organizations, including a live recording by Turtle Island with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...
conducted by Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...
on Chandos Records. A 2002 commission awarded by a consortium of presenters headed by the Lied Center of Kansas City resulted in a string octet entitled “Mara’s Garden Of False Delights,” which is featured on Turtle Island String Quartet
Turtle Island
- Places :* Turtle Island, Queensland , the name of four islands in Queensland, Australia* Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi, a group of islands in the Southern Philippines...
’s Grammy winning Telarc release, “4 plus Four.” His most recent commission is again from the Lied Center, who received a Creative Campus grant from the Duke foundation, for which Balakrishnan is composing a full length work involving theatre, dance, video, and Turtle Island with the KU wind ensemble that is an artistic response to the social issues concerning the various theories of evolution, both scientific and cultural, entitled “The Tree Of Life.”
Compositions and Performances
Trishula, for violin and symphony orchestra- premiered June 2007 at Schermerhorn Symphony HallSchermerhorn Symphony CenterSchermerhorn Symphony Center is a symphony center in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Ground was broken for construction on December 3, 2003. The center formally opened on September 9, 2006, with a gala concert conducted by Leonard Slatkin and broadcast by PBS affiliates throughout the state...
in Nashville by violinist Gilles Apap and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Paul Gambill.
Groove In The Louvre, for guitar, string quartet and string orchestra
- premiered September 2006 for the inauguration of the Schermerhorn Symphony HallSchermerhorn Symphony CenterSchermerhorn Symphony Center is a symphony center in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Ground was broken for construction on December 3, 2003. The center formally opened on September 9, 2006, with a gala concert conducted by Leonard Slatkin and broadcast by PBS affiliates throughout the state...
in Nashville by guitarist John JorgensonJohn JorgensonJohn Jorgenson is a US musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, Jorgenson is also proficient in the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel, piano, upright bass, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone...
, the Turtle Island Quartet and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Paul Gambill.
The Second Wave, for guitar and string octet
- premiered March 2006 in Nashville by guitarist John Jorgenson, the Turtle Island Quartet and the section leaders of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Paul Gambill.
Confetti Man, for String Orchestra
- premiered March 2006 in Nashville by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra conducted by Paul Gambill.
Darkness Dreaming, for violin, two guitars and Chamber Orchestra
- premiered April 2004 in Nashville by the composer, classical guitarist Sharon Isbin, jazz guitarist John Jorgenson, and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra conducted by Paul Gambill.
Mara’s Garden Of False Delights, for string octet
- premiered October 2002 at the Lied Center at the University of Kansas, by the Turtle Island and Ying quartets. Several subsequent performances at performing arts centers across the country.
InterPlay for Mandolin Quartet and Violin
- premiered January 1997 at the Hult Performing Art Center in Eugene, Oregon by the Modern Mandolin Quartet and the composer on violin. Subsequent performances by the MMQ and the composer as well as other violinists such as Darol Anger and Jeremy Cohen. Rearranged in 2002 for TIQ and Orchestra, version premiered March 2002 in Aalborg Denmark by TIQ and the Aalborg symphony, conducted by Svenn Skipper.
Concertino For Jazz Violin And Orchestra: Little Mouse Jumps
- premiered September 1995 at the Hult Performing Art Center in Eugene, Oregon by the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop Re-arranged in 2000 for TIQ and Orchestra, premiered by the Peoria Symphony, conducted by David Commanday. Several subsequent performances in Europe and America
Spider Dreams, seven movements for jazz string orchestra
- premiered July 1992 at the Cabrillo festival, Santa Cruz, CA, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop
- performed March 1993 at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York by the Turtle Island Quartet and the Concordia Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop
- performed May 1994 at the Hult Performing Art Center in Eugene, Oregon by the Turtle Island Quartet and the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop
- performed May 1994 at Symphony Hall in Detroit by the Turtle Island Quartet and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Neeme Järvi
- Ongoing performance schedule with the TISQ and other orchestras throughout the world.
The Iron Fist Of Fashion, two movements for string quartet and big band
- premiered March 1991 at Yoshi's Nitespot by the Bay Area Jazz Composers' Orchestra, conducted by John English
- performed April 1993 at the Freight and Salvage by the Bay Area Jazz Composers' Orchestra and the Turtle Island Quartet, conducted by John English
Turtle Island History
- 1987-present--Numerous performances of various original compositions for string quartet with the Turtle Island Quartet in concert halls and jazz clubs throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and the Orient, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Hall, Davies Hall, Royce Hall, etc.
- Television appearances on the "Today show," "CBS Sunday Morning," the "Disney Channel," the "Discovery channel," and various local news and entertainment shows throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
- Radio shows such as "All Things Considered," "Morning Edition," "New Sounds," "West Coast Weekend," etc.
- Collaborations with the Manhattan Transfer, Paquito D’Rivera, Modern Jazz Quartet, David Parsons Dance Company, Billy Taylor Trio, Stephane Grappelli, David Grisman, etc.
Recordings (compositions)
- A Love Supreme: The legacy Of John Coltrane, Turtle Island Quartet, Telarc Records, 2007.
- 4+Four, Turtle Island String Quartet with Ying Quartet, Telarc Records, 2005.
-
- “Mara’s Garden Of False Delights” three movements for string octet
- Danzón, Turtle Island String Quartet with Paquito D’Rivera, Koch International Classics, 2002.
-
- “Little Mouse Jumps” for string quartet
- Art Of The Groove, Turtle Island String Quartet, Koch International Classics, 2000.
-
- “Fruitcake” for string quartet
- InterPlay, Modern Mandolin Quartet with David Balakrishnan, D’note Records,1999.
-
- “InterPlay,” four movements for mandolin quartet and violin
- The Hamburg Concert, Turtle Island String Quartet, CC&C Records, 1998.
- Skylife, three movements of Spider Dreams, for string quartet
- A Night In Tunisia, A Night In Detroit, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Turtle Island String Quartet, conducted by Neeme Järvi, Chandos, 1994. Two movements from "Spider Dreams."
- Spider Dreams, Turtle Island String Quartet, Windham Hill Jazz, 1992.
-
- "Spider Dreams," seven movements for string orchestra, "The Iron Fist Of Fashion," two movements for string quartet and big band
- On The Town, Turtle Island String Quartet, Windham Hill Jazz, 1991.
- Skylife, Turtle Island String Quartet, Windham Hill Jazz, 1990.
-
- "Skylife," "Tremors," for string quartet
- Metropolis, Turtle Island String Quartet, Windham Hill Jazz, 1990.
-
- "Mr. Bumbles," for string quartet
- Turtle Island String Quartet, Windham Hill Jazz, 1988.
-
- "Balapadam," four movements for string quartet