Fernando Rocha & Elise Pittenger
Percussion-Cello Duo

Tickets: $15/$10 students

Married couple Fernando Rocha and cellist Elise Pittenger bring a wide range of musical experiences to their percussion-cello duo, including work with electronics and theatre as well as acoustic contemporary music. Between them, their musical background includes studies of orchestral repertoire, baroque cello, electronic music, spectral music, improvisation, jazz, theatre music, and Brazilian percussion. As former residents of North America (Montreal, QC, and the East Coast of the United States) and current residents of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, they are familiar with new music communities from both continents, and their repertoire includes pieces by composers from Canada, the US, Brazil, and Europe.

Fernando is currently Head of Percussion at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and Elise is Acting Principal Cello in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Minas Gerais (Orquestra Filarmonica de Minas Gerais); in addition to their work at their respective institutions, they are both active chamber musicians in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where they perform in two contemporary music ensembles as well as a number of chamber music series. They have a shared dedication to education and are both active giving lectures and performances at UFMG as well as other universities around Brazil.

Their current repertoire list includes:
-Martin Bresnick, Songs of the Mouse People, for vibraphone and cello
-Roberto Victorio, Vattanan, for cello and percussion
-Judah Adashi, Eight Haiku by Richard Wright, adapted for marimba and cello
-Sean Griffin, Patty Cake, for two musicians
-Kaija Saariaho, Serenatas, for cello, percussion, and piano
-free improvisation
-João Pedro Oliveira, new work (commissioned) for vibraphone, cello, and electronics
-Sergio Rodrigo, new work for vibraphone and cello
as well as solos by Kaija Saariaho, Sergio Freire, Fernando Rocha, and João Pedro Oliveira.

In addition to their performances, Fernando and Elise also offer instrumental masterclasses as well as lecture-workshops on electronics, Brazilian music, and Instrumental Music Theatre.