The Fiddlers' Christmas by The Gemini Duo

" This holiday season, Dan and Duane take a step away from their classical roots and present The Fiddlers' Christmas -- a lighthearded CD of traditional Christmas carols arranged for violin and keyboards. In this offering, Dan and Duane exchange their classical violins for electric fiddles & synths and explore a variety styles -- jazz, R&B, country, Irish folk and others -- to create a playfully original collection of everyone's favorite holiday tunes. Among the many aritsts who inspired this CD are gospel singer Mathalia Jackson, jazz artists Stephane Grapelli & Jean Luc Ponty, fiddlers Marc O'Connor & Liz Carrol, singer Sarah Mclaughlin and rock guitarist Carlos Santana.

Over the years, The Gemini Duo has enjoyed a wonderful variety of musical experiences. The ensemble has earned places on the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Performing Artist Roster(2001). The Duo also won a place on the Artist Roster of Chamber Music America's Rural Residencies Program (2000) and was a semi-finalist in the 1998 Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York City. The Gemini Duo has performed as soloists with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and the National Repertoire Orchestra. The ensemble's outreach activities have been funded by grants fromthe AFM's Musicians Trust Fund and Yale University's Performance Outreach Fund. The Duo has performed at New Music New Haven (Yale University), Music at Tea Time (Boston College), Kidsfare (Northwestern University).and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival's Contemporary Music Session. Tours have taken them to Southern California, New York, Boston, Colorado, Connecticut, Chicago, and the Philippines. They have recorded for DLM(a subsidiary of SRA and McGraw/Hill, Inc.) and Two Redheads and a Vision Productions.

Also accomplished orchestra musicians, Dan and Duane have been members of The Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra. Early in their careers, they both won fellowships with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and the National Repertoire Orchestra. The twins earned their Bachelors Degrees at Northwestern University and their Masters Degrees at Yale University. Their principal teachers include, Idell Low, Gerardo Ribeiro, Victor Yampolsky and Syoko Aki. They have studied chamber music with such illustrious groups as the Vermeer String Quartet, The Borodin String Quartet,The Ying String Quartet, The Tokyo String Quartet, and The Colorado String Quartet.

As part of their commitment to music education and community involvement, Dan and Duane have recently joined the faculty of the Punahou Music School in Honolulu, HI. They will be very involved in the Punahou School String Quartet Program which provides promising music students the opportunity to study chamber music with world class coaches and instructors. In addition, Dan and Duane will be part of the Suzuki String Program. They look forward to helping young children discover the joy of music for the very first time.

For more information about The Gemini Duo, visit them on the web at www.geminiduo.com .

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