John Hollenbeck

I originally wrote Grey Cottage Studies, a collection of solo violin etudes, in 2008 for and with the help of violinist extraordinaire Todd Reynolds while I was at the Blue Mountain Center, an exceptional artist residency in the Adirondacks (the Grey Cottage is where the composer-in-residence lives during their residency). The goal for Grey Cottage Studies (GCS) was to take what I learned from the experience of composing a solo violin collection and subsequently develop these solo etudes into string quartet pieces. But after performing and recording the GCS, the opportunity for expansion didn’t present itself until Ryan approached me with this commission.

The titles are taken from some of my daily experiences at BMC: getting lost in the fog on a morning canoe ride and ending up on the opposite end of the lake than I intended; shaking from the cold fall weather; observing a baby deer up close; waking up and feeling gratitude and then immediately coming back to earth when I got notice of a tax penalty approaching; thinking about Meredith Monk and what she has brought to world through her music and spirit; and when BMC caretaker and now director Ben Strader yelled, “Jazz hands!” right before a group photo!

Composer/percussionist and six-time Grammy nominee John Hollenbeck is renowned in both jazz and new-music worlds. He has gained widespread recognition as the driving force behind the unclassifiable Claudia Quintet and the ambitious John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, groups with roots in jazz, world music, and contemporary composition. He is well known in new-music circles for his longtime collaboration with Meredith Monk and has worked with many of the world's leading musicians in jazz including Bob Brookmeyer, Fred Hersch, and Tony Malaby. John is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the ASCAP Jazz Vanguard Award, and a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. His most notable works include commissions by Bang on a Can All-Stars, Ethos Percussion Group, Melbourne Jazz Festival, University of Rochester, Ensemble Cairn, Orchestre National de Jazz, and Frankfurt Radio Big Band. He joined McGill University Schulich School of Music’s faculty as professor of Jazz Drums and Improvisation in 2015.