Bermel / Roco - Visions Take Flight [2 CD]

Houston-based ROCO is one of the most innovative, boundary-pushing ensembles performing today, committed to building new connections to audiences, creating new repertoire and embracing new technology. For their debut album, they asked their musicians to pick their favorite pieces from ROCO's repertoire, and what rose to the top were five of the orchestra's then fifty-eight world premiere commissions (now going on seventy-five by the end of the current season). Music includes Karim Al-Zand's haunting 'Visions from Another World,' Reena Esmail's pulsing, unpredictable 'Teen Murti,' Derek Bermel's tender 'Murmurations' (hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "delightful and often intriguing"), Anthony DiLrenzo's whimsical 'Jabberwocky,' and Marcus Maroney's Bartok-inspired 'Concerto for Chamber Orchestra.' ROCO is a professional ensemble that flexes from 1 to 40 players from all over the US and Canada, with guest artists from around the world. Performing intimate concerts in dozens of venues, ROCO's musicians don't just give concerts, they challenge preconceptions, create extraordinary experiences, and foster new relationships with audiences through the language of music.