15 July 2022, 7.30 p.m., Courtyard of the Municipal Authority
Ellaboration
Dasha
Epoque Quartet
- David Pokorný – 1st violin, Vladimír Klánský – 2 nd violin, Vladimír Kroupa - viol, Vít Petrášek - violoncello
Program:
Duke Ellington / Juan Tizol – Caravan
Ron Miller / Orlando Murden / Stevie Wonder – For Once in My Life
Richard Rodgers / Lorenz Hart – My Funny Valentine
Duke Ellington / Eddie DeLange, Irving Mills –Solitude
Cole Porter – Too Darn Hot
Harold Arlen / Yip Harburg – Over the Rainbow
Fabian Andre / Gus Kahn – Dream a Little Dream of Me
Sholom Secunda / Jacob Jacobs - BeiMir Bistu Shein
Bill Carey / Carl Fischer – You´ve Changed
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin – Someone to Watch Over Me
Cole Porter - So in Love
Richard Rodgers/ Lorenz Hart - This Can‘t be Love
Cole Porter - I Hate Men
ELLABORATION
The name of this new project from singer Dasha and the Epoque Quartet refers to the phenomenon of Ella Fitzgerald. Songs made famous by this jazz icon are performed, or worked into new, unique settings. The specific and amazingly complex sound of the combination of the string quartet and various percussion instruments (hang drum, vibraphone, cajón), in which Šimon Veselý excels, gives space to lead singer Dasha to show her unique talents in a slightly different sphere than we are used to. The author of most of the treatments is arrangement wizard Alexey Aslamas.
DASHA
Dasha graduated from the State Conservatory in Prague and continued her studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2005. For many years she worked as a vocalist for Karel Gott and she now performs solo on television programmes (e.g. Stardance) and with the band Pajky Pajk and the Moondance Orchestra. She also has several symphonic projects under her belt with Martin Kumžák, author of the arrangements and conductor: for example, Dasha Symphony, Oratorium of St. Wenceslas, and Michael Jackson Symphony. She played the title role in Cinderella the musical, Ophelia in the Czech and English versions of Hamlet the musical, Mia in Galileo, and the character of Jewish girl Rebecca in the musical Golem. She also played the title roles of Angelica and Mona Lisa in musicals of the same name, Katarina and Carmen (alternating with Lucie Bílá) in Carmen the musical, in the musical Elton John – AIDA on the boards of Karlín Musical Theatre, in the title role in Bonnie and Clyde, or in the musical Iago by Janek Ledecký. Dasha won a Thalia Award in 2010 for the role of Mary Magdalene in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Together with Jan Smigmator, she regularly presents the Evergreen Club on Czech Radio Two. In 2017, she released a CD called Finally, for which she received a gold disc, and in 2020, another album, Dasha Symphony, in cooperation with Supraphon.
The multi-genre Epoque Quartet celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. During this time, it has established a solid position on the Czech and European music scene, shifted the boundaries of the quartet repertoire significantly, and profiled itself as a top ensemble that is invited to work with a number of great musicians from various sectors of the music industry.
The quartet’s most interesting projects include a tour with Dan Bárta and Illustratosphere, collaboration with bands such as Monkey Business, Tatabojs, and Clarinet Factory, and concerts and recordings with Michal Pavlíček, Gregory Porter, Robert Balzar, Ondřej Brzobohaty, Tomáš Klus, Jiří Korn, and others. And as far as classical music is concerned, with Dagmar Pecková, Daniel Hop, Radek Baborák, Ivan Klánský, Adam Plachetka, and others.
In 2020, the ensemble’s compilation album "20 years of the Epoque Quartet" was named recording of the year in the crossover category in the prestigious Classic Prague Awards. And on the very same evening, the quartet also received the “Classic of the Year” award for its annual concert at Lucerne in Prague.
Its most recent achievements include the award-winning CD "Epoque Quartet plays Jan Kučera", which sums up the great man's many years of cooperation with the ensemble and which was nominated for an Angel 2018 award. It also released a CD entitled "Flow", premiered in New York and featuring Canadian pianist and composer David Braid, with whom EQ toured China. Indeed “Flow” made it on to the shortlist for the prestigious Canadian Juno Award. The ensemble received its first invitation to perform at the Prague Spring Festival in 2018. EQ is also known to a wide audience for performing on the popular TV show Stardance.
One fresh project is the "Komplot" CD, recorded and released in 2021 during the coronavirus crisis together with leading Czech clarinetist Irvin Venyš.
