Ayman Fanous & Frances-Marie Uitti
Aluminum cello, electric guitar and bouzouki”Being Artist in Residence at Splendor is pure love! The people, the acoustics, the possibilities... like being a kid in a candy store! I'm a cellist, improvisor, composer, inventor of new instruments and resonators… and above all restless. Maybe I just have ADHD.”
Meet Frances-Marie Uitti: Artist in Residence at Splendor for a year. Frances-Marie's ceaseless curiosity to conjure ever more possibilities from her cello – for example by playing with two bows, or by inventing entirely new instruments such as the all sensor 12 string double bridged cello – has inspired leading composers such as György Kurtág, Luigi Nono, and Jonathan Harvey to write new music especially for her.
During her residency, Frances-Marie invites a number of fascinating guests to Splendor. Tonight she welcomes the Egyptian Ayman Fanous: a virtuoso on both the bouzouki (Greek lute) and the electric guitar. On both instruments he interweaves classical, flamenco and free jazz into a very own style, which he often enriches with musical influences from his Egyptian roots, as well as from Turkey, India, North Africa, Persia and the Balkan. Aynan plays with among others William Parker, Ned Rothenberg, Mark Feldman and Joe Morris. Having performed with him in New York, Washington and Cairo, Frances-Marie invites Ayman to Splendor for a recording session of their next CD, and a concert of their latest collaborative work with electric guitar, amplified aluminum (!) cello and bouzouki.
"[he is a] master musician/composer pursuing the most imaginative alternatives to the status quo... who was honed distinctive and unconventional methods on both guitar and bouzouki managing to synergize classical, flamenco and free jazz techniques."
All About Jazz
"The spectacularly gifted cellist, Frances-Marie Uitti has made a career out of demolishing musical boundaries. She has developed new techniques (most famously, playing with two bows simultaneously), collaborated with a who's who of contemporary composers, and pushed the cello into realms of unexpected beauty and expression...."
Washington Post
Join Frances-Marie and Ayman in Splendor's café after the concert to chat and hear all about his amazing day job!
Ayman Fanous - bouzouki & electric guitar
Frances-Marie Uitti - electric aluminum cello