Ayane and Paul

Masterclass and Performance

Known for their vibrant, high-level performances and progressive programming, New York-based duo AYANE & PAUL bring a fresh perspective to the viola/cello combination via thoughtfully-crafted sonorities and inspired musicianship. The duo formed in 2014, after Ayane Kozasa commissioned Paul Wiancko to compose a work for viola and cello. The resulting piece, “American Haiku,” explored Ayane's background as a Japanese artist growing up in the United States as well as Paul's Japanese-American heritage. Over the course of the collaboration, the two discovered a musical bond and a penchant for connecting with listeners on and off the stage.

Since premiering “American Haiku” at the S&R Foundation in Washington D.C., Ayane & Paul have shared their music with audiences around the world, in venues ranging from Antenna Cloud Farm in rural Massachusetts to Kanagawa Hall in Yokohama, Japan. They have appeared as guest artists at Spoleto Festival USA, Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, Seattle's Emerald City Music, and Music From Angel Fire, as well as the Piedmont, Portland, Methow Valley, and Denver Chamber Music Festivals.

Ayane & Paul regularly collaborate with a wide range of other artists and composers. Recently, the duo commissioned and premiered a new piece by Judd Greenstein, worked closely with Norah Jones on her album “Pick Me Up Off the Floor,” and created music with Matthew Evan Taylor in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

http://www.ayaneandpaul.com/