Thomas Giles - Mysteries of the Macabre (2022)

Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Giles works at the intersection of contemporary performance, improvisation, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Over the last decade Giles has forged a unique bicoastal path as the baritone chair of the San Francisco-based MANA Quartet and as a highly active freelance musician in the New York City music scene. To date, Giles has premiered more than 200 new works which include his instrument, many of which are dedicated to him. Recent premieres have included works by Marc Mellits, Nicola LeFanu, Jay Schwartz, Philip Venables, Gleb Kanasevich, Joshua Mastel, and Niki Harlafti. Giles has enjoyed close working relationships with some of today’s leading composers e.g., Meredith Monk, David Lang, Martin Bresnick, Charles Wuorinen, Mika Pelo, Dan Becker, and the American indie-rock duo Wye Oak.

Giles has played with the New York City Opera orchestra, London Royal Opera co., Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish (off-Broadway), Metropolis Ensemble, Contemporaneous, New World Symphony, Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, New Thread Quartet, and the Fall Line Ensemble. He has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Roulette Intermedium, San Francisco Mint, Princeton Sound Kitchen, American Repertory Theater at Harvard, Prototype Festival, Whitney Museum, and internationally at Bachfest Leipzig, Nußloch Kulturzentrum, Münster Musikhochschule, Szczecin International Saxophone Festival, Utrecht Bartholomeus Gasthuis, and the Citè de la Musique de Strasbourg. As a recording artist, Giles can be heard on the New Amsterdam, Albany, Lakeshore, and Mark recording labels.

As the recipient of a one-year collaborative residency with Danse Theatre Surreality, Giles was invited to co-create a large-scale interdisciplinary work during the 2018-2019 season. The premiere of Giles’ and director/co-creator Lauren Hlubny’s original evening-length work, Thoughts & Prayers, won overwhelming praise in a two-week run off-Broadway. Critics called Thoughts & Prayers “a gripping and beautifully executed investigation of the troubles of our times” (Reviews Hub America), “a sensitive recognition of present traumas, a sincere hope for the future, and a heartfelt call to action” (Thinking Theater NYC), and “a masterfully orchestrated conglomeration…a powerhouse of performance” with “poignant music that gives you goosebumps…with moments of drug-inducing calm at some points and adrenaline-powered strength at others” (Broadway World). In addition to composing the music, Giles’ performed a demanding solo role within the production, which included acting and choreography, as well as virtuosic playing.

Giles is on faculty at the Aaron Copland School of Music - Queens College and has previously held teaching positions at Syracuse University and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in Manhattan. He frequently gives masterclasses at institutions across the United States and Europe, including the Manhattan School of Music, Miami’s Frost School of Music, the CUNY Graduate Center, the Hartt School, the Arts Academy of Szczecin, Landesgymnasium für Musik in Dresden, and many others. Giles is a D’Addario Woodwinds Performing Artist and a graduate of the Florida State University (Doctor of Music, 2016). His principal teachers include Timothy McAllister, Lawrence Gwozdz, Patrick Meighan, and in Germany, extensive private study with legendary saxophonist, Carina Raschèr.

Georgian-American pianist Dr. Liana Pailodze Harron is a bold performer, recognized for her passionate and striking interpretations of contemporary classical music. She has appeared at leading venues across the United States and Europe, including Carnegie Hall, Benaroya Hall, Arsht Center, Lincoln Center, the New World Center, and the United Nations. Musical collaborators include Maestro Zubin Mehta and Maestro Leon Botstein, as well as Joshua Bell, Julian Rachlin, Sting, and Steven Tyler.

A champion of contemporary music, Liana cultivates diverse collaborations guided by artistic curiosity. As a soloist, Liana has performed with the Shilakadze Chamber Orchestra, the Georgian Television Orchestra, the Georgian Symphonic Orchestra, the Frost Symphony Orchestra, and the Frost Wind Ensemble. Most recently, she has worked with saxophonist
Dr. Thomas A. Giles, honing works of Györgi Ligeti and Olivier Messiaen among others, with an album Mysteries of The Macabre released in Spring 2022. Liana’s work in Vesna Duo with percussionist Dr. Ksenija Komljenović garnered rave reviews at the 2022 Chamber Music America Conference. Their recording of Igor Stravinky’s The Rite of Spring for marimba and piano arranged by Komljenović will be released in Spring 2022.

A prolific recording artist, Liana has embodied contemporary works by composers such as Alexej Gerassimez and Archil Giorgobiani, beloved classics of Hindemith and Respighi, and modern repertoire from John Adams and Ólafur Arnalds, the latter of which she arranged for piano and Loopstation. Her most recent solo album Light-Year is a heart-rending collection of intimate pieces, cast from cinematic and contemporary composers Jóhann Jóhannsson, Max Richter, Philip Glass, Ólafur Arnalds, and Kris Lennox.

Currently a faculty member of the prestigious 92nd Street Y School of Music, Liana teaches applied music lessons and groups classes to a wide array of students. She is also an in-demand clinician, holding masterclasses and workshops at universities around the United States. She holds her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.