J-Way String Quartet

J-Way String Quartet–an innovative quartet of Jamaica Plain residents Catherine Bent (cello), Helen Sherrah-Davies (5-string violin), Rika Ikeda (violin), and Tomoko Iwamoto (violin) will offer a program featuring original pieces by J-Way and other modern classical and Brazilian selections, on Sunday, November 18, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. at the historic Loring-Greenough House, 12 South Street, Jamaica Plain.

Meet the artists at afternoon tea following the program.

The Sunday Afternoon at the ‘Greenough House series recreates the atmosphere of 18th and 19th century “musical afternoons” in the 1760 Loring-Greenough House, twice monthly, October to May. Tickets are available at the door: donation $15 ($10 seniors, students and JPTC members). Space is limited; reservations are suggested—call 617-524-3158 or email lghouseconcerts@aim.com.

J-Way was founded by associate faculty and graduates of Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory with a common interest in jazz and creative music. Four accomplished string players with training in the European tradition and the music of various parts of world bring their original compositions and arrangements, music from Argentina and Brazil and other music with African roots. All of its members being emigrants from other continents, J-Way appreciates the paths that music travels, the deep vibrations of the old world within the new, and the special weight of time and place when music is performed far from home.

Tomoko Iwamoto is a violinist, arranger and composer. She started playing the violin at the age of six in Osaka,Japan. She played the saxophone and sang in a commercial band while pursuing engineering studies in college. After moving to the US to attend Berklee College of Music, she performed in the classical Ensembles, Lexington Symphony Orchestra, New England Philharmonic, Avalon String Quartet, Gliere String Duo, and Clef Club,and in jazz and Latin ensembles including A la Modal, Hypnotic Clambake, Rumbo Sur, and Greater Bostonians. Tomoko holds a BA from Berklee and a BS from Keio University. She currently teaches on the faculty at Brookline Music School and leads a double life as a software localization specialist. Tomoko arranges and composes for J-Way, Mood Swings Orchestra, and Newton All-City Orchestra.

Rika Ikeda is a native of Japan. Having a well known jazz pianist, Hiroshi Ikeda as father, and professional classical singer as mother, Ms. Ikeda started piano at the age of 3, and violin at 4. She received Bachelor and Master degrees from Osaka College of Music, Japan, where she intensively studied classical violin with Tomotada Soh and Takako Murata. Her classical studies extended to master classes in Internationales Jugend – Festspieltreffen Bayreuth (Germany), Aspen Music School, The Bowdoin International Music Festival (USA), Cupra MusicFestival (Italy), Tring (UK), Stow (UK), and Courchevel Music Alp (France).

After many years as a classical performer and educator in her native Britain, five-string violinist and composer Helen Sherrah-Davies relocated to Boston, graduated from Berklee College of Music, (Summa Cum Laude) with the “most valuable player” award, and gained a Masters (with Academic Honours) in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory. International credits include performing with Jon Lord (Deep Purple) in Switzerland, the wedding of “Posh Spice” to David Beckham in Ireland, Montepulciano Opera Festival Orchestra in Italy, and recently at an International Music Festival in the West Bank, Palestine, also teaching at Al Kamandjati in Ramallah. StarStuff,her debut recording as a leader, is the fruit of her remarkable transatlantic quest, the fulfillment of a vibrant and seasoned artistic vision. Darol Anger, acclaimed fiddler, has described Helen’s music as “so strong, it approaches the status of a new sentient being…. Even in the most thorny, complex episodes,we are moved to care, laugh and rejoice, washed by waves of melodic love.” Helen is an Assistant Professor of Harmony at Berklee College of Music, and Visiting Jazz String Teacher (Community Programs) at Longy School of Music in Cambridge. For more information, see www.helensherrahdavies.com.

English-born and New York-bred cellist and composer Catherine Bent is an active freelancer in Boston and New York City.  A musician of great stylistic breadth as well as depth, she has toured with Cirque du Soleil, played on Broadway in “Les Miserables”and “Cats”, and been principal cellist of the One World Symphony. Catherine has performed live and on TV with Kanye West, Greg Osby, Lee Konitz, Joe Jackson, Donna Summer, Enya, Anthony Braxton, Dafnis Prieto, Palm Beach Opera and Merce Cunningham Dance Company. In thirty-second bites, her cello is featured in commercials for Jameson’s, Xbox, AmEx and Clorox.  Catherine is director and contractor of the New England event music service Axis Ensemble (www.axisensemble.net)and engineer and director of the music production company Sweet Spot Strings (www.sweetspotstrings.com). Catherine is Assistant Professor of Ear Training and Strings at Berklee College of Music, gives workshops in string improvisation to elementary and high school students, and teaches all ages in her studio. Catherine earned her Masters Degree in Jazz Studies at New England Conservatory and currently writes and performs her own music, with influences from jazz, European and Brazilian music. Visit her on the web at: www.catherinebent.com.

Built in 1760, the Loring-Greenough House, a local landmark listed on the Massachusetts and National Registers of Historic Places, is located at 12 South Street (at the Civil War Monument) in Jamaica Plain, MA. It is owned and managed by the non-profit Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club, Inc. as a historic house museum and site for art and music presentations. The Loring-Greenough House is wheelchair accessible. For more information on the Loring-Greenough House, see www.loring-greenough.org.

For reservations or directions, call (617)524-3158, or email lghouseconcerts@aim.com.

Upcoming concerts in this series:

• Sunday, December 2:  Canzonare: (Canzonare–Italian: to tease) Trio stimulates the musical palate with little-known offerings from the baroque repertoire for harpsichord (Dylan Sauerwald), soprano (Sarah Bellott), and traverso (Kateri Chambers)


• Sunday, December 16: Pioneer Consort Holiday Program. Trio leads their audiences on a tour of diverse cultures and styles – classical, jazz, folk and international idioms – and on a dazzling array of instruments. Chris Devine (violin, mandolin, guitar, and woodwinds), Michael Nix (guitars, mandolin, banjo and Banjar–a seven string classical banjo of his own design), and Greg Snedeker (cello and piano) combine their love of improvisation, arranging, and composition with consummate musical skills to create intimate performances rich in warmth, humor, and funky elegance.


• Sunday, January 6: Boston Impromptu. The Boston-based jazz trio Yas Ishibashi (keyboard and vocals), Bob Wyckoff (trumpet and vocals), and Liz Horwitz (bass) present a program of songs, ballads and swing tunes from what is often referred to as “The Great American Songbook,” music from the 30′s through the 50′s.