Music of the Spheres – Fire and Grace

Fire & Grace is an eclectic collaboration between guitarist William Coulter and violinist Edwin Huizinga. This unique duo explores the connective musical elements of classical, folk, and contemporary traditions from around the world. Fire & Grace’s repertoire is vast, ranging from Bach to Vivaldi, tango to Celtic tunes, traditional Bulgarian to American fiddle tunes and waltzes, all played with a sense of discovery and commitment to the elements of passion and virtuosity — fire and grace — found in these diverse traditions. Recent and upcoming performances have included engagements at the Carmel Bach Festival, the Mozaic Festival, the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, the Electric Earth Concerts, the Monterey Museum of Art, and with Tomaseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas. In March and April 2017, Fire & Grace toured to New Zealand with appearances at the UPSURGE Festival, the Festival of Colour, and the New Zealand School of Music. The group’s self-titled debut album combines melodies from Argentina, Bulgaria, and Western Europe with dance elements from baroque and folk musical traditions.

Edwin Huizinga

Performing both baroque and modern repertoire, Canadian violinist Edwin Huizinga has appeared alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Dawn Upshaw, Mike Marshall, and Stevie Wonder, and has been featured as a soloist with the San Bernardino Symphony, the Sweetwater Music Festival, the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, and the Banff Summer Arts Festival. Edwin is a founding member of the baroque ensemble ACRONYM which has released six full-length albums of previously unknown and unrecorded baroque music. Edwin also performs all over the world with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. As a modern violinist, Edwin has performed in the US and Germany with The Knights NYC, and occasionally works with A Far Cry. Edwin is also a member of the Juno-nominated indie rock band The Wooden Sky, and has recently been commissioned to write a piece for Canada’s 150th anniversary. He is a founding member of the Classical Revolution–an organization dedicated to shaping the future of concerts and jam sessions in alternative locations around the world–and serves as Artistic Director of the Big Sur Music Camp.

William Coulter

Guitarist William Coulter has been performing and recording traditional guitar music for over twenty years. His most recent solo recording, The Road Home (Gourd Music) was met with critical acclaim, and in 2005, he received a Grammy Award for his contribution to The Pink Guitar, a collection of solo guitar arrangements of Henry Mancini’s music. Musical collaborations have been a mainstay of William’s career and have included many tours and recordings including Song for Our Ancestors, with classical guitar virtuoso Benjamin Verdery, Time to Sail and One Sweet Kiss and Westward with Kerry-born Irish singer Eilis Kennedy, Simple Gifts – Music of the Shakers with cellist Barry Phillips, and Celtic Requiem with Irish vocalist Mary McLaughlin. His book of transcriptions, Celtic Crossing, published by Mel Bay, includes all of the music from his recording of the same name. William maintains a classical guitar studio at the University of California at Santa Cruz at teaches at many summer music camps.

For more details go to the Fire & Grace web site.