"Conundrum's performance was the highlight of our festival - a great performance from beginning to end!"
Ken Froelich, DM Assistant Professor of Music (Composition) & Director, Cal State Fresno New Music Festival
Conundrum is a dynamic group of musicians who love to make music together. Whether performing in a riverfront pavilion, a moonlit observatory, a whacky museum of signs or on the conventional concert stage, Conundrum creates a special musical experience that generates excitement and anticipation in their diverse and growing audience.
Since their premiere season in 2005-2006, Conundrum has rapidly gained a reputation for audience-oriented new music played with passion, humor and conviction. The ensemble's repertoire is a balance of newly commissioned works, transcriptions, and works featuring different combinations of their unique instrumentation-soprano, flute, clarinet and piano.
Recent Midwest appearances include the LaSalle Foundation Series, the Carnegie Arts Center, the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Dayton Art Institute. Known for performing in unconventional spaces, the group has produced popular "event" concerts at the Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park, the Cincinnati Observatory and the American Sign Museum. Their loyal fan base grows exponentially as word of these events creates buzz and intrigue in both the mainstream and arts communities.
As the muse for many composers, Conundrum has expanded the chamber music repertoire substantially in a short period of time. They have been the featured ensemble at the Fresno New Music Festival, the Society of Composers, Inc. conference at Ball State University, and the subject of a composer commission/residency at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. This exposure to the national community of composers has generated many exciting new works for both the ensemble and its individual players.
"A refreshingly intimate approach to new music."
-Devin Farney, Composer, San Francisco.
Conundrum was born of the idea that a chamber music ensemble built on friendship and mutual respect combined with expansive virtuosity and a love for communication will captivate an audience. The group's individuals are distinctive soloists who each have diverse musical experience and training. Conundrum is Mary Elizabeth Southworth,soprano; Danielle Hundley, flute; Marianne Breneman, clarinet; and Philip Amalong, piano.