Containing no pre-conceived material, ”Ad Libitum” offers the audience a chance to experience the raw creative process from start to finish as the completely improvised concert unfolds. Like a conversation between two friends that develops spontaneously, there will be references to past material, debates, moments of agreement, questions, declarations, conclusions, perhaps even epiphanies. Come enjoy an evening of unpredictable music making that is sure to surprise and fascinate.
Musicians
John Kamfonas, pianist, and saxophonist Wilson Poffenberger, both Harriet Hale Woolley scholars, met at the Fondation des Etats-Unis last year. They quickly discovered a common passion for improvisation. The audience of Rendez-vous Musical has surely already had the chance to see them perform.
Wilson Poffenberger is a saxophonist and educator based out of the United States. A strong advocate for new music, Wilson premiered has new works for the saxophone is both the United States and Europe. Wilson is pursuing the Cycle D’Orientation Professionnelle at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Boulogne-Billancourt under the tutelage of Jean-Michel Goury.
Embracing his penchant for improvisation alongside his passion for the classical and contemporary repertoire, the pianist John Kamfonas has given performances around the world, from Italy to India, Beijing to New York, which have been described as possessing “a grandeur that lifted the music into the sublime…and a delicacy that took one’s breath away.” He was Harriet Hale Wooley scholarship in 2015-2016. John is currently a musician in residence at the Fondation des Etats-Unis and is pursuing a graduate diploma at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris under the guidance of Marian Rybicki and Jean Fassina.
This video was filmed by Inventio during the Carte blanche aux résidents de la Fondation des Etats-Unis concert on November 9, 2016.