VORTEX Ari Cohen Mann, Benjamin Smith, Kevin Day, Daniel Ramjattan

• Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971): Pulcinella Suite, K034b:
• 1 Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, K034b: I. Sinfonia (Arr. for Oboe & Piano by Ari Cohen Mann & Cornelia Sommer) 02:12
• 2 Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, K034b: II. Serenata (Arr. for Oboe & Piano by Ari Cohen Mann & Cornelia Sommer) 03:09
• 3 Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, K034b: V. Toccata (Arr. for Oboe & Piano by Ari Cohen Mann & Cornelia Sommer) 00:55
• 4 Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, K034b: VI. Gavotta con due variazioni (Arr. for Oboe & Piano by Ari Cohen Mann & Cornelia Sommer) 03:30
• 5 Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, K034b: VIII. Minuetto - Finale (Arr. for Oboe & Piano by Ari Cohen Mann & Cornelia Sommer) 03:32
• Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962): Aria for Oboe & Piano:
• 6 Higdon: Aria for Oboe & Piano 05:06
• Kevin Day (b. 1996): VORTEX:
• 7 Day: VORTEX 05:50
• Rodney Sharman (b. 1958): Famous Last Words:
• 8 Sharman: Famous Last Words 07:42
• Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000): The Enchanted Island:
• 9 Coulthard: The Enchanted Island 05:43
• Christopher Tyler Nickel (b. 1978): English Horn Sonata No. 1:
• 10 Nickel: English Horn Sonata No. 1: I. Adagio 04:50
• 11 Nickel: English Horn Sonata No. 1: II. Adagio 04:38
• 12 Nickel: English Horn Sonata No. 1: III. Allegro 03:03
• Jocelyn Morlock (1969 - 2023): Verdigris for Oboe and Guitar:
• 13 Morlock: Verdigris for Oboe and Guitar 03:52
• Total Runtime 54:02

Info zu VORTEX

Vortex schlägt ein neues, kühnes Kapitel für Oboe und Englischhorn auf – Instrumente, die als Kammermusiksolisten allzu oft übersehen werden. Der Oboist Ari Cohen Mann, dessen „brillante Virtuosität“ (The Whole Note) hochgelobt wird, spielt gemeinsam mit dem Pianisten Benjamin Smith, dem Gitarristen Daniel Ramjattan und dem Komponisten und Pianisten Kevin Day ein Programm voller Witz, Lyrik, Dynamik und Introspektion. Die Reise beginnt mit Strawinskys Pulcinella – hier neu für Oboe und Klavier von Cohen Mann und Cornelia Sommer transkribiert –, wo barocke Eleganz auf Strawinskys augenzwinkernden Neoklassizismus trifft. Von dort führt Jennifer Higdons ergreifende Aria zum Titeltrack des Albums, Kevin Days elektrisierendem VORTEX, das auf der Konferenz der International Double Reed Society unter Standing Ovations uraufgeführt wurde. Werke von Rodney Sharman (Famous Last Words), Jean Coulthard (The Enchanted Island) und C. Tyler Nickel (Englischhornsonate) offenbaren die Ausdruckskraft und moderne Vielseitigkeit des Englischhorns, während Jocelyn Morlocks Verdigris, arrangiert für Oboe und Gitarre, eine sanfte, meditative Schlusspassage bietet. Vortex feiert Oboe und Englischhorn als Instrumente der Klangfarbe, der Dramatik und der Lyrik – Instrumente, die eine ganze Klangwelt tragen können.

Ari Cohen Mann, Oboe & English Horn
Benjamin Smith, Klavier
Kevin Day, Klavier (Track 7)
Daniel Ramjattan, Gitarre

Ari Cohen Mann
serves up “brilliant virtuosity” (The Whole Note) through their playing and brightness and optimism through their popular social media channels. Ari has been hailed as the “Jonathan Van Ness of the oboe” (CBC Music), proudly championing their queer identity and serving as a role model for LGBTQ youth. Based in Toronto, Ari is a dynamic recitalist, new music proponent, orchestral musician, and educator. Recognized on CBC’s 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30, they are also a Howarth Artist, performing on a Howarth LXV-VT oboe. With playing described as “emotionally charged” (Ludwig van Toronto), Ari’s career includes performances as a concerto soloist with the PEI Symphony Orchestra, National Academy Orchestra, Canadian Studio Symphony, and Ontario Philharmonic. Ari has premiered works by composers such as Kevin Day, Jocelyn Morlock, Nicky Sohn, Matthew Emery, and Felipe Téllez. Ari’s solo debut at Carnegie Hall was with harpist Noël Wan, as featured artists in the Yale in New York series. Ari was a prizewinner at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition, and the winner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition and Ben Steinberg Musical Legacy Award. As a faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University, Ari teaches oboe and coaches chamber music. www.oboeari.com

Benjamin Smith
Described by the Barrie Examiner as having “scintillating technique”, Canadian pianist Benjamin Smith resides in Toronto, serving on the piano faculty of the Glenn Gould School (GGS) and Taylor Young Artist Academy at the Royal Conservatory. He has performed across North America, highlighted by appearances as soloist in both Carnegie and Alice Tully halls, and has partnered in concert with international soloists and principal players from orchestras around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Philharmoniker, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, and all major Canadian orchestras. With much time devoted to chamber music, he is currently a member of the Andromeda piano trio, previously having played with the Israelievitch-Smith-Ahn trio for several seasons, and he is a regular at festivals including Toronto Summer Music (Canada), Festival del Lago (Mexico), and Chamber Music at New Park (NY, USA). Along with a doctorate from Stony Brook University, he holds degrees from Juilliard, GGS, and the University of Toronto. 2025 marks Ben’s debut on Orchid Classics.

Daniel Ramjattan
is a classical guitarist and recording artist, recitalist, and performance coach based in Toronto, Canada. He has given recitals in Austria, Italy, Canada, the United States, the West Indies, and Japan. He has premiered dozens of new works for guitar and for chamber music and guitar and has won prestigious prizes in competitions provincial and national. His first studio album, “Inspirations: New Works for Solo Guitar”, highlights his performances of six brilliant works by Canadian composers, including three world premieres. Paolo Pietropaolo of CBC Radio featured the album as his Record of the Week in March 2022, and WholeNote magazine described his playing as “beautifully pure”. His playing has been featured on platforms such as Siccas Guitars in Karlsruhe, Germany. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Toronto, where he completed his dissertation on music performance anxiety in classical guitarists. He works as a studio instructor and lecturer at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada while maintaining an active chamber music, solo, and teaching career in Toronto. www.danielramjattan.com

Dr. Kevin Day
Composer, jazz pianist, and conductor Dr. Kevin Day is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. His accolades include the ITEA Harvey Phillips Award for Excellence in Composition, a Copland House Residency Award, the MacDowell Fellowship for Music Composition, the BMI Composer Award, and the TCU Alumni Outstanding Young Professional Award. He is a three-time ASCAP Morton Gould Finalist.His works have been commissioned and performed by ensembles including the Cincinnati Opera, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Winds, Nu Deco Ensemble, Boston Brass, Capitol Quartet, Puerto Rican Trombone Ensemble, Syrinx Quintet, and Sheffield Chamber Players. Dr. Day’s original opera, Lalovavi: An Afrofuturist Opera, will premiere at the Cincinnati Opera in 2026 as the lead work in its ground-breaking new Black Opera Project. He holds degrees from Texas Christian University (TCU), the University of Georgia, and the University of Miami. He has studied composition with Dorothy Hindman, Charles Norman Mason, Peter Van Zandt Lane, Emily Koh, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Neil Anderson-Himmelspach.

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