LAEMMLE LIVE presents Dyad in Santa Monica June 2

LAEMMLE LIVE proudly presents Dyad, an innovative violin and bassoon duo on a quest to explore uncharted territory. After meeting at Juilliard, Niv Ashkenazi and Leah Kohn were inspired to create a new kind of chamber music. Unwilling to let a lack of repertoire stand in their way, they thrive on reimagining classic works as well as premiering new pieces. Through engaging, personal performances, they create connections between audience, performers, and music. Sunday’s performance will include pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Gernot Wolfgang, and Niccolo Paganini. Since their first performance in May 2015, they have given concerts for the Wednesdays@Noon series at the Encinitas Library, the Classical Music Series at the Peninsula Center Library, the Cultural Arts Society of La Verne, Newport Beach’s Sunday Musicales, and other performances in Southern California, in venues ranging from the Skirball Center to art galleries and private homes. Dyad has collaborated with Lineage Dance and TranscenDanceGroup on performances which relate stories through dance, music, and other mediums. They have also appeared as guest artists and speakers at exclusive business networking events sharing their music and passion for innovation with a wider community. Dyad has given several world premieres of works written for and commissioned by them. In May 2017, they gave several performances in New Jersey, including at the Axelrod PerformingArts Center and the Kessler Foundation.

Sharing their music with audiences outside a traditional concert setting is a vital part of Dyad’s mission. They perform as an ensemble for Street Symphony, an organization founded by former Los Angeles Philharmonic member Vijay Gupta, which brings inclusive concerts to people experiencing incarceration and homelessness.