Duo Crepuscolo
Francesca Abusamra (violin) – Giuseppe Buscemi (guitar)
Program:
– Niccolò Paganini: Ghiribizzo in La maggiore MS 43 no. 22
– Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Aranci in fiore, op. 87b
– Niccolò Paganini: Sonata concertata in La maggiore op. 61
– Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Sonatina op. 205 (arranged for violin)
– Paolo Marchettini: Dialogo a due, for violin and electric guitar (premiere)
Based in New York City, Francesca Abusamra is a violinist dedicated to creating an engaging and accessible musical experience. She is passionate about chamber music, and is currently a member of the Crepuscolo Duo. She was also formerly a founding member of the Opus87 Piano Quartet, which aimed to bring both new music and classical repertoire to a variety of audiences, touring the east coast from the rural Maine woods to Merkin Hall at Lincoln Center in NYC.
Francesca believes in the importance of working with living composers, regularly premiering new works in collaboration with student composers at the Manhattan School of Music. Most recently, she performed in the oNSET Collective as part of a collaboration between MSM and the Hochshule für Musik Fransz Liszt. The international collaboration included students from both schools coming together to compose and perform new works representing their respective two cities of NYC and Weimar.
Ms. Abusamra is also passionate about performances that interact with other artistic disciplines. In collaboration with choreographer Allison Armstrong of Golden Hour Dance, she created a performance project where live solo violin interacted with dancers. Abusamra also participated in a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Gloria at Symphony Space with the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Orchestra, together with Dakshina Indian Dance Company. She also enjoys orchestral performances, regularly serving as principal/assistant principal second violinist in the Manhattan School of Music orchestras. She has also performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Westchester Symphony, and Westchester Chamber Soloists.
Ms. Abusamra has performed in numerous concert venues across the city, such as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Zankel Hall, Lincoln Center’s Merkin Hall, and at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, among others. Originally a Michigan native, she has also performed in the Detroit Symphony’s Orchestra Hall, performing with DSO Assistant Concertmaster Hai Xin Wu and chamber orchestra. Her most recent recording project was with the Morningside Tone Collective, where they recorded jazz musician Jeff Lederer’s chamber music at Guilford Sound Studios. The album will be released by little (i) music this autumn. On television, she has appeared playing for Succession, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and the Food Network’s Worst Chefs in America: Celebrity Edition. She also appears on the soundtrack for the independent film The Clovehitch Killer. She completed both her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Laurie Carney and Peter Winograd, both of the American String Quartet.
Italian guitarist Giuseppe Buscemi performed concert tours throughout Europe and the USA, and played at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in New York. He has won many international competitions, not only as soloist, but also playing in chamber music ensembles with pianist Gianni Bicchierini and flutist Leonardo Augello. Giuseppe has been invited by renowned Italian concert associations and presenters to perform in notable concert halls such as the “V. Bellini” in Catania, the “L. Pirandello” in Agrigento, the “G. Garibaldi” in Enna and the “D. Alighieri” in Ravenna. His repertoire ranges from the Baroque era to the latest contemporary works, both in solo and chamber music.
In 2018 Giuseppe recorded his first solo album, entitled “Come, heavy Sleep” and published by the label DotGuitar. The CD is focused on 20th century masterpieces composed by F. Martin, B. Britten, M. De Falla and J. Manén. In 2020 he recorded his second album, “Dances & Dreams”, with pianist Gianni Bicchierini, as the Antipodes Duo. The album, published by DaVinci Classics, brings attention to some of the masterpieces of the guitar-and-piano repertoire, and also includes the World Premiere recording of Carlo Galante’s “Cinque piccole serenate alla luna piena”, which is dedicated to the Antipodes Duo. His third and latest CD, “Italian Guitar Rarities”, has been published by Naxos in 2022. The program is focused on the evolution of the Italian repertoire for classical guitar from Baroque to contemporary music. Giuseppe is currently working on his fourth album, featuring a harmonica-and-guitar duo with CY Leo. In 2015 he has been invited as guest artist by Andrea Quartarone for a CD release, in which Giuseppe played the electric guitar. All his albums have received high critical praise from guitar magazines, such as Guitare Classique, Gitarre & Laute, and SeiCorde, and have been broadcast on Italian and Uruguayan national radio stations (such as Radio Vaticana, RAI Radio 3, and Emisora del Sur).
Giuseppe is a faculty member of renowned music schools in Manhattan, and has also been teaching from 2013 to 2019 in Italian music schools and Conservatories. Giuseppe has studied with Giovanni Puddu and graduated with Summa cum Laude and Honorific Mention both at “A. Corelli” Conservatory of Messina (Bachelor degree) and at Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali “V. Bellini” of Caltanissetta (Master’s degree). He also attended the International Piano Academy “Incontri col Maestro” of Imola, for a Master’s degree in chamber music, where he graduated with honors, studying with Nazzareno Carusi. Giuseppe is currently a candidate for the Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he also works as teaching assistant on the guitar faculty, and is a student of David Leisner and David Starobin. He has also performed in many master classes with guitarists such as M. Barrueco, E. Fisk, P. Romero, M. Mela, L. Micheli, A. Gilardino, O. Ghiglia, M. Dylla, P. Pegoraro, and D. Bogdanovic.
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