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“Mobius Trio’s [programming] choices were substantive and cap-tured the full range of their sonic potential as a guitar trio…they proved in every way that they were capable of holding their own, both as performers and curators of a new generation of music.”

–Danny Clay, I Care If You Listen

“Chock-full of extended techniques, the acoustic works whirred, buzzed, and slapped their way into being. Belinda Reynolds’s Edges kicked things off with a flowing ostinato figure accented by off-beat interjections. A cradled scalar motive is shared, hocket-like, among the players, who carried it with delicacy and feeling. Brendon Randall-Myers’s Making Good Choices opens with an intense accretion of muted strums, strums above the neck, left hand slurs, slaps, all of which the ensemble bit into with flair.”

–Artificialist

“Mobius executes the dizzying array of techniques and technical challenges written for them with ease and expressivity…The

short bio

press

Described by the eminent Sergio Assad as “the most

inventive and exciting young guitar ensemble today,”

Mobius Trio has made it its mission to fully integrate the

classical guitar into the 21st century’s adventurous musical lexicon. The

Trio exclusively performs music that they have commissioned, and they

commission some of the music world’s most interesting composers.

They seek to expand the guitar ensemble’s repertoire to encompass all

of the myriad currents passing through “contemporary art music.”

Mobius Trio has commissioned over three dozen composers in their

first seven years of existence, and that pace isn’t slowing. Recent

premieres include Luciano Chessa’s Blind Date at San Francisco’s YBCA, Aaron Gervais’ Prescription Drug Nation with Here Now Dance,

and South American premieres of works by Mobius members Robert Nance and Matt Linder at the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil.

Mobius has toured widely, performing at the Kennedy Center, the International Guitar Research Centre in the UK, venues all over Brazil,

the Hot Air Music Festival, the Guitar Foundation of America’s 2014 convention, and more. Mobius has appeared as featured alumni

on NPR’s “From the Top,” and is regularly featured on WNYC’s New Sounds and Bay Area radio programs.

Mobius Trio was formed in 2010 by guitarists Robert Nance, Mason Fish, and Matthew Holmes-Linder while studying at the San Francisco

Conservatory of Music. They started things off with a bang, commissioning and learning five pieces within the span of a month, and

performing many of those pieces at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center the following April. Matt, Rob, and Mason are all

accomplished, competition-winning guitarists in their own right, and they all live and work in San Francisco. When not rehearsing,

the group enjoys home brewing, BBQ, hacky sack, and nature documentaries.

trio formed only in 2010, but from the unity of their playing and the constant musical conversation that is visible to the eye in performance one could easily believe that they had been playing together for much longer than that.”

–Sid Chen, New Music Box (Last Light CD release review)

“The natural ease of Mobius’s playing and their unforced integration of inventive ways of using their instruments into their solid base of traditional technique made for a consis-tently excellent evening. It’s clear from the unity of their playing that the members of Mobius genuinely love making music together, cuing each other with just the lift of an eyebrow or even a hint of a smile.” –Sid Chen, New Music Box

“The Mobius Trio are getting rave reviews from guitarists around the world for their dramatic performances and their bold commitment to commissioning new repertoire.”

–Scott Cmiel, San Francisco Classical Voice

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GUITARISTIC GENRE OMNIPRESENCE (ALL-CLASSICAL)As the most popular, ubiquitous instrument in the world, everyone knows what a guitar sounds like, right? Right? The guitarists of Mobius Trio believe otherwise – that we’ve only just begun to explore full capabilities of the instrument, and this program seeks to display the breadth of what the classical guitar can do, so far.

Beginning with two completely arrangements of “old music” for three guitars, the Mobians show what they’re capable of. Ravel’s String Quartet and Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez are two of the most beautiful, recognizable pieces of the early 20th-century repertoire, capturing an incredible fusion of Impressionism and Spanish and Basque culture. It takes a slew of brand new guitar techniques to make them happen on only three guitars.

The second half of the program moves from Spain to Brazil, where a jazz-influenced, guitar-centric, highly improvisatory constellation of popular genres has radiated an aura of “cool” that the rest of the world has sought to emulate since the 1960s. Beginning a set with an improvisation has been a common practice in many musical traditions, from Baroque and Classical-era Europe to 20th and 21st century jazz clubs. This is exactly what Mobius does, starting out with an improvisation in the form of a game, whose rules were invented by Mobius-member Matt Linder.

Next, the Trio performs an arrangement of Carlos Lyra’s Influencia do Jazz, a mid-century Brazilian classic, and now a standard tune in the Brazilian bossa nova canon. The arranger, none other than the Brazilian guitar legend Sergio Assad, has managed to distill the sound of a full bossa nova band into three guitars, breathing new life into a beloved Brazilian classic.

The program closes with Sergio Assad’s Kindergarten, a masterful fusion of Brazilian jazz and popular sounds with the intricate guitar chamber music that the Assad Brothers have made world famous. Also a meditation on Sergio’s days as Mobius Trio’s teacher, this piece must be seen live to be believed.

Works to be performed on the “Guitaristic Genre Omnipresence” program include:

Maurice Ravel, String Quartet in F Major, ii. Assez vif (1903)

Joaquin Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez (1939)

Matt Linder, Improvisation Game (2016)

Carlos Lyra, Influencia do Jazz (1962)

Sergio Assad, Kindergarten (2014)

HOME BASEThe Mobians were happy to put together this program of music that “feels like home.”

These pieces are their home base for a variety of reasons—Kindergarten feels deeply pleasing to play because it was composed by their mentor, Sergio Assad, and written with their specific personalities in mind. Brendon Randall-Myers’s frenetic, slightly insane Making Good Choices feels like home because it just took so much dang rehearsal time to get right in the first place. Mobius’ first ever concert saw them premiere works by San Francisco Conservatory classmates Garrett Shatzer and Anthony Porter. The Transition is the first piece composed for Mobius, way back in 2009, and Porter’s needle-play makes a long-awaited return to the Trio’s repertoire. Sadly the group was not able to attend school with Maurice Ravel, but they did receive an outstanding arrangement of the second movement of his String Quartet from composer Winton White. Belinda Reynolds’s Edges evokes the rock guitar that the trio grew up admiring.

And, after more than seven years of Mobius Trio, the group will finally include a piece from one of its own. Robert Nance’s Plexus utilizes the Trio’s outstanding interplay.

Works to be performed on the “Home Base” program include:

Robert Nance, Plexus (2015)

Garrett Shatzer, The Transition (2009)

Belinda Reynolds, Edges (2013)

Maurice Ravel, String Quartet in F Major, ii. Assez vif (1903)

Brendon Randall-Myers, Making Good Choices (2011)

Anthony Porter, needle-play (2010)

Sergio Assad, Kindergarten (2014)

program offerings

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PRESCRIPTION DRUG NATIONAaron Gervais’s Prescription Drug Nation is an evening-length work, originally composed as music for dance in collaboration with Here Now Dance Collective. A stunning musical work with or without its accompanying dance, the work consists of six musical portraits of the effects of being on some of the most commonly over-prescribed and/or abused prescription drugs—Adderall, Ambien, Xanax, Prozac, Vicodin, and Viagra.

With each, Gervais is “trying to give an immersive perspective, something that will be familiar and emotionally poignant to anyone who has been on these drugs, but without any specific interpretation or ‘judgment.’ There is no ‘moral lesson’ or anything like that.”

Composed for a constantly rotating ensemble of classical, steel-string, and electric guitars, all played by the three members of Mobius Trio, Prescription Drug Nation is a musical tour de force, juxtaposing the obsessive, maniacal energy of Adderall with the sleepy, blissed-out lethargy of Ambien and sheer drive of Viagra. There is absolutely nothing like this in new music, or any other type of music—a must hear.

(CLASSICAL, STEEL, ELECTRIC GUITARS) Aaron Gervais, Prescription Drug Nation (2015) Adderall Ambien Xanax Vicodin Prozac Viagra

DARK MATTERBuilt around a set of beautiful, sprawling, cosmically meditative pieces like Nick Vasallo’s Dark Matter and Joseph Colombo’s Initial Darkness, the eponymous program shows that Mobius Trio can create beautiful, mind-expanding music on whatever version of the guitar is in their hands. In this case, each piece is composed for electric guitars, though each has a completely unique soundworld, created through use of interactive electronics, pedal effects, and in one case, just a great big wall of amplifier feedback.

Don’t let those very un-classical elements fool you. These are nuanced, classically-influenced pieces written by some of the best young composers writing today, including Adrian Knight, Ryan Brown, and Samuel Adams. From the most delicate, intimate sounds an electric guitar can make (Bon Voyage, Study for Mobius), to the biggest, Big Bangin’est, this music is an exploration of the scope of the universe.

Works to be performed on the “Dark Matter” program include:

Samuel Adams, Study for Mobius (2013)

Nick Vasallo, Dark Matter (2010/2014)

Mario Godoy, Infinite Earths (2014)

Ryan Brown, Possible Relatives (2016)

Adrian Knight, Bon Voyage (2012)

Joseph Colombo, Initial Darkness (2014)

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GUITAR MASTER CLASS

The three members of Mobius Trio are an unusual breed in the

guitar world: expert contemporary music players with years of

chamber music experience. In this master class, student guitarists

will perform solos or ensemble pieces for the members of Mobius

Trio and an audience and then receive feedback and detailed

coaching on their performance. The members of Mobius will

give the performer(s) advice on all aspects of performing guitar

music—presentation, phrasing, technique, ensemble playing, etc.

This process is rewarding and entertaining for both the performing

student and the audience, and it often leads to larger discussions

of topics that benefit every guitarist and musician in the room.

LECTURE/DEMONSTRATIONS

Mobius Trio often holds lectures and workshops on a variety

of topics, including writing for guitar, composer/performer

relationships and the commission process, extended techniques,

and their own unique repertoire and brand of chamber music.

Ideas and thoughts that come up in discussion will be expanded

upon through musical performance, and vice versa. This event

can be tailored (in terms of format, length, etc.) to fit the needs

of the presenter.

STUDENT COMPOSER WORKSHOP

Working with composers is a favorite part of their musical

process for the Mobius Trio, so they are very happy to share

their years of commissioning, workshopping, and musical

troubleshooting experience with student composers in front of

an audience of their peers.

In the workshop, Mobius will perform pieces that have been

submitted ahead of time, and then give the composer feedback

on a variety of topics (notational, musical, and otherwise), in

order to help create the best guitar piece possible. Writing for

guitar can be unfamiliar and potentially intimidating, so Mobius

will confer closely with the composer to make sure everything

works the way s/he wants.

additional offerings

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