INCA ROSE DUO
FOR VOICE AND GUITAR
“…a purely emotional work that…reveals a sensitivity of
extraordinary depth and warmth.
Every time I listen to Things We Said Tomorrow
I feel as if a cool spring breeze comes through my window to
caress my soul.”
----Victor Villadangos, Naxos Recording Artist
The Inca Rose Duo, comprised of soprano Annelise Skovmand and guitarist Pablo González Jazey, is dedicated to building cross-cultural understanding through music, bridging the divide between classical and popular music by melding elements from both worlds into new musical expressions. The “song”, marrying text with music, makes up the repertoire of this distinctive multi-cultural duo with its unique acoustic sound and original arrangements.
Praised for its warm communicative power in concert, the Inca Rose Duo takes audiences on an auditory and emotional journey with diverse programs, including selections of original interpretations of traditional repertoire for guitar and voice and popular songs from around the world. The unique sound of this pairing combines the spirit and depth of folk and popular songs with a background in classical repertoire and training. The Duo’s repertoire includes a vast range of songs spanning from English renaissance songs of John Dowland to today with songs of the Beatles and traditional and contemporary folk songs from the Americas.
Since its formation in 1998, the Inca Rose Duo has been featured in the programming of major music festivals and venues in Argentina and the United States, highlighting performances at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, Instituto Cervantes and Queens Theatre in the Park in New York, Guitarras en Concierto International Guitar Festival, Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano Isaac Fernández Blanco, Salon Dorado of the Buenos Aires Legislature, Casa de la Cultura of the Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Teatro Alvear and Centro Cultural Borges in Buenos Aires, among others.
La Nación (Buenos Aires) remarks that the Inca Rose Duo achieves a “musically brilliant atmosphere, in which song and accompaniment are unified into one melodic breath.” Their CD recording Things We Said Tomorrow, featured in a documentary program broadcast throughout Latin America on Canal (á), received critical acclaim for its originality and sound quality.
REVIEWS
“…fine scholars and musicians…”
-- Henrietta Yurchenco, Professor Emeritus in Ethnomusicology, CUNY
“The distinctive aspect of the duo, apart from the arrangements, is its sound, of a delicately classical tone, that condenses a powerful emotionality in their interpretation…[they] achieve a musically dazzling atmosphere, in which song and accompaniment are unified into a single melodic breath.”
-- La Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina
“…performed with grace and quality…the hands of Pablo and the timbre of Annelise’s voice…radiate pure Beatle magic.”
-- El Siglo XXI, Tucumán, Argentina
ANNELISE SKOVMAND (soprano)
With dramatic and vivid interpretations that bring to life songs from around the world, soprano Annelise Skovmand
has been publicly praised for integrating the stories with the music through her sweet tone.
As co-founder of the Inca Rose Duo, Ms. Skovmand combines her training as a classical singer with the spirit and sound quality of more popular expressions of the voice. She has been heard in performance in Argentina, Spain, Mexico and the United States and has demonstrated a great range of repertoire from chamber music to opera.
Annelise Skovmand, having begun voice study at the age of nine with Jacqueline Kelley-Harnish, was recognized in 1990 as winner of the Florida State Music Teacher’s Association Senior Concerto Competition, which included performances with the Florida State University Symphony Orchestra. She has taken courses at Harvard University, Boston University, University of South Florida, Universitá per Stranieri in Perugia (Italy), and at The Boston Conservatory, from which she earned the degree Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance with an Emphasis in Opera under scholarship from the Leopold Schepp Foundation. In 1994, The Boston Conservatory recognized her for her academic and musical accomplishments with the ¨Arthur B. Whitney Award¨ for highest scholastic achievement and membership in Pi Kappa Lambda.
As a member and soloist with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, she has performed in concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, Robert Shaw, Bernard Haitink, Cristoph Eschenbach, and Marek Janowski; and the Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart.
In 1997, she was awarded first prize in the National Voice Competition of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters and participated under full scholarship at the Brevard Music Festival, under the direction of David Effron.
Ms. Skovmand served as Head of the Voice Department at the Conservatorio Provinical de Música de San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina and currently maintains an active private voice studio.
PABLO GONZÁLEZ JAZEY (guitar)
Argentinean guitarist Pablo González Jazey has been heard in concert halls in Argentina, France, Italy, Brazil and the United States of America. This versatile performer has been featured as soloist in the major guitar repertoire, including Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Fantasía de un Gentilhombre, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Concerto in D major, Op. 99, Vivaldi’s Concerto in Re, Astor Piazzolla’s Concierto para bandoneon, guitarra y orquesta, and Antonio Lauro’s Concierto para guitarra y orquesta with prominent musical organizations including the Orquesta Sinfónica of the Province of Salta, Orquesta Estable of the Province of Tucumán, Orquesta Sinfónica of the National University of Tucumán, Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and Quincy Symphony Orchestra, among others.
In addition to the classical repertoire, Mr. González Jazey champions traditional and contemporary folk and tango repertoire. With his original arrangements for septet of Astor Piazzolla tangos, he was invited to perform at the II Argentina-Brazil Jazz Festival in New York during a northeastern U.S. tour. He also arranged Juan Falú’s Serie Argentina for guitar duo and was invited to participate in the Festival Guitarras del Mundo 1996 in Buenos Aires, featured on the live CD recording released by Epsa.
Mr. González Jazey is co-founder, member and arranger for the Inca Rose Duo for voice and guitar, whose recording Things We Said Tomorrow, which includes songs of John Dowland and the Beatles, has received critical acclaim for its originality and sound quality. In addition to his work as arranger for this recording, he has also worked as arranger and instrumentalist for various chamber ensembles and theater companies. His guitar solo Primera Impresión (1989) was published in La Guitarra en Argentina by Gendai Guitar, Tokyo, Japan. Lago Mayor (1995) was recorded by Victor Villadangos on his CD Hora Libre.
The artistry of this fine player has been recognized by national and international organizations including Música en Compostela (Spain), Academia Musical Chigiana (Italy), Instituto Musical Palestrina (Brazil) and national festivals in Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Mendoza, and Tucumán, among others. In 1996, he was awarded the Fulbright / Fondo Nacional de las Artes scholarship for post-graduate studies in the U.S. In 1997, he was selected as a finalist in the Stotsenberg International Guitar Competition (U.S.) and in 1992 he was recognized by the Argentinean Guitar Society’s XIII International Guitar Competition.
Pablo González Jazey began his musical studies with José Luis Conde and later from the School for Musical Arts of the National University of Tucumán, Argentina he received the degree Professor of Guitar. In 1998 he obtained the Master of Music in Guitar Performance degree from The Boston Conservatory. Graduating with honors, Mr. González Jazey was nominated to the National Music Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda.
He has studied with guitar masters including Dolores Costoyas, Irma Costanzo, Victor Villadangos, Sharon Isbin, Pepe Romero, Eduardo Isaac and Hopkinson Smith.
As an educator, Mr. González Jazey has taught at of the Superior Instiute of Music and the College of Arts at the National University of Tucumán, Manhattan College, Juilliard School of Music and Columbia University. Currently, he teaches at the “Manuel de Falla” Conservatory in Buenos Aires and divides his time between the U.S. and Argentina.
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