ensembles
The project started as an argument in a Kansas City tavern over which style of music is "the saddest music in the world". A few days later three American musicians, vocalist Shay Estes, and guitarists Beau Bledsoe and Jordan Shipley, formed the ensemble Fado Novato (Fado beginner). The three – having recently discovered one another's heretofore unknown fascination with Fado, hatched a plan: to attempt to learn and perform Fado music from the state of uneducated novice to world-stage professional, and to document the entire process. A full-length studio recording and a concert would cap the project.
The Bach Aria Soloists is the dynamic ensemble dedicated to presenting the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach, his contemporaries and those inspired by him to the community. Through informative performances of vocal and instrumental chamber music, masterclasses, and Bachreach education, the Bach Aria Soloists brings the brilliant music of Bach, the Baroque, and the contemporary to new life in the intimate settings for which this music was intended.
Alaturka was formed in 2009 with the vision of creating an equal “auditory handshake” between two musical cultures, American jazz and Turkish classical music. Founder and director Beau Bledsoe joined with three of Kansas City’s most acclaimed jazz musicians, Rich Wheeler Brandon Draper and Jeff Harshbarger, to form a quartet in which both cultures are treated with equal respect. The collaboration has resulted in an intriguing new sound that has garnered the ensemble multiple invitations to perform throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Flamenco Mío is composed of guitarist Beau Bledsoe, saxophonist and horn sculptor Mark Southerland, and dancer/choreographer Melinda Hedgecorth. The trio tours internationally, inviting guest artists from Spain and around the globe to collaborate. Performing with these singers and percussionists, they have developed a diverse conversation of cultural standards and styles, creating something new from something known.
Close friends and musical compatriots with a fearless attitude toward classical music, Nathan Granner and Beau Bledsoe are earning standing ovations everywhere they go.
These two young masters have consistently challenged audiences throughout the world with programs that include new commissioned works, innovative transcriptions of classical and popular song as well as genre-bending renditions of American Spirituals and traditional Flamenco.
Victoria Botero (soprano) and Beau Bledsoe (guitar) are an exciting new duo blending extraordinarily diverse guitar and voice traditions from around the world. Victoria and Beau create highly varied programs ranging from German lieder to Argentine Tangos utilizing their own extensive research and personal experiences. It is their mission to make a highly unique and enjoyable concert experience for listeners of all backgrounds and tastes.
Beau Bledsoe and fierce Flamenco dancer "La Russa", Al-Andaluz performs music and dance from southern Spain and the Middle East. In her goal to unite Flamenco with it's Arabic heritage, La Russa has traveled to Sevilla, Madrid and Istanbul to study with the masters of this art form. These two also happened to be married.