Azimuth Orchestra

Next up is ! Gina Sobel is a part of our second project — “Snow, 1964” by . It will be premiered tomorrow (virtually), Monday, January 31st, 2022! Gina Sobel is a natural improviser. Accomplished on multiple instruments (flute, sax, voice), she radiates energy and excitement in her live performances and is sought after as a soloist with national and international performers. She is an award-winning songwriter and composer; in her own music, Sobel brings together elements of funk, jazz and American folk music into a fresh and compelling sound.

Sobel is the bandleader of Choose Your Own Adventure, a high-energy funk band featuring a brilliant group of musicians, and she partners with drummer Joey Antico in the lo-fi jazz/funk outfit Gold Sounds. She is active in genres across the spectrum, ranging from hip hop to bluegrass and everything in between.

We are featuring Gregory Levinson. He did the post production, sound and video engineering for Kory Reeder’s “Snow, 1964”. We will be premiering our virtual performance of the piece on Monday, January 31st, 2022.
Gregory Levinson is a freelance sound engineer and musician. He was born and raised in Chicago and is fluent in French and Russian. During his time at Columbia College Chicago, he acted as a teaching assistant for multiple sound-design and computer programming courses. After graduating with his bachelor's degree in Game-Design from Columbia College Chicago, he has been working as an avid audiovisual and recording engineer for the Art Institute of Chicago, Atomic Hospitality Group, Area44 Music, Critical Sound, Joy of Audio, and numerous other freelance companies around Chicago. As a multi-instrumentalist, Gregory studied for ten years with renowned violinist David Yonan, participated in the CYSO, has entered in many Chicago-based violin competitions, as well as music festivals in California. He takes pleasure in playing jazz/blues guitar, classical/jazz piano, drums, and occasionally sings.
In his spare time, Gregory practices martial arts, studies video-games, plays music, and has a passion for learning and teaching.

Today we are featuring Justine Koontz. She is the conductor for “Snow, 1964” by . Our performance or it will be premiered on Monday, January 31st!
Composer and conductor Justine Koontz uses music as a way of exploring identity. Her work, encompassing composing, arranging, entrepreneurship and self-publishing, conducting, teaching, and international scholarship, explores how music defines people and their relationships.

As a conductor, Justine is especially interested in twentieth and twenty-first century repertoire and has conducted premieres and other contemporary works. As an advocate for community music making, she has worked for a variety of churches as a choir director, and is active as a choral singer. She recently founded the Program Choir of Baltimore, and she is currently the Music Minister at Memorial Episcopal Church in Baltimore.

As a composer, Justine writes primarily for choir and chamber ensembles in musical languages that are accessible yet diverse. Her music can be sacred or irreverent, contemplative or whimsical. Her compositions have been performed at local, national, and international venues, including performances 
at the 2019 London Festival of Contemporary Music, the 2018 Intercollegiate Men’s Chorus’s National Seminar, and the 2012 World Choir Games. An avid entrepreneur, she self-publishes her compositions.

Other musical activities have included international scholarship and teaching. Curious about the phenomenon of “singing cultures,” Justine completed a year of study in Latvia on a Fulbright scholarship, where she researched the country’s choral culture. She also currently teaches a private studio of piano and guitar students of all ages.

Justine holds degrees in conducting and composition from Butler University and McDaniel College, and she is a member of ASCAP. She lives outside of Baltimore, and when she is not making music, she is usually engaged in fine handcrafting and gardening.
Visit her website:
http://www.justinekoontz.com/

Today we are featuring Justine Koontz. She is the conductor for “Snow, 1964” by Kory Reeder. We will be premiering our virtual performance of the piece on Monday, January 31st!
Composer and conductor Justine Koontz uses music as a way of exploring identity. Her work, encompassing composing, arranging, entrepreneurship and self-publishing, conducting, teaching, and international scholarship, explores how music defines people and their relationships.
As a conductor, Justine is especially interested in twentieth and twenty-first century repertoire and has conducted premieres and other contemporary works. As an advocate for community music making, she has worked for a variety of churches as a choir director, and is active as a choral singer. She recently founded the Program Choir of Baltimore, and she is currently the Music Minister at Memorial Episcopal Church in Baltimore.
As a composer, Justine writes primarily for choir and chamber ensembles in musical languages that are accessible yet diverse. Her music can be sacred or irreverent, contemplative or whimsical. Her compositions have been performed at local, national, and international venues, including performances at the 2019 London Festival of Contemporary Music, the 2018 Intercollegiate Men’s Chorus’s National Seminar, and the 2012 World Choir Games. An avid entrepreneur, she self-publishes her compositions.
Other musical activities have included international scholarship and teaching. Curious about the phenomenon of “singing cultures,” Justine completed a year of study in Latvia on a Fulbright scholarship, where she researched the country’s choral culture. She also currently teaches a private studio of piano and guitar students of all ages.
Justine holds degrees in conducting and composition from Butler University and McDaniel College, and she is a member of ASCAP. She lives outside of Baltimore, and when she is not making music, she is usually engaged in fine handcrafting and gardening.
Visit her website: www.justinekoontz.com