A Musical Art Exhibition presented by the Caroga Arts Collective and Arkell Museum

Caroga Arts is delighted to present a virtual performance in collaboration with The Arkell Museum! Caroga Artists Tomoko Omura, Brian Shank, Glenn Zaleski, and Empire Wild will perform alongside a selection of work from the Arkell Museum’s collection, creating a dynamic musical and art exhibition. Please join us for this remarkable event!

The event will be livestreamed on the Caroga Arts YouTube channel and Facebook page. Following the event, the video will be available in both places.

Tomoko Omura

Tomoko Omura is among today’s leading voices in jazz violin. She has produced five albums under her name. Her recent album “Branches Vol. 1” was chosen “Best Jazz” (August 2020) on Bandcamp and her interviews have been featured on numerous medias, such as Grammy.com, WBGO “Jazz United”, “The Pulse”, The Jazz Sessions, etc… In her “Roots” project, she has been writing and producing music that is dedicated to her roots, while being an active sidewoman for many projects in New York. Born in Shizuoka, Japan, she grew up playing many instruments, including, violin, piano, drums and baroque recorder. In 2004, she left Japan to study jazz in Boston and moved to Brooklyn in 2010.

Brian Shank

Brian Shank is a composer and percussionist whose work spans a variety of styles including contemporary-classical music, electronic and electro-acoustic music, jazz. His music has been performed by ensembles including the New Jersey Symphony and the Rome Opera Choir and recent commissions have come from the National Gallery for 21st Century Art in Rome, Italy, Juilliard Pre-College Percussion Ensemble, CreArt Box, and Tom Gold Dance ballet. He was a teaching artist with the Bridge Arts Ensemble bringing music to public schools in the Adirondack, NY region from 2015 to 2020. Brian holds degrees from The Juilliard School (B.M. Percussion) and the San Francisco Conservatory (M.M. Composition) and is a native of Saratoga Springs, NY.

Glenn Zaleski

Glenn Zaleski is one of the most in-demand pianists on the New York City jazz scene. Originally from Boylston, MA, Glenn has made a name for himself playing with the likes of Ravi Coltrane, Lage Lund, and Ari Hoenig. His latest album, “The Question”, was released in July 2020 from Sunnyside Records. His previous release, “Live at Jazz Standard” (Capri 2019), features his long-standing co-led trio, Stranahan/Zaleski/Rosato, in a live set the legendary NYC club.
All About Jazz has said, “Glenn Zaleski has quickly become one of the most important pianists of his generation and it’s easy to see why.” His debut album, “My Ideal”, was released in March of 2015, and received critical acclaim: Downbeat Magazine named it “sublime”, Jazz Times called it, “an engaging set by a talent worth watching,” and the New York Times named the record a “strong statement,” praising its “fluent but unhurried sense of phrase”.

Empire Wild

Empire Wild is a genre-bending, crossover trio founded by Ken Kubota, Brandon Ilaw, and Mitch Lyon. Ken and Mitch bring all the cello has to offer – bowed, plucked, chopped, and more. Brandon can be found singing and playing anything he can get his hands on – often a cajon, sometimes a guitar or piano, maybe some ankle bells. All classically trained, the three musicians met at Juilliard and formed Empire Wild as a vehicle for their love of musical exploration – fusing the sounds of pop, folk, Broadway, and more into their songwriting and composition. Their debut EP ‘Paper Seasons’ features all original songs, highlighting the trio’s unique sound and instrumentation. Based in NYC, they have brought their signature mix of original music, inventive covers, and twists on the classical canon to audiences across the country.