Join EVER Ensemble, a group of dynamic performers who are dedicated to bringing people together through music, for a performance in the Hamilton Mansion at The Woodlands on Sunday, August 11th at 4:00pm.
With an eclectic mix of instrumentation, including cello, flute, harp, keyboards and vocals, EVER Ensemble channels its passion of community engagement and love of sharing the music, especially music written by black and women composers, in a fresh light, and serves as cultural ambassadors, bridging gaps by expanding the musical palate of their audience. Just as the word “ever” transcends time, so does the EVER Ensemble transcend musical genres and culture: one moment, classical, another, jazz, and even another, pop or gospel or hip hop.
Tickets available on a sliding scale of $5 - $50.
Members of EVER Ensemble have played together for several years, and in 2017 formally became an entity. With diverse musical influences and backgrounds, members of EVER Ensemble have individually performed for audiences across the globe. Each member has dedicated her life to making and sharing music at the highest levels, maintains musical curiosity, and continues to grow and develop, while simultaneously fostering other musicians’ creativity and musical growth through teaching and coaching, conducting master classes, workshops, collegiate presentations and individual lessons.
The core membership of the EVER Ensemble:
Ruth Naomi Floyd, flute, backing vocals
Valerie Gay, lead vocals, keyboard, xylophone
Candace Lark, harp
Ezgi Yargici, cello
Reception following performance.
About EVER Ensemble:
Candace Lark-Masucci is a native to Philadelphia and founder of her thriving music studio, Lark Music. Candace is also The Happy Musician Blogger, the purpose of the blog is to give musicians advice and guidance on keeping happiness in their art. She has performed with many orchestras, including the Lansdowne Symphony, and the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra to state a few.
Candace has graced the stages of The Academy of Music, The Kimmel Center and the Wilma Theater. She is a sought-after harpist in the tri-state area performing regularly with various jazz and classical ensembles. She is currently the Harpist with the EVER Ensemble, performing a fusion of classical, and international music, with a modern twist.
Valerie V. Gay is a Certified Financial Planner, non-profit administrator, performing artist and thought leader. Performances include operas, special events and solo concert recitals, including a solo performance at Carnegie Hall. Awarded First Prize at the Summit City Art Song Festival Competition, Val has performed with several artists including Kathleen Battle, Opera Libera, Poor Richard’s Opera, Gospel artists Dottie Peoples and Walter Hawkins, and Jazz trumpeter and composer Hannibal Lokumbe (world premiers). As a keyboardist and conductor, Val has formed and director several Gospel choirs across Philadelphia. A serial entrepreneur since, 2006 Val founded Fortress Arts Academy which provides arts and skill building lessons to children and adults, especially those in underserved communities, co-founded Syncopate Advisors and Davis Gay + Associates a firm which provides targeted support for nonprofit and social venture organizations that seek to solve societal problems, and the EVER Ensemble, a collective of women musicians who perform diverse musical genres, from classical to hip hop.
Ezgi Yargici is an accomplished baroque and modern cellist as well as a successful teaching artist. She graduated from Bilkent University with a Bachelor's of Music Degree in Cello Performance and from Temple University with a Master's of Music Degree in both Cello Performance and String Pedagogy. Additionally, she has done professional studies at The Hartt School of Music.
As an active freelance cellist, Ezgi performs in different settings: solo recitals, chamber music concerts, historical ensembles, contemporary ensembles, and orchestras in and around the Philadelphia area. She has appeared with Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Kennett Symphony, Allentown Symphony, New Manhattan Sinfonietta, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Brooklyn Orchestra, Brooklyn Metro Chamber Orchestra, Bay Atlantic Symphony, Vox Ama Deus, Garden State Philharmonic, Wilmington Ballet, Pennsylvania Philharmonic, New Jersey Capital Philharmonic, and Great Hall Chamber Orchestra. In addition to performing at various venues including Verizon Hall at Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and the United Nations building in New York, she has also performed abroad in Canada, Belgium, China, and Turkey.
Ruth Naomi Floyd is a vocalist, composer and flautist with over 20 years of experience, and has a discography explicitly dedicated to a scared jazz expression. She leads her own multi-faceted ensemble and her recordings consist primarily of original compositions. Blessed with a soaring mezzo-soprano voice, critics praise Ruth’s music for its distinctive sound of progressive ensemble jazz that is seamlessly blended with messages of hope, faith, redemption, and love.
A committed music educator, Ruth is Director of Jazz Studies at Cairn University, Langhorne, Pennsylvania and an Adjunct and Artist in Residence at Temple University. Rooted and grounded in a faith ethos, Ruth has been a presence and worker in areas of the arts and social justice throughout her career. She wholeheartedly believes that it is the duty of the artist to be the truth-teller of society and to speak against injustice. Holding these themes in poetic tension within her body of creative work, Ruth has lectured prolifically on the intersection of beauty, theology, justice, culture and the arts at numerous universities, seminaries, conferences, and academic settings around the world.