Workshops

I offer workshops as a member of the Harmolodic String Band. 

While our group serves a specific musical purpose– performing free-jazz repertoire using the instrumentation of a traditional American string band– all of us are conservatory trained, have performed with a myriad of notable musicians across innumerable genres, and have years of combined experience performing, recording, and teaching music that are of value to music students at any age or level. Read more about us here, and listen to our music here!

We offer workshops of a variety of different types, geared toward the entire spectrum of music students, including;

Lecture/Demonstrations

-A comprehensive program intended for both musicians and nonmusicians, including performance, description & analysis, and audience Q&A throughout.

Open Rehearsals

-We'll hold a public rehearsal of current and new repertoire. Audience questions are welcome and encouraged throughout.

Traditional Masterclasses

-We will listen to to your students' solo or ensemble performances and offering creative & technical feedback. Groups of any genre, instrumentation, or level are welcome.

Improvisation Workshops

-We strongly believe in improvisation as a universal means of personal expression and communication. Our improvisation workshops can be tailored to engage participants of all instruments, styles, and levels. Topics may include ear training, music theory, how to practice, how to listen, transcription, and free & collective improvisation.

Featuring 4 emerging voices in the worlds of acoustic and improvised music, the Harmolodic String Band reimagines the music of free-jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman in the classic American string-band format of mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar, and upright bass. 

Hailing collectively from Boston, New York, and Los Angeles, the members of the Harmolodic String Band met on the circuit of camps and seminars frequented by skilled young acoustic musicians, and first came together to play Ornette Coleman’s music in March of 2017– originally as somewhat of an experiment. The experiment has so far proved successful, resulting in an album–to be released digitally throughout summer & fall 2018 as three EPs– entitled “The Shape of Grass to Come”, a sly reference to Coleman’s 1959 session on Atlantic.

Separately, the members of the Harmolodic String Band have performed with musicians as diverse as Tony Trischka, Nels Cline, Aoife O’Donovan, Brad Shepik, and Bryan Sutton, to name a few, as well as performing and recording as bandleaders in their own right. The group consists of Ethan Setiawan on mandolin, Gabe Terracciano on fiddle, Ethan Sherman on guitar, and Dan Klingsberg on bass.

Gabe Terracciano has been recognized for playing the violin “in a way that’s unlike anyone else” (Sam Pfeifle, Portland Phoenix) He has played throughout the United States at as both a leader and sideman, and has performed at festivals including the Aspen Jazz Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He received a 2018 Downbeat Award, and was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at UCLA in 2016. Gabe’s recording debut was with legendary bassist Ron McClure on two albums for Steeplechase Records, and his first album of original music, “In Flight”, is scheduled for release in 2018. Gabe has a Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance from NYU, where he studied with teachers including John Scofield, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart. He was an adjunct instructor in violin and guitar at NYU from 2016-2018, and has taught for organizations including Tufts Community Music, Maine Jazz Camp, and The geniusHive School (Accra, Ghana). He also teaches a private studio out of his home in Brooklyn.

Ethan Setiawan is a Boston-based mandolin player who’s won such accolades as the National Mandolin Championship, the RockyGrass Mandolin Championship, and a full-ride scholarship to Berklee College of Music. His path has wended its way through traditional bluegrass to Bach partitas to free jazz, and his debut full-length album, “Flux” is made up of original tunes drawing from all these wells. He has shared the stage with musicians like Tony Trischka, Darol Anger, Casey Driessen, Matt Flinner, and Jacob Jolliff. In addition to the Harmolodic String Band, he’s a member of bands Mudskippers, Corner House, and Theory Expats.

Ethan Sherman is a guitarist and composer based in Los Angeles, CA, where he works as a sideman, session player, collaborator, and bandleader. He has performed with numerous artists including Nels Cline, Aoife O'Donovan, Mike Marshall, Robert Fripp & The Orchestra of Crafty Guitarists, Patrick Shiroishi, and Jack Kovacs. He also holds a degree in Studio Guitar from USC, and has been mentored by musicians such as Bruce Forman, Bryan Sutton, and Julian Lage, who called him “one of my favorite guitarists… one of the shining lights of our community.” His most recent album is “Building Blocks”, an electric trio recording that jazztrail.com called “an auspicious debut from a talented young guitarist that shows strong compositional skills and potential to do even greater things in the future.” He is also a committed educator, maintaining a private studio in Los Angeles.