Biography
Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett present themselves as “pioneering African-American classical guitarists,” and no other ensemble comes close in comparison. Their innovations stem equally from their shared heritage and from an exclusive focus on newly composed works, nearly all of which were created expressly for them. The two guitarists first joined forces at the Yale University School of Music, where a Yale Alumni Ventures grant supported an early tour across New England that combined performances with educational outreach for students lacking regular access to classical music. Teaching remains central to both musicians’ activities: Flippin serves on the faculties of New York’s Concordia College and Diller-Quaile School of Music, while Mallett directs the California Conservatory of Guitar and also teaches at the University of California Santa Cruz. Their recital appearances have included such prominent chamber-music settings as the 92nd Street Y and the New York Classical Guitar Society, as well as engagements at Peking University in China and at Georgetown University; among their frequent collaborators are Broadway star Alicia Hall Moran and jazz pianist Jason Moran. Festival appearances have taken them to Omaha Under the Radar and the Santa Cruz New Music festivals.
Further support for contemporary music arrived when the Diller-Quaile School of Music awarded the duo a grant that enabled them, in 2015, to inaugurate the Women of Guitar Commissioning Project, an initiative intended to broaden gender representation in classical repertoire. Six composers received commissions: Clarice Assad, the Grammy-winning member of Brazil’s renowned Assad guitar family; Courtney Bryan; ECM artist Golfam Khayam; Mary Kouyoumdjian; Gity Razaz; and Gabriella Smith. After extensive live performances of the resulting pieces, the duo released the album Night Triptych on the New Focus label in 2018. Duo Noire has also been featured on a recording devoted solely to Raymond J. Lustig’s Figments, which received repeated broadcasts on New York’s WQXR and on the British online station Q2.
Further support for contemporary music arrived when the Diller-Quaile School of Music awarded the duo a grant that enabled them, in 2015, to inaugurate the Women of Guitar Commissioning Project, an initiative intended to broaden gender representation in classical repertoire. Six composers received commissions: Clarice Assad, the Grammy-winning member of Brazil’s renowned Assad guitar family; Courtney Bryan; ECM artist Golfam Khayam; Mary Kouyoumdjian; Gity Razaz; and Gabriella Smith. After extensive live performances of the resulting pieces, the duo released the album Night Triptych on the New Focus label in 2018. Duo Noire has also been featured on a recording devoted solely to Raymond J. Lustig’s Figments, which received repeated broadcasts on New York’s WQXR and on the British online station Q2.
Albums
