Biography
Duo Tandem stands out among emerging classical ensembles through the contrasting heritages of its two members and through a repertory that mixes original works with pieces reflecting that same blend of traditions.
The pair came together in 2012 at the San Francisco Conservatory, where Necati Emirzade and Mark Anderson first collaborated as students. Emirzade, who traces his roots to Cyprus, now teaches in London, while Anderson serves on the faculties of Millikin University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and the Academy of Movement and Music and works with the organization Guitars over Guns. The duo characterizes its mission as “an instrumental guitar duo with an emphasis on story-telling through music.” Live appearances have taken them to the Elmhurst College World Music Series in Illinois and to Bellapais Abbey in Cyprus, where President of North Cyprus Mustafa Akıncı was present. Their programs draw equally from Eastern and Western sources, frequently incorporating self-composed pieces that fuse the two spheres. They have also maintained a practice of remote collaboration between Anderson in Chicago and Emirzade in London, employing Whatsapp, Google Messaging, and Skype—an approach whose value became especially clear during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Their recorded output, some of it produced at a distance, mirrors this breadth. The debut album, Sans Paroles, appeared on the Soundset label in 2015 and presented works by Astor Piazzolla, Radamés Gnattali, and David Gottlieb and Grant Ferris, among others. Watching the World Go By followed in 2018 and was selected by Classical Guitar Magazine as one of the year’s ten finest releases. In 2020 the ensemble issued Guitar Duos of Kemal Belevi on Naxos, bringing renewed attention to the composer’s seldom-heard scores.
The pair came together in 2012 at the San Francisco Conservatory, where Necati Emirzade and Mark Anderson first collaborated as students. Emirzade, who traces his roots to Cyprus, now teaches in London, while Anderson serves on the faculties of Millikin University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and the Academy of Movement and Music and works with the organization Guitars over Guns. The duo characterizes its mission as “an instrumental guitar duo with an emphasis on story-telling through music.” Live appearances have taken them to the Elmhurst College World Music Series in Illinois and to Bellapais Abbey in Cyprus, where President of North Cyprus Mustafa Akıncı was present. Their programs draw equally from Eastern and Western sources, frequently incorporating self-composed pieces that fuse the two spheres. They have also maintained a practice of remote collaboration between Anderson in Chicago and Emirzade in London, employing Whatsapp, Google Messaging, and Skype—an approach whose value became especially clear during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Their recorded output, some of it produced at a distance, mirrors this breadth. The debut album, Sans Paroles, appeared on the Soundset label in 2015 and presented works by Astor Piazzolla, Radamés Gnattali, and David Gottlieb and Grant Ferris, among others. Watching the World Go By followed in 2018 and was selected by Classical Guitar Magazine as one of the year’s ten finest releases. In 2020 the ensemble issued Guitar Duos of Kemal Belevi on Naxos, bringing renewed attention to the composer’s seldom-heard scores.
Albums
Tuscany Scenes
2023
Liebestraum, S. 541, No. 3
2023
Prelude, Op. 28: No. 15
2022
Kemal Belevi: Guitar Duos
2020
John Henry
2017
Yeşil Şiir
2015
Sans Paroles
2015
Singles
