DUE EAST won first prize in the 2008 National Flute Association Chamber Music Competition. The duo has performed in Brazil, Europe, Canada and the USA at venues such as the Warsaw Crossdrumming Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, the SEAMUS conference, Bargemusic, the National Flute Association Conventions in Kansas and New York and the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions in Texas, Tennessee and Ohio. The duo’s first recording, Simultaneous Worlds, is scheduled for release on Albany Records in October, 2010. They can also be heard on the Brazilian label, Gravina Música.
The duo has given recitals at performing arts series, such as Ke’nek’t (SUNY-Oswego) and Arts and Ideas(Lewis University); new music festivals (Greensboro, NC and Moline, IL); and universities across the United States. They have appeared at Bargemusic (NYC) as concerto soloists with The Knights and at Northern Illinois University with the NIU New Music Ensemble. In 2005, DUE EAST was an invited ensemble-in-residence at the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival.
DUE EAST actively promotes new music, and has commissioned several works. They have given American premieres of works by David Lang and Alejandro Viñao, and world premieres of numerous works through organizations such as Wet Ink Musics (NYC), Composer’s Concordance (NYC), Columbia University Composers Ensemble, Princeton University Composer’s Ensemble and New York University’s First Performance. At universities and other schools, Lesser and Beyer frequently present workshops for composers and instrumentalists on contemporary music and its various extended techniques for their respective instruments.
Both accomplished and virtuosic soloists in their own right, Beyer and Lesser work closely with young composers to develop unique and engaging 21st century repertoire. Their programs are varied and highly engaging, ranging from extensive multi-media and technology-driven works to pieces that call for a variety of world music instruments in combination with folksong-like vocals and narratives. Beyer is an expert performer of the Afro-Brazilian berimbau, and incorporates this instrument into DUE EAST shows.
"Due East brings a deep musicianship and stunning virtuosity to all that they play. In a single evening they travel through the raw beauty of Brazilian folk music to the intricate scores of Xenakis with an unwavering commitment. Due East does not merely play together, they breathe as one, inspiring audiences with illuminating insight into new musical vistas."
