Fire & Grace & Ash | Music in the Afternoon
Fire & Grace & Ash is an eclectic collaboration among guitarist William Coulter, violinist Edwin Huizinga, and mandolinist Ashley Hoyer. This unique trio explores the connective musical elements of classical, folk and contemporary traditions from around the world. Their repertoire is vast, ranging from Bach to Vivaldi, tango to Celtic tunes, traditional Bulgarian to American fiddle tunes and waltzes, all played with a sense of discovery and commitment to the elements of passion and virtuosity. Spring 2019 marked the release of Fire & Grace & Ash’s debut album, Partita Americana, whose title track features J.S. Bach’s Violin Partita No. 3 transcribed for the trio and interspersed with traditional American folk music. Acoustic Guitar Magazine raves, “Centuries and cultural barriers melt away as old-world bourées and minuets spiral seamlessly into all-American waltzes and folk dances.”
Musicians:
Edwin Huizinga - violin
William Coulter - guitar
Ashley Hoyer - mandolin
One-hour concert from 1:00–2:00 PM. Coffee and snacks will be served in the lobby after the concert.
Early Bird tickets are $20 until February 1. General Admission is $30.
No refunds once tickets are purchased.
Performing both baroque and modern repertoire, Canadian violinist Edwin Huizinga
has appeared alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Mike Marshall, and Stevie Wonder. He has been featured as a soloist with the San Bernardino Symphony, Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, and the Banff Summer Arts Festival, and has performed as conductor and soloist with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra. Edwin is a founding member of the baroque ensemble ACRONYM which has released ten full-length albums of previously unknown and unrecorded baroque music. Edwin also performs worldwide with his folk and baroque duo Fire & Grace, and tours extensively with Tafelmusik. Edwin is part of the artistic leadership of Carmel Bach Festival, and serves as the Artistic Director for Sweetwater Music Festival and Big Sur Music Camp. An avid composer, Edwin was commissioned to write a piece for Canada's 150th anniversary. Edwin is a member of the Juno-nominated indie rock band The Wooden Sky, and is a founding member of the Classical Revolution—an organization dedicated to shaping the future of concerts and jam sessions in alternative locations around the world.
Edwin Huizinga plays a violin by Jacques Thibault, 1826 Paris, France.
William Coulter is an internationally acclaimed, Grammy award winning master of the steel-string guitar. His most recent solo recording, The Rolling Waves, was released in 2023 and features music from Ireland and Sweden, and beyond. In 2021, Coulter’s duo - Fire & Grace, released Alma, an eclectic recording of Classical and Traditional music. Fire & Grace tours have taken them around the states and to Europe, New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan and Ireland. Coulter has been Music Director for Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas since 1998, and has performed with the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Apollo’s Fire and many other ensembles. Collaborations have been a mainstay of his career including tours and recordings with Gourd Music artists Neal Hellman and Barry and Shelley Phillips; a trio with fiddler John Weed and cellist Aria Di Salvio called One Lane Bridge; classical guitar virtuoso Benjamin Verdery, Irish flute wizard Brian Finnegan, and native Irish singer Éilís Kennedy.
Coulter teaches classical guitar, and directs a Celtic Chamber Music ensemble at UC Santa Cruz. He teaches at many summer camps and festivals. Upcoming projects include performances around the US with A Celtic Christmas, and a new recording and concerts with Fire & Grace. Coulter earned degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and UC Santa Cruz.
William Coulter plays a custom Meridian Guitar by Mike Baranik and uses D'Addario Strings exclusively.
Ashley Hoyer is described as a “mandolin phenomenon” by the San Diego Tribune. She performs in various venues and ensembles ranging from great dance halls with The Syncopaths; to castles of Ireland with Sam ‘n Ash; to classical concert halls with Fire, Grace, & Ash; as well as small listening rooms with her all-original-music folk trio Long Story Short. A frequent collaborator, Ashley’s playing can be heard on albums such as Karan Casey’s Nine Apples of Gold as well as Brian Finnegan’s Hunger of the Skin. Ashley is an avid composer, premiering and recording her folk and new music works with various bands, chamber ensembles, and orchestras. She has an unquenchable curiosity for composition and perpetually chips away at writing projects and commissions.
Ashley Hoyer plays a 2005 "Classic" model mandolin by Oliver Apitius.
Senior Programs are made possible in part by generous contributions from the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund, the John R. Schwabacher Family, Diane and Jon Claerbout, as well as many other individual donors. We are grateful for their generous support.