Florie Namir and R.D. King: A Legacy of Classical Music
Two distinctive artists take backgrounds in classical music in opposite directions. Jazz-pop singer-songwriter Florie Namir and acoustic guitar virtuoso R.D. King use elements of classical music to breathe fresh life into original music.
FLORIE NAMIR is a composer and an Affiliated Artist at the Music Department at MIT. Her songs combine pre-war American vocal jazz with old-school pop (The Beatles, Elton John). Tel Aviv born, Namir moved to the U.S. for her graduate studies, an experience that has shaped many of her songs. While working on her PhD in classical composition, Namir started establishing herself as singer-songwriter in Boston music scene, playing the Boston Jewish Music Festival, Mondo.NYC, and Sofar Sounds, Boston. In June, 2017, she opened for Boston's vocal powerhouse, Ruby Rose Fox at Brighton Music Hall. Namir is currently working on her debut studio album.
Namir's classical works have been performed worldwide by Dinosaur Annex Ensembles (United States), Meitar Ensemble (Israel), Quartetto Mansi (Italy), Prometheus Ensemble (Belgium) among others. She is a winner of the John H. Rauch Competition and recipient of Diploma D’onore from the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Italy. Her work Dialogue for Two Pianos integrates unused sketches by Hindemith. She was Invited Composer at the Académie Musicale De Villecroze, France and the International Summer Academy of Music, Germany.
R.D. King is a Boston-based composer and acoustic guitar virtuoso. The winner of the 2017 Canadian Guitar Festival's International Fingerstyle Guitar Competition, he has opened for Andy McKee, Ari Hest, Liz Longley, and many others. Using only instrumental music, he creates compelling narratives and emotional experiences. Through composing and performing, King explores life, consciousness, and meaning, grappling with questions of individual and shared experience. Listening to King’s music is an emotional and introspective journey that is difficult to parse into genre or tradition. King’s audiences describe his music as passionate, powerful, deeply memorable, and—at times—extraordinary.
His debut album, vs. Self, was released on April 27, 2017. Featuring nine original tracks for solo acoustic guitar, it is available on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, Tidal, and more.
King draws inspiration from literature, philosophy, psychology, and meditation. Born into a family of writers, artists, and musicians, King has always turned to creative process as the framework for introspection and growth. A graduate of Ithaca College School of Music, King performs at venues in New England and beyond.
