Baltimore-based percussionist and performer Adam Rosenblatt has a penchant for finding interesting and uncommon ways to present and perform contemporary music. He has a keen interest for growing an interdisciplinary performance practice, believing that a mix of media and art forms can speak more directly and powerfully to our current context.
Adam frequently performs with such groups as the Ictus Ensemble in Brussels, Belgium, and Trinity Wall Street’s NOVUS NY, and is a founding member of percussion trio QuaQuaQua and mixed ensemble Something Out There, both of which focus on the ambiguous space between musical and theatrical performance. Adam has recently performed in such varied venues as The Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens, Greece; Berghain in Berlin with experimental electronic duo Matmos; The Banff Centre for the Arts as part of the Concerts in the 21st Century residency; and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium to perform a work for drumset, electronics, and motion sensors for school children. Adam’s interest in interdisciplinary performance has led him to collaborate with dancers and choreographers on several occasions, including the “In Vivo Danse” workshop through IRCAM’s Manifeste festival, and in Rosas dance company’s production of “Drumming Live.”
Highlights of Adam’s 18-19 season include a new production of Michael Gordon’s Timber with original reactive lighting elements; performances with Great Noise Ensemble, NakedEye Ensemble, and at WNYC’s variety show 44 Charlton; and a season-long collaboration on a new production with Maschinenhaus Essen, ensemble Something Out There, and composer François Sarhan.
Adam avidly collaborates with composers to bring new and exciting works to fruition. He has premiered many works by emerging composers in venues such as Gare du Nord in Basel, Het Veem in Amsterdam, the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, and Q-O2 in Brussels. With Something Out There, Adam recently co-developed and performed in new productions in Moers, Germany, and Paris and Orleans, France. Adam continues to keep the creation of new works and collaborations with composers among his highest priorities, having had the great fortune in past years to work closely with such composers as David Lang, Thierry de Mey, Martin Bresnick, and James Wood.
Adam also devotes much of his energy to introducing contemporary music to young people in creative ways. He has collaborated extensively with Belgian presenter Zonzo Compagnie, participating in their “music rooms” program and in their “Big Bang” festivals in Lisbon, Brussels, Lille, and Gent. As an extension of these productions, Adam has co-created and led interactive body percussion workshops for children in Antwerp, Belgium, and in Yerevan, Armenia. Currently, Adam works as a teaching artist for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids program and Young Audiences of Maryland’s Summer Arts and Learning Academy. He also co-directs the percussion program at the Peabody Preparatory.
Adam earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Peabody Conservatory and a Master of Music Degree from the Yale School of Music, both under the tutelage of Robert van Sice. Through grants from the Flemish Government, the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund, and the Belgian American Education Foundation, Adam performed and studied contemporary chamber music with the Ictus and Spectra Ensembles in Belgium as part of their Advanced Masters academy program.
Adam is currently an artist in residence at The Creative Alliance in Baltimore.
