Fishel - Duo Pneuma - Flute & Organ

Duo Pneuma was formed in 2004 to perform literature for flute and organ. We have performed in the Ann Arbor Summer Festival for the Arts; at The University of Michigan's Blanche Anderson Moore Hall; at U of M's Hill Auditorium; in New York; Paris; Lisbon; and Sarasota, Florida.

Dr. Marilyn Mason is University Organist and Chairman of the Organ Department at The University of Michigan. Her extensive career as concert organist, lecturer, adjudicator, and teacher has carried her throughout the musical world. During a single year, invitations took her to five continents. Professor Mason has served as judge at nearly every major organ competition in the world. Her dedication to contemporary music is evidenced in the sixty-five works that she has commissioned and premiered. Currently, she is pursuing her commitment to stylistic integrity through research into the construction and tonal design of historic European instruments. Twenty research tours have focused on historic organs in Europe.

Our signature piece is The Breath of the Spirit, with poetry by Ken Gaertner and music by Gregory Hamilton. We commissioned this piece and premiered it in New York on October 19, 2004. Since then, we have performed it in Paris, France; Plymouth, Michigan; Lisbon, Portugal; Sarasota, FL; and Ann Arbor.

The Breath of the Spirit, a verse drama and musical composition for two narrators, flute, and organ, features a series of nine poems by poet-playwright Ken Gaertner. The poems speak of the emotional and spiritual worlds of several biblical characters: Mary, Herod, Jesus, Thomas, Mary Magdalene, and Judas. The work features a score by Gregory Hamilton which explores the emotional and spiritual imagery of the poetry.

Ken Gaertner is a poet and dramatist whose plays have been widely produced in New York, as well as in the Midwest and Florida. His poetry has been published in several magazines. His poem 911 was awarded the Editor's Choice Award from The Penwood Review of Los Alamitos, CA.

Gregory Hamilton, composer and organist, has works published for piano, organ, and choir. He also performs early music in the U.S. and abroad.