“(Ms. Farnum possesses) A honeyed tone that sailed gracefully”

-Allan Kozinn, New York Times

 

“Anderson and Fader are expert chamber musicians with a perfect sense of timing, virtuosity and a sensitivity to nuance.”

— Guitar Review

 

Vox n Plux combines guitarists William Anderson and Oren Fader with noted soprano Elizabeth Farnum. Anderson and Fader have been performing and recording with Farnum for two decades, as members of the two-guitar based Cygnus Ensemble. The trio has been heard in concerts in New York (Weill Hall at Carnegie), New Jersey, California (Festival of New American Music), and other states.

Vox n Plux specializes in contemporary music, especially the work of American composers, and also performs music by the early masters (Monteverdi, Dowland, and Bach). Vox n Plux also offers voice paired with other instruments, including classical and electric guitars,mandolin, banjo and theorbo.

 

A list of composers who have written works for the Duo and/or Ms. Farnum reads like a who’s who of contemporary composers: Babbitt, Brickle, Bond, Davidovsky, Greenbaum, Korf, Naito, Potes, Rakowski, Wuorinen, and many others.

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Vox n Plux recent shows include a new version of Ezra Pound's Opera "Le Testament de Villon", orchestrated by Frank Brickle, premiered at Symphony Space in New York, and featured in the New Yorker Magazine.

Ms. Farnum appears as a guest artist on three different recordings featuring the Anderson-Fader Duo: works of Wuorinen (Cygnus “Broken Consort”),  Frank Brickle; (‘Ab Nou Cor”), and Sidney Corbett on the newly released Anderson-Fader disc, “Le Cirque”.

Vox n Plux was also delighted to perform William Anderson's Djuna Barnes Settings, written for the ensemble, in a new version with the Riverside Symphony Orchestra. 

 

Ms. Farnum is also a prolific studio artist, and has been featured on over 30 recordings, four

of which were nominated for Grammy awards.

She is one of today’s most highly sought-after vocalists in the field of modern music. Widely known for her high level of musicianship, versatility and range, she has presented modern works in venues such as Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, London's Institute for Contemporary Art, the American Academy at Rome and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, collaborating with such composers as Samuel Adler, Anthony Braxton, Lucas Foss, Ricky Ian Gordon, John Harbison, Peter Schickele, Charles Wuorinen and John Zorn.

Mr. Anderson and Mr. Fader met while in their teens in New York City, as students of the legendary guitarist, David Starobin. Now based in New York City, the Duo has performed with many presenters and organizations, most notably with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Chamber Players at Zankel Hall, performing the guitar and mandolin parts in Elliott Carter's "Luimen". Anderson and Fader, with Cygnus, were in residence at the Library of Congress in the winter of 2012. Ongoing residencies at the CUNY Graduate Center and Sarah Lawrence College give the Duo an opportunity to work with young composers.