New York City based cellist, vocalist and composer Jody Redhage and her band Fire in July will perform at Baltimore’s An die Musik LIVE! on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 8 and 9:30 pm, to kick off the group’s Summer 2010 east coast tour. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students/seniors. An die Musik LIVE! is located at 409 North Charles Street, Second Floor, in Baltimore, Maryland. Phone is 888.221.6170 or 410.385.2638.

Fire in July is comprised of Jody Redhage, voice & cello; Daisy Press, voice; Alan Ferber, trombone; and Tim Collins, vibraphone. At this concert, the band will be previewing new music that has been written for the upcoming song cycle “The Spirit of the Garden,” using poetry that explores the nexus of spirituality and nature.  The lyrics are from poets from all over the world: French, Japanese, American, middle eastern–all different traditions that celebrate spirituality through gardening.

Called an “adventurous cello songstress” by Time Out NY, cellist, composer, and vocalist Jody Redhage is “a new music dynamo…Redhage is cultivating a repertoire of indie art song that breaches genre boundaries and makes for stirring listening” (MusicWorks Magazine).  Redhage has spent the past seven years developing the ability to simultaneously sing and play rhythmically complex and intricate lines.  Her passion is setting 20th and 21st century American poetry into art song, and she principally composes for her ensemble Fire in July.  Redhage’s compositions meld the detail and finesse of chamber music with the energy and drive of jazz improvisation and more popular genres. With tinges of Medieval chanson and hints of Kurt Weill, Redhage creates a captivating blend of genres that simply comes across as her own unique voice.

Fire in July released their debut album Ancient Star on Sept. 15, 2009.  Ancient Star has been called “a real accomplishment, refreshing and enjoyable, music that is exploring and pioneering a new style and doing so with real thought and skill” – George Grella, The Big City. The band features: Jody Redhage, voice, cello, compositions; Ken Thomson, clarinet & bass clarinet; Alan Ferber, trombones; Tom Beckham, vibraphone; and Fred Kennedy, drums & percussion.

Having begun composing at age 19, Jody studied composition at the University of California Berkeley and cello performance at the Manhattan School of Music. In New York, Jody continued her composition studies with Bang on a Can founder Julia Wolfe. Redhage has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, and on NBC, CBS, and ABC. Redhage’s original compositions have also been featured on several NPR stations across the country, including a recent feature of songs from “Ancient Star” on WNYC’s Spinning on Air.