REFLECT
harp+percussion
harp+percussion
NEWS and upcoming events
WHO we areThe REFLECT harp+percussion duo consists of Dr. Alaina Graiser (harp) and Dr. Brian Graiser (percussion), both of whom currently serve as music faculty members at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX.
REFLECT’s roots come from a mutual passion for the music of the Belle Époque and Fin de siècle periods, and French Impressionism in particular. The duo’s musical identity reflects this passion in two ways: by looking back and preserving the music of that period through innovative and faithful transcription, and by harnessing the surge of creativity and experimentalism of that time in the promotion of new works for harp and percussion today. REFLECT has engaged in multiple performance tours across the U.S., collaborated with a number of composers, and presented several world premieres of works written for and by the duo. Together, Alaina and Brian have performed across North America, including performances at major conferences such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) and the American Harp Society (AHS) Summer Institute. Upcoming projects include completing their transcriptions of both La Mer and Le Tombeau de Couperin, touring the Central U.S. in Spring 2020, and giving the world premiere of Milk and Honey, written for them by composer Stuart Saunders Smith. Both members of REFLECT are contributors and leaders in the musical world. Alaina is the current Adjunct Instructor of Harp at SHSU and Treasurer of the Greater Houston Chapter of the AHS, having formerly served as Adjunct Instructor of Harp Pedagogy at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), President of the AHS Cincinnati Chapter, and Director and Founder of the Cincinnati Summer Harp Camp. She has performed with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Opera Project Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Pops Orchestra, Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, and Marshall Symphony Orchestra, among others. Alaina is an internationally-respected specialist in the field of harp pedagogy, and has presented on the subject at the 2014 World Harp Congress, the 2015 and 2019 AHS Summer Institutes, and as a guest lecturer at numerous events across the U.S. and Canada. Her current projects include creating a research-based sequential, personalized harp curriculum; writing a harp pedagogy workbook; and developing the “Create Your Own Curriculum” Harp Repertoire Online Database. Brian is a percussionist, composer, and teacher, and is the current Adjunct Instructor of Percussion and Marching Percussion Director at SHSU. He is also the Executive Director of the 2021 Vibraphone Century Project, a reviewer for the Percussive Notes journal, and a member of the PAS Composition Committee, and formerly served as Adjunct Instructor of Percussion for the CCM Preparatory Department and as Director and Founder of the Cincinnati Youth Percussion Ensemble. He is one of the world’s leading advocates for the extended-range vibraphone, highlighted by such efforts as his Concerto No. 1 [“Lulu”], the world’s first concerto for four-octave vibraphone, along with numerous commissions, premieres, and research pertaining to the instrument. Recent performance highlights include appearances as a vibraphone soloist at PASIC and the Festival Alfredo Saint-Malo in Panama, and as a bodhrán soloist with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He has written works for the Toronto Youth Wind Ensemble, the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, the PAS-Panama Summer Percussion Ensemble, the TorQ Percussion Quartet, REFLECT, and numerous university ensembles and solo artists across North America. Brian is an artist-endorser of Salyers Percussion and Dream Cymbals and Gongs, and is the proud owner of a DeMorrow Instruments four-octave vibraphone. The husband-and-wife team holds a combined seven academic degrees in music, completing their Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at CCM in 2015, and currently live in Huntsville with their one-year-old son William and their three rabbits. |
WHAT we offerREFLECT harp+percussion is firmly committed to the ideals of community and student enrichment through exposure to professionals with diverse backgrounds, and offers a number of performance and teaching/clinic options suitable for all ages and levels of education (ranging from public "pops" performances to university lectures):
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