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Robert J. Solley Theater, Paul Robeson Center for the Arts

Electric Diamond is an electronic music duo, consisting of Stuart Diamond, electronic wind instrument, and Don Slepian, electric keyboards. Together they will perform the complete Pictures at an Exhibition – two musicians building a tapestry of sonic and orchestral landscapes that redefine this romantic masterpiece. The ensemble will perform other works from its repertoire – ranging from classical compositions (Bach, Marcello, Handel, et al) to edgy free-wheeling improvisations.

Electric Diamond is one of the longest-lived electronic performance ensembles – 35 years plus and going strong. The ensemble first performed in 1976 playing concerts at Carnegie Recital Hall, Symphony Space, the Guggenheim Museum and other venues of the New York 1970s new music scene. In the mid 1980’s electronic wind player founder Stuart Diamond joined forces with the eclectic electric keyboard innovator Don Slepian, whose credits and talents are legendary – from artist-engineer-in-residence at Bell Laboratories to the original ambient sound painter for “Music form the Hearts of Space”. Together they began presenting programs that integrated classical music with free-flowing improvisations – from Bach to Mussorgsky, from medieval dances to Native American soundscapes. They have performed throughout America and Asia, performing for the erudite audiences at Steinway Hall to the crowds at the Macy’s 4th of July Celebration in downtown Manhattan.

“A wonderful trip into the asteroids…a fully symphonic piece of intense dignity and feeling.” — Variety
“Turning rock and roll into chamber music may be about as elusive a trick as the alchemists’ dream of turning lead into gold, but Stuart Diamond, at least to my ears has done it…ahead of his time.”–Miami Herald
“Imaginative, visual, linear music the music Tolkien might have written if he had used a piano instead of a pen”–Christian Science Monitor
“Stuart Diamond is a refreshingly original composer in that he subscribes to no fashionable school and apparently writes according to his own fancy. His music possesses a dreamy impressionistic quality with long, sinuous melodic lines…”–The New York Times
Don Slepian’s “music is already at the level of sonic and musical integration which few achieve — simultaneously stimulating and effervescent and soothing and profound.”–“Hearts of Space” Music Guide