Diatonic Expeditions (Austria)
Image: Dora Neubacher
DECEMBER 11 | 6:30 PM
TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN DUE COURSE
Join us for our Christmas concert with the Austrian trio “Diatonische Expeditionen” featuring Theresa Lehner (harp & singing), Katharina Baschinger (Styrian button accordion) and Alexander Maurer (Styrian button accordion).
About the Concert
On a diatonic expedition, tradition meets innovation. The Austrian trio “Diatonische Expeditionen” takes listeners on a musical journey through alpine folk music, jazz, pop, classical, and their own compositions. They blend the unique sound of the Styrian button accordion with smooth alto vocals and the full, sparkling ring of a harp. Theresa Lehner, Katharina Baschinger and Alexander Maurer are excited to share a facet of the Austrian musical soul, rich in tradition and diversity, with audiences in the United States.
About the Trio
Diatonische Expeditionen, founded in 2017, has performed in various venues, including the jazz club “Porgy & Bess” in Vienna and “Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival” in Germany. Their music has been broadcast by Austrian Radio ORF and featured on national television in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The trio’s music is also fueled by substantial musicianship; all of the musicians have undergone rigorous training at conservatoire level. Notably, Alexander Maurer is the first performer on the Styrian button accordion worldwide to have secured a tenured professorial rank at prestigious Anton Bruckner University in Linz.
Alexander Maurer, born in 1985, is the first person worldwide to earn the distinction of associate professor for the Styrian button accordion. He has redefined the musical and technical possibilities of his instrument, by pushing musical boundaries in search of its limits. He has performed around 500 concerts with a number of self-founded musical groups, including “Faltenradio” and “Diatonische Expeditionen,” filling venues such as the Wiener Musikverein (Austria), the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg (Germany), the Merano Civic Theater (Italy), and the Alpentöne Festival (Switzerland). Alexander Maurer teaches at music universities in Munich (Germany) and Linz (Austria). In the past 15 years he has successfully established his own record label, “hamau-records,” and has published 10 albums to date. His personal compositions, which can be found in his songbook, “Danke!”, are rooted in alpine folk music and can be heard on his albums.
Katharina Baschinger, born in 2001, is passionate in presenting new sounds that are rooted in alpine folk music but influenced by various other music styles. After studying Styrian button accordion in Linz and Salzburg (Austria) and Munich (Germany), she now plays and teaches the instrument in Austria and Germany. In her capacity as a presenter for the Austrian radio station (ORF), Katharina Baschinger offers listeners a wide range of Austrian folk music. She is also part of a team developing a new online-platform for music education, called “applause.school.” Katharina composes new melodies in order to develop the repertoire of songs for Styrian button accordion further. Those compositions are published in her own song book, “Auf Expedition.”
Theresa Lehner, born in 1995, has been deeply connected with alpine folk music since her childhood. She studied the dulcimer at Bruckner University in Linz, Austria, and she is an extremely passionate harpist and singer, interpreting genres such as folk, jazz and pop. Theresa teaches dulcimer, harp, singing and folk music and shares her experience at courses across the alpine region. One of her resounding strengths is her ability to transcribe music from various genres for folk music instruments. This remarkable sensitivity leads to a great musical variety for the ensemble “Diatonische Expeditionen” as well as her solo playing and her music education endeavors.