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Madera Dulce is an eclectic and engaging music duo comprised of bass and soprano clarinets, and contrabass guitars. Definitely not your typical chamber music ensemble, Madera Dulce has a unique musical voice and a large repertoire. With many Classical masterpieces from the past through to the present, as well as Latin compositions from Spain, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, and more, Madera Dulce performances always provide an exceptional and memorable musical experience. Please visit our website for further information, and to find several recordings of our playing from our most recent CD. Info : Bronwyn on bass & soprano clarinets, and Derek on fretted and fretless six-string contrabass guitars form this captivating musical duo. With this rare combination of instruments, these accomplished musicians present an amazing array of sound and style. Choosing musical works from classical as well as contemporary composers, Madera Dulce creates most of their own arrangements and orchestrations of famous pieces for their very unique instrumentation, in addition to writing their own original compositions. This versatile duo has an extensive and ever expanding repertoire. Performances can include excerpts of the Baroque period through to Modern classical music. Composers such as Bach, Marcello, Morigi, Mozart, and Vivaldi, to more contemporary scores from Evgrafov, Gioia, Hindemith, and Hovhaness. Passionate Spanish classical from Albeniz and Granados, the rich nuevo tango music of Astor Piazzolla, and Brazilian composers José Vieira Brandão and João Guilherme Ripper. Madera Dulce was originally formed in 1996 in southern California, and has enjoyed much success performing on the West Coast and Central regions of the United States and Canada. A Spanish phrase meaning ‘sweet wood', the name Madera Dulce accurately portrays the rich and vibrant tonalities that these two musicians achieve with their fine, custom instruments, which were all handcrafted from rare and beautiful exotic hardwoods from around the globe. Bio : - Bronwyn has performed with many ensembles internationally; United States, Mexico, Canada, and Asia. She also works in recording studios, playing a variety of styles, and is the founder of Madera Dulce. When performing in the Los Angeles area, Bronwyn has freelanced with many acclaimed orchestras, and played under the direction of such famous names as John Williams, Maurice Jarre, Herbie Hancock, and Elmer Bernstein. In addition, she has performed as a soloist with such acclaimed ensembles as the Grand Piano Symphony, and the Hollywood Pops Orchestra. She performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra of Washington. Bronwyn studied Soprano and Bass Clarinet with Gary Bovyer of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, David Howard of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hanoch Tel-Oren of the Jerusalem Symphony, Cris Inguanti of the Vancouver Symphony, and David Shifrin of the American Symphony Orchestra and Cleveland Symphony. She has also participated in Master classes with Georgina Dobrée of the Royal Academy of London, and Larry Combs of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. - Derek is a bassist with a varied background in many styles of music. Playing and performing professionally for over 25 years, he has been involved in numerous types of musical situations; from big band, swing, and jazz, to blues and pop, from rock music to classical ensembles and symphony orchestras. In addition to instrumental performance, Derek has been a composer in various idioms for many years. The repertoire of Madera Dulce contains some original works, with much of the remaining repertoire arranged by Derek as well. As well as being one half of Madera Dulce, Derek has performed with the woodwind quintet Ofiralane, the clarinet quartet Dalbergia, and the Whatcom Ensemble. He has had the opportunity to perform live and on record for many artists and groups as both as a permanent member and as a freelance artist over the years in the United States, Canada, and Europe.