Sonic Escape features Maria Kaneko Millar (violin) and Shawn Wyckoff (flute), a pair of Juilliard graduates whose blend of hyper-instrumentals, stories, moves and original works is "wonderfully imaginative... with a wide-ranging, anything-goes sense of fun." (The Washington Post)
Watch Sonic Escape Perform for the Flute Center of New York
We had so much fun putting this performance together for you to enjoy! Dozens of livestreams (and our awesome YouTube audience!) have powered us to capture the best sound + video possible in a single, unedited take. This is the culmination of that hard work! We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Click on pic to watch video:
Check Out Maria & Shawn’s New YouTube Series
We are delighted to present FEARLESS COVERS, a new livestreamed series in which we improvise with today’s hits.
This is our live show
We performed for a couple-thousand audience members at the Florida Music Education Association’s Annual Conference and, as luck would have it, we found a camera crew willing to fly down the aisles alongside us! We are so grateful to them for capturing our show… and to FMEA and Canada Council for the Arts for making this performance and video possible.
Maria’s Violin Solos..
Check out Maria’s virtuosic rendition of tango La Cumparsita, now available in Sonic Escape‘s sheet music store! Also available for purchase is Sakura, which was recently published in a first-run printing of 12,400 copies for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and is currently sold in 90+ countries. Maria is the only living composer featured in the publication!
Telling a story with instruments…
Humanity is Maria’s response to hearing the cries of children separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border. She chose the violin & flute to tell the story of a mother and her young son – of hope for a shared future that compels them to run, desperately trying to keep a hold of each other in the face of a world that pulls them apart. Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for making this composition possible.
Where we’ve been, where we’re going
Sonic Escape’s Guide to Performing on YouTube
We are thrilled at long last to bring you our Guide to Performing – an in-depth romp through all things performance-related. Tips, hacks and stories from the road that might just provide a nugget or two for aspiring musicians. New episodes every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Sonic Escape’s music travels the world
We LOVE hearing from people who play our compositions! Since we started offering our sheet music a couple of years ago, we’ve sold hundreds of copies in 30+ countries – Azerbaijan to Malta, South Africa to Japan. Check out our store to see if there’s a piece for you!
I Don’t Practise (and Neither Should You)!
We often get asked, “How often do you practise,” to which Maria answers, “I don’t.” In Maria’s new entry for her series, Play Harder, she explains why…
Debut of the Skiing Flutist
We’ve experienced a lot of winter storms on the East Coast of late and, rather than grumble about it, decided to pack our skis, flute & camera and head to Vermont! A few tips:
- Downhill speed ≠ getting a sound
- Stick to the top octave (preferably with one hand to get in some dance moves)
- Below freezing temperatures might get you stuck to your flute
- Stop playing and throw the flute if you’re going to crash!
Hope you enjoy the video 🙂