We’ve just released the official video for Sakura, filmed at the historic Maymont Japanese Garden in Richmond, VA! Since 2019, Maria’s creation for solo violin has been part of ABRSM’s violin curriculum which is taught in 93 countries. Want to play Sakura? Buy it at our STORE.
Author Archives: sonicescape
Seven Dreams Premiere on YouTube
Join us on Tuesday, January 17 @ 12 pm EST for the premiere. What is Seven Dreams? Picture Hans Zimmer having a dream about Indian dance, Japanese ceremony, Korean percussion and a flutist & violinist that love to break into dance:
Let’s Get Moved
Let’s Get Moved
Check out our new show, now booking for the 2023/24 Season:
Walking the Woods in Twilight
Queen of the Fiddle: A Celtic Celebration
Farewell to Erin
Humanity
Telemann Canonic Sonata
Queen of the Fiddle: A Celtic Celebration with Maria Millar
Now booking with orchestras worldwide! Have a listen to Queen of the Fiddle, a collaboration between Maria and composer/conductor Sean O’Loughlin:
Join us in St. Cloud!
We had a wonderful time chatting with Kelly Cordes on Minnesota’s New Country Radio 98.1. She put together this insightful article on why your family should join us this September 10! Click the pic to check it out (and listen to our interview):
The Fearless Performer Series
Join Maria LIVE on YouTube from August 13 – 19, 2022 @ 1 pm EST as she discusses the 7 essential elements that will make your performances extraordinary! This free series will feature a talk each day followed by a premiere from Maria’s recent Celtic/Classical show with the Victoria Symphony conducted by Sean O’Loughlin.
Adventures in Music + Film
We spent MANY hours in a forest – not a person in sight – taking turns filming, playing (and swatting mosquitoes) to bring you our latest creation. Canada Council for the Arts’ Digital Originals grant – an initiative spurred by the pandemic to help artists, arts groups, and organizations pivot their work for online sharing – enabled us to purchase the equipment we used to film this (and also livestream). We are so grateful.
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.
Concerts cancelled… so we come to you from our home!
Our March through May concerts have been cancelled, so we wanted to bring some good cheer to you – virtually – in these shared and dark times. We loved performing for the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival in New Orleans last October – today, we join forces once again to bring you this live-streamed performance (our first)!
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
Since 2009, Sonic Escape has crisscrossed North America again and again – want to see where? Check out our interactive map of past and upcoming tours.
Ableton Live in Action!
Making the switch from bulky pedals to Macbook Pro + Ableton Live was a challenge… and Power was the perfect piece to debut our new setup! Being able to record, loop, stop and reintroduce lines in real time has never been so fun. Thank you to the New York State School Music Association for featuring us at their Annual Conference.
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 40+ countries – Azerbaijan to Malta, South Africa to Japan. Check out our store to see if there’s a piece for you!
Shawn & Maria on Shopping in India
Q&A with Sonic Escape
National Association for Music Education
Four Seasons Rising (Violin + Orchestra)
Classical Flute & Violin Looping with Ableton
Game of Thrones/Foggy Dew/Cooley’s Reel
Celtic Classical Fusion
Concert – Washington, DC
Awesome live photos
We have discovered the perfect live music photographer – Ashlee Wilcox! She must’ve been as sweaty as we were, contorting to capture shots from every angle of our show for the National Association for Music Education. Click the photo for our favorite picks.
Maria’s “Fall” from “Four Seasons Rising”
Maria just completed her first orchestral work, and hit the recording studio so she could share it with you:
Our first music video!!!
Of course, the day we decided to shoot our video, it rained! We took it in stride, though, and even wrested a few dry minutes from the weather gods to whip out the drone! Frizzy hair, muddy feet, rain-infested instruments… it’s all featured in our collaboration with cinematographer Umit Gulsen. Without further ado, we proudly present:
Why We Perform
Our Corpus Christi audience’s energy made us giddy with excitement – they have set the bar HIGH for Texas. What a lovely introduction to this state… and this was just mid-concert!
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…
Bringing Music to Life
The Montgomery Advertiser just published a front-page feature about our concerts and residency in Montgomery, AL. Click here to read the article, Bringing Music to Life.
Sonic Escape in Pictures
See Sonic Escape play their way across North America in candid shots of their concerts, outreach, flash shows, tour van and of course, cats! Check out their Flickr photostream for a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road…
Wonderful Feature Story about Sonic Escape
The expert pen of Jeremy D. Bonfiglio proves that the art of storytelling is alive and well! Check out this beautifully written piece about Maria and Shawn’s fateful trip to Ireland, and the music and relationship that ensued: Classical, Irish traditions merge in Sonic Escape.
Tickets for NYC Show Now On Sale!
It’s been a LONG time since we’ve performed a show in Manhattan, so we’re excited to be doing so in association with The Delancey and our favorite, 9000-member strong New York Vegetarian & Vegan Meetup Group! Read more and buy your tickets here!
