Department of Music

rare degree - Michael Straus (saxophones) and Dana Jessen (bassoon) works by Ivo Bol, Anne La Berge, Matthew Burtner, Dana Jessen as well as improvisations with students from UVA's VCCM.

rare degree is an Amsterdam-based duo focused on the performance of new and experimental electroacoustic music.  Founded in 2006 and always on the move, the duo has presented concerts at venues throughout the U.S. and Europe, with recent appearances at Chicago's Heaven Gallery of Art, Portugal's Musicbox Club, Amsterdam's De Kazerne, U.K.'s Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Washington D.C.'s Artomatic Festival.  They have performed with a wide variety of experimental artists including turntablist DJ Dubble8, visual artist Sarah Buckius, guitarist Vitor Rua, Quatuor Bozzini and self-proclaimed knife virtuoso Hyaena Reich.  Upcoming events include shows up and down the East Coast of the U.S. as well as appearance throughout The Netherlands and Belgium.  Formally educated, they hold graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, Peabody Conservatory of Music and are both recent recipients of Fulbright Fellowships.  Please visit www.mstraus.net and www.danajessen.com for further exploration.