The Clone Duo

Maria Finkelmeier, percussion; Angela Shankar, clarinet

Angela Shankar and Maria Finkelmeier met as graduate students at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Their contagious energy and love for dancing and pie brought them together as friends quickly. They played in numerous ensembles together at Eastman, and finally created a duo after many conversations of “we have to do something together!” years after their tenure in Rochester. Their premiere performance occurred in Sweden in 2012, as a part of the Nattmusik Tour. In April 2013, the duo performed in France at Le Pavé d'Orsay and at the American Library in Paris. Because of the limited repertoire for percussion and clarinet, the duo is dedicated to establishing innovative new programs as well as writing and commissioning new works.

Angela and Maria perform Finkelmeier's new work for clarinet and marimba, entitled "Clone, for the Blue Cone" The title stems from a comment by a friend following a video meeting with the duo - "Maria, is she your clone or something?"

Here is the teaser video featuring Maria's "Clone, for the Blue Cone" and some gorgeous shots from our Nattmusik tour.