StringQuake
Amelia Romano, harp; Misha Khalikulov, cello; Joshua Mellinger, percussion
With an emphasis on exciting and unexpected grooves, adventurous improvisations and rich soundscapes, StringQuake has captivated audiences far and wide. StringQuake formed in 2012 with the mission to use their unique instrumentation (electric harp, cello, and percussion) to transcend audience expectations. They have produced an outpouring of original recordings that harken to the diverse collaborative cultural scene found in their native San Francisco Bay Area.
Each performance draws listeners in to hyper meticulous musical arrangements while still giving each trio member soloistic freedom. Impossible to genre-fy, StringQuake’s stylistic influences include traditional classical chamber music, jazz, Latin, classical Indian, West African folk and Balkan music. StringQuake has toured Mexico, Oregon and performs extensively in the Bay Area, releasing their first album Take 15 in 2013 and Cascade in 2016.
Amelia Romano’s sound is an eclectic blend of austere serenity and kinetic vibrancy. With a B.A. from UC Berkeley, Romano takes what is known about conventional harp and surpasses every time. Pulling from first-hand experiences in South Africa and from her roots in a cultural hotbed in San Francisco, Amelia not only plays music from the repertoire but reprises them and creates originals that can be heard on her latest album, New Perspectives. Latin American, popular and jazz are all genres she touches but her music defines its own path.
Misha Khalikulov is a cellist born in the former U.S.S.R. republic of Uzbekistan and raised in San Francisco. He holds a degree in Classical Cello Performance from UCLA under the tutelage of Antonio Lysy. A member of numerous bands including Rupa and the April Fishes, he has toured in over 25 countries, performed on international music festival stages around the world, and can be heard on half a dozen recordings including Build, released in Fall 2012. Aside from performing, Misha devotes his time to music education.
A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, Joshua Mellinger, has been studying Percussion since 2000. He attended Interlochen Arts Academy while in high school, and performed with the Michigan Ambassadors of Music in 2004. Since receiving his BFA in Percussion Performance in 2010 he has continued his tabla studies with Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, and performs with several groups in the San Francisco Bay Area including Levona Ensemble.