Ensemble Modern

Frank Zappa rehearsing with Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt, September 1992

The Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members. They worked with Zappa on:

• The Yellow Shark
• Civilization Phaze III
• EIHN (Everything Is Healing Nicely)

In 2002 they recorded:

• Greggery Peccary & Other Persuasions.

Members of the Ensemble during the The Yellow Shark/EIHN (Everything Is Healing Nicely) 1992 recordings

Peter Rundel - Conductor, Violin Dietmar Wiesner - Piccolo, Flute, Alto Flute, Bass Flute Catherine Milliken - Oboe, Baritone Oboe, English Horn, Didgeridoo Roland Diry - Clarinet Wolfgang Stryi - Bass Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone Veit Scholz - Bassoon, Contrabassoon Franck Ollu - French Horn Stefan Dohr - French Horn William Formann - Trumpet, Flügelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet, Cornet Michael Gross - Trumpet, Flügelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet, Cornet Uwe Dierksen - Trombone, Soprano Trombone Michael Svoboda - Trombone, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Didgeridoo, Alphorn, Conch Daryl Smith - Tuba

Hermann Kretzschmar - Piano, Harpsichord, Celeste, Dramatic Reading Ueli Wiget - Piano, Harpsichord, Celeste, Harp Rainer Römer - Percussion Rumi Ogawa-Helferich - Percussion, Cymbalom Andreas Böttger - Percussion Detlef Tewes - Mandolin Jürgen Ruck - Guitar, Banjo Ellen Wegner - Harp Mathias Tacke - Violin Claudia Sack - Violin Hilary Sturt - Viola, Dramatic Reading Friedemann Dähn - Cello Thomas Fichter - Contrabass, Electrocontrabass, Electric Bass Special Guest: L. Shankar - violin

Greggery Peccary & Other Persuasions

Jonathan Stockhammer (conductor) Dietmar Wiesner (flute, piccolo) Catherine Milliken (oboe, English horn, oboe d'amore) Roland Diry (clarinets) Wolfgang Stryi (bass clarinet, saxophone) Johannes Rupe (bassoon, contrabassoon) Simon Breyer (horn) Valentin Garvie (trumpet) Sava Stoianov (trumpet) Uwe Dierksen (trombone) Jozsef Juhasz (tuba) Rumi Ogawa (percussion) Rainer Römer (percussion) Pascal Pons (percussion) Hermann Kretzschmar (piano, sampler, synthesizer) Ueli Wiget (piano, sampler, synthesizer)

Manon Morris (harp) Detlef Tewes (mandolin, mandola) Jürgen Ruck (guitar, electric guitar, banjo) Mats Bergström (guitar, electric guitar) Jagdish Mistry (violin) Freya Ritts-Kirby (violin) Susan Knight (viola) Tom Dunn (viola) Eva Böcker (cello) Michael M. Kasper (cello) Christopher Brandt (electric bass) Corin Long (double bass) Norbert Ommer (sound director) Ali N. Askin (arrangements, transcriptions, sampling, sample arrangement and on track #10: Steno Pool choir) Omar Ebrahim (voice on track #10: Greggery Peccary) David Moss (voices on track #10: narrator, Billy the Mountain, Quentin Robert DeNameland) Todd Yvega (synclavier transcriptions, sampling, sample arrangement)