arts & life

Nuclassica incorporates a DJ, lighting effects and a rotating group of instrumentalists.

Yount Blood

A local violinist

puts a fresh spin

on his classical

training.

Jordan Allen Broder

I

Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer

ih jp ordan Allen Broder's vio-

lin group, Nuclassica, has
reached a milestone.
The instrumentalists, often
rotating and working with a DJ,
now consider themselves inter-
national performers with a recent
appearance in Windsor. Broder,
working with Carla Rivers of
Detroit, entertained more than
1,200 people to benefit the
Canadian charity Transition to
Betterness, which helps patients
and families coping with cancer
and other
•1 serious dis-
eases.
Nuclassica,
with Broder
as music
director and
the only male
in a changing
number of
musicians,
currently is
geared to
private events
— charity
and corpo-
rate — with
automakers
among his
most fre-
quent clients.

"After performing and touring
as a classically trained violin-
ist, I decided to start Nuclassica
in 2012," says the Birmingham
resident, who also is an accom-
plished saxophonist and helms
the Broder Talent Group and
the nonprofit National Music
Institute for Young Artists.
"Nuclassica was a way for me
to bring together a lot of really
amazing talent to fuse classical,
pop and electronic styles while
playing up the visual aspect of a
show.
"The DJ is an integral part of
our live performances, and many
of our original electronic songs in
particular include the DJ as one
of the performers — dropping
beats as well as producing sounds
and effects:'
A fan of all kinds of music,
from classical and jazz to pop and
Top 20, Broder, 28, says he par-
ticularly likes the Beatles, Stevie
Wonder and Queen. The mix of
the classics with more current
sounds is at the heart of the name
Nuclassica. (Visit Nuclassica.com
and YouTube for a sampling of
performances and videos, includ-
ing a searing take on Lady Gaga's
"Bad Romance:')
Nuclassica, nominated as Best
Entertainment in Michigan in
the 2014 and 2015 competi-
tions of Michigan Meetings +

Events magazine, is a highlight in
Broder's career that started before
graduating from Michigan State
University.
"When I was 6, my mom
asked if I wanted to play violin
or piano," Broder recalls. "She
found a teacher using the Suzuki
method, and I hated it — I was
more into soccer and baseball.
"I had recitals, and at a certain
point, I decided that I enjoyed
performing," he says. In 2004,
in the 11th grade at Cranbrook
Schools, "I decided I was going
to pursue music, and I began to
focus my attention and practice:'
Although Broder's family
belonged to Temple Beth El, he
decided not to have a bar mitzvah
but never declined performing at
a bar mitzvah or other religious
celebration. He has appeared in
holiday programs at both Temple
Beth El and Temple Israel.
A recent booking placed him
with the Michigan Philharmonic
as concertmaster. And, he adds,
"After graduating from college, I
performed with the International
Chamber Soloists and the Trans-
Siberian Orchestra, known for its
rock shows:'
The orchestra hired Broder as
a talent contractor and that led
to his starting the Broder Talent
Group to promote himself and
others.

IN

"I provide event entertainment
booking, recording production
services and personal representa-
tion of musicians," he explains.
Broder, who teaches at
Cranbrook, bases his National
Music Institute for Young Artists
instruction on the Cranbrook
campus in partnership with the
school.
Open to young artists by audi-
tion, the institute pairs students
with faculty mentors. Its Concert
Prodigy division seeks to dis-
cover, develop and showcase
creativity.
Broder, who has studied
with faculty members from
the University of Michigan and
Juilliard, thinks that an interest in
musical performance has filtered
through his family.
"I believe I owe a great deal of
my passion and upbringing in
music to my great-grandmother,
Rose Cooper, although I never
met her," Broder says.
"She was a prominent sup-
porter and philanthropist in the
Detroit arts community, serv-
ing on the boards of the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra and Detroit
Opera House as well as the
Metropolitan Opera in New York.
"She was responsible for
bringing the MET and Leonard
Bernstein to Detroit for special
performances:' ❑

February 26 • 2015

57

