escapeVelocity is a violin and piano duo comprised of performer-composers Giancarlo Latta and Robert Fleitz, focusing on music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

“Escape velocity,” a concept in physics, here references the violin and piano as two bodies in space. The piano, a massive and at times unwieldy force, pulls the violin into its sphere: sometimes, the violin’s velocity and voice escape the piano’s gravitational pull and the two instruments enter a dialogue; at other times, the piano draws the violin in and the two objects must act as one. The duo has been in residence at Avaloch Farm, The Banff Centre and the Composers Conference at Wellesley College. They were recently featured as part of Mise-En Place’s Curators Program, and performed in Florida, Michigan, and New York during the 2018-19 season.

Recent commissions include works by Theo Chandler, inti figgis-vizueta, Linda Leimane, Jessica Mays, Darian Donovan Thomas, Zeynep Toraman, and Julie Zhu.

escapeVelocity is a recipient of a Chamber Music America Ensemble Forward Grant, made possible with generous support from the New York Community Trust.