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Radius Ensemble • REVERBERATIONS • Ensemble-in-Residence

Saturday • April 29, 2023   |   8:00 pm

While this event is open to the public, you must pre-register in order to gain access in person. Registering for the performance is an important step to ensure the ability of contact tracing. No walk-ups will be allowed at Longy for performances.

 

Radius brings the season to a close with two works by locals in a program of cultural and historical Reverberations. First comes a solo piano work entitled fardanceCLOSE, written by Harvard faculty member Chaya Czernowin in 2012 (and revised in 2020), which explores our perception of decibels and distance. Next, the ensemble performs Night Songs (Nachtliederen), a string quintet (2005) by Longy composition department chair Alexandra du Bois in the composer’s own 2007 arrangement for wind quintet. Originally commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, Night Songs is inspired by and dedicated to the life of young Dutch Jewish writer and Holocaust victim, Etty Hillesum. The concert concludes with a Romantic bookend to match the Vaughan Williams Quintet of the first concert: the incomparable String Sextet in G Major, Op. 36 (1864-5) by Johannes Brahms.

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Radius Ensemble liberates classical music for a new generation of music lovers with a fresh combination of eclectic programming and intimate performances by extraordinary musicians.

Named Boston’s Best Classical Ensemble 2016 by the Improper Bostonian, and winner of a 2013 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, Radius Ensemble’s thoughtfully curated programs balance old and new, with repertoire ranging from beloved masterworks to riveting new music – brilliantly performed by some of the best Boston-based musicians. Radius’s go-for-broke performances are interspersed with “live liner notes,” brief remarks that enlighten and entertain. Musicians, composers, and listeners truly connect.

A chamber music ensemble of winds, strings, and piano, Radius Ensemble was founded in 1999 by oboist and impresario Jennifer Montbach. Radius’s subscription season includes a four-concert series at Pickman Hall at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where the group has been Ensemble in Residence since 2011. Radius has also appeared on concert series throughout New England, including Rockport Music and Clark University. Radius has commissioned and premiered numerous works by Boston-area composers and has won several Meet the Composer grants. Committed to community engagement, Radius presents a free Saturday-morning family concert in Harvard Square, donates free tickets to disadvantaged children and their parents or mentors through local community service agencies, and works with students at Cambridge Rindge & Latin School.

Nine core members comprise Radius Ensemble. They are joined by additional musicians as repertoire warrants, including (but not limited to) harp, percussion, and double bass. The group has also collaborated with a thereminist, several narrators, and dancers; and has appeared with film, live and recorded electronics, and other multimedia.

Details

Date:
Saturday • April 29, 2023
Time:
8:00 pm
Event Categories:
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Venue

Edward M. Pickman Concert Hall
Longy School of Music, 27 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138 United States

Thanks to our partnership with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and their “Card to Culture” program, Longy School of Music of Bard College can offer free tickets to many of our diverse and innovative performance offerings. See the full list of participating “Card to Culture” organizations offering EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare discounts.