Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble

Dedicated to making music accessible to wider audiences

The Sarasa Ensemble is "... a mix of Boston's best and finest with prominent English players and American musicians based in Europe."
— The Boston Globe

SARASA and LES SIRÈNES performing Händel in 2011. [Photo: Christopher Greenleaf]

Upcoming Concerts:

Saturday and Sunday, May 18th and 19th, 2013

FOLK-INSPIRED MUSIC with FORTEPIANO
Music of Haydn and Dvorák

Featuring Maggie Cole, fortepiano • Haldan Martinson and Christina Day Martinson, violin • Jenny Stirling, viola • Timothy Merton, cello

Please join SARASA for a magical finale to the 2012-2013 season featuring some of the Boston area's finest musicians: Haldan Martinson, a principal violinist of the Boston Symphony, Christina Day Martinson, Jenny Stirling, fortepianist Maggie Cole, and founder Timothy Merton for a program of works by Haydn and Dvorák that are sure to inspire and help mark the arrival of spring. Enjoy the delightful A Major Piano Trio by Haydn, Dvorák's "Cypresses," a series of heartfelt movements for string quartet the composer arranged from songs he wrote as a young man in love, and his marvelous Piano Quintet No. 2, featuring a Streicher fortepiano built in 1875, an instrument Dvorák himself might have played. Don't miss this special program offered in lovely and intimate settings in both Cambridge and Concord.

» 8:00 p.m. Saturday, May 18, 2013 Friends Meeting House (Cambridge, MA)- accessible via T Red Line (Harvard Sta.) and wheelchair accessible.

» 7:00 p.m. Sunday, May 19, 2013 Parish Hall, First Parish Church (Concord, MA) - ample free parking and wheelchair accessible.

Maggie Cole “…the splendid British-American fortepianist Maggie Cole. In her hands, the delicacy of the fortepiano is no impediment to the power, even muscularity, of the music written for it.” - The Boston Globe

Friday June 14th, Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23, 2013

BAROQUE TRIO SONATAS for violin and recorder
Including Trio Sonatas and Sonatas by C.P.E. Bach, Corelli, Vivaldi, Telemann, J.S. Bach, and others
Featuring Jesse Irons, violin • Sarah Cantor, recorders • Timothy Merton, cello • Matthew Hall, harpsichord

» Noon Friday, June 14, 2013 Boston Conservatory, Room T401 | A Boston Early Music Fringe Concert
8 The Fenway, Boston, MA

» 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 22, 2013 Strafford Town House, Strafford, VT

» 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 22, 2013 Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill, Putney, VT (not wheelchair accessible)

"Radiating elegance and eloquence" —Boston Globe

"...informed and impassioned musicmaking..." —The St. Petersburg Times

Sarasa Outreach

Sarasa’s Outreach Program for teens in detention has thrived this past year with six residencies and five concerts by Sarasa musicians. (View our updated list of outreach residencies and concerts.)

Do take time to listen to original rap written by teen boys at Westboro Secure--including "Sarasa Rap"--as well as songs sung by other residents who participated in our outreach residencies and concerts.

In addition, our outreach efforts included performances by "El Fuego," an early music ensemble, and "Girls on the Rise," a teen drumming and singing group. There have been some amazing moments involving both tears and laughter that have touched our hearts and theirs making it rewarding work for everyone.

In these uncertain times it is immensely reassuring that there are individuals in our community who are willing to contribute financial resources in support of Sarasa. In addition we’re happy to report that we continue to receive generous support from The Kalliopeia Foundation and The Otto and Marianne Wolman Foundation for our outreach program.

We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming January programs!

Sarasa's guiding mission is to bring professional-quality classical music to enrich the lives of the broadest possible community, especially those who do not have easy access to live chamber music.

Join Sarasa in making music accessible to wider audiences! with a tax-deductible donation.

Letters written by audience members of our outreach concerts and residencies show that your contribution does make a difference in their lives.

Sarasa CDs

Hear clips from and purchase Sarasa CDs.

A Baroque Mosaic

Bach Cantatas

"Labelle and Sylvan . . . both perform with their customary beautiful tone, scrupulous musicianship, and verbal communicativeness."
— Boston Globe on the Sarasa Bach Cantata CD.