Welcome to our April Newsletter!
Romualdas Rakauskas, from the cycle “Blooming” (1974-1984)
We are very happy to welcome Spring with blooming bulbs, flowering trees, the promise of new green shoots, and gentler temperatures! Sarasa enjoyed a wonderful weekend of concerts recently, performing “All About My Mother,” which is now streaming free for a limited time on our website and YouTube channel. Please tune in, and enjoy some incredible music by a wonderful line-up of composers, including Matthew Locke, Dvořák, Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn), Gustav Mahler, and George Gershwin. And there is a special encore for you to enjoy at the end!
Native blue cohosh plant in bloom ~ a special sign of Spring!
Outreach news:
In addition to our March public concerts, Sarasa Ensemble had an excellent session with teenagers at a detention center in Middleton, MA. We shared excerpts from our program, and coaxed the teens to perform their own rap songs for us while we put down a beat for them. Once one kid started, the others forgot their shyness and sang, danced and made music for us. When soprano Ute Gfrerer sang her first notes, several of the guys looked visibly astonished at the power and dynamism of her voice, even when singing in a foreign language, such as German. They wanted to hear more and more! These young men really got the music we played for them, and appreciated it very much. The staff were also extremely supportive and encouraging, and happy to experience the many hidden talents of their unit. They watched and cheered the youth as they got up to perform in front of the others.
Cello chat
Be sure to get your tickets for our next concert-set “Take Four!” for the weekend of May 12-14, 2023! Sarasa is excited to present music arranged or written for four cellos in its final program of the 2022-23 season. We caught up with some of our four cellists who will be performing, and asked them what inspired them to take up the cello, and more.
Jake Charkey
Timothy Merton
When did you first start playing the cello?
I was 10 years old and was so excited about my first cello that I dropped it, and it fell all the way down the stairs— the fall broke its neck and I cried a lot!
What prompted/inspired you to play the cello?
We had a record of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet which I loved hearing. Maybe the nice cello bits influenced my choice of the cello?
Who is your favorite composer?
I've always loved Brahms and his melodies that are so inspired by the natural world.
What is your favorite piece to play by Beethoven?
Two monumental pieces come to mind, the Missa solemnis and Ninth Symphony
What is your favorite food to eat or cook?
I’m very partial to fruit of all kinds!
What is one of your most memorable performances?
A presentation/concert at Raksha Special Needs School in Kerala, India. We played for 1.5 hours and the kids were rapt. That kind of attention span is not possible with Western children.
Where have you travelled that changed the way you look at the world?
I have to say India too! The sense of time is different there and life is not so goal oriented- at least it was that way 20 years ago.
When did you first start playing the cello?
After a painful year of learning violin, I settled on cello when I was 7.
What prompted/inspired you to play the cello?
My dad gave it to me and it was much less horrible sounding than a tiny violin.
Who is your favorite composer?
Hard to pick a favorite, but I’m pretty partial to Ravel.
What is your favorite piece to play by Beethoven?
Oooh I love the cello sonatas, but don’t make me pick one, they’re all pretty great. Archduke trio is also kind of a favorite.
What is your favorite food to eat or cook?
South Indian breakfast foods, idli and dosa, also rasam which is a very spicy soup (to eat). To cook, I like to bake bread.
What is one of your most memorable performances?
2 years back, performing Indian music in Prospect Park on a beautiful morning at the music pavilion. Great to play a show with kids running around.
Where have you travelled that changed the way you look at the world?
That’s got to be India. Not exactly travel per se, I was living there for 6 years. That country has changed me fundamentally though, from the way I listen and think about music, to my sense of who I am in the world.
Listening corner:
Yes, Sarasa has something a little different to offer this May! To honor the inspiration behind the title of our program (Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”), we will feature the jazz great's “Tritonis,” arranged by Grammy award-winner and fellow cellist, Eugene Friesen. Additionally, we will perform works by Josquin des Prez, J.S. Bach, Fauré, Wagner, and a newly commissioned work by Berklee College of Music composition student, Alexander Wu, which promises to be special. Another highlight includes an arrangement of a movement from Beethoven’s bucolic Pastoral Symphony by one of his contemporaries, Peter Lichtenthal (1780-1853). Should be a fun concert for all!
Cooking corner:
Another sure sign of Spring is the swathe of wild leeks one can find in certain moist deciduous woodland areas in the Northeast. They are a wonderful addition to the Spring diet, cleansing all the toxins leftover from our perhaps heavier Winter diet. It’s easy to make ramp pesto; just add olive oil, nuts of your choice, salt and pepper, maybe a little lemon zest (& parmesan cheese optional), and then purée all together. No need for garlic, as ramps cover that flavour.
