May 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to our May Newsletter!

Un jardin à Sorrente  (detail) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1881)

We just completed our 25th Anniversary season with a special send-off by “Birds of a Feather.” The program featured mostly 17th-century North European composers, who captured the verve and fantasy of the Italian style of playing. Their foray into “stylus phantasticus” also inspired J.S. Bach’s musical output, especially in his harpsichord concerto in E major, the centerpiece of our program, played with much aplomb by Maggie Cole. Just in case you missed it, the live performance from Follen Church will be available to view on our website and YouTube channel for free starting  Thursday, May 23rd at 7:30pm!   

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The Early Bird Gets the Worm!

Subscribe & Save! Early Bird Discount Subscriptions available through May 31.

We are already looking forward to our next season, a year of discovery through Voyages in Music. If you subscribe before June 1st, you will save $$$ on subscriptions! There are various options for 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-concert subscriptions, so do have a look at our different packages and sign up for a fantastic musical journey today!

The 2024-25 Concert Season includes:

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outreach news:

During our final concert-set week, we were able to bring excerpts of the “Birds of a Feather” program to two detention centers in Middleton, MA. Continually we are astounded and inspired by the innate reactions these teens have when they sit down and listen to live music. Despite playing somewhat obscure composers from a different era, in a very different style or in a genre that they might not choose for themselves, the teens really get engaged and seriously understand the power of music. One youth piped up after the Samuel Scheidt piece, “Wow, that music went to my soul!”

Several of the guys had been reluctant to hear the presentation by Sarasa, but were really happy they had. They asked such intelligent questions and were happy to get up and conduct us as we played. One individual was so into the music that a staff member later told us she had never witnessed such candor from him in the group. Another young man, Caleb, showed a depth of feeling as he conducted us, and he thanked us again and again for coming. With funding from a National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America award, Sarasa will schedule several residencies this summer at various facilities at the Department of Youth Services. We are also planning to visit two adult prisons in June for the first time in MA.  

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lilac fever!

With lilacs blooming in such stupendous splendor around New England gardens at the moment, why not celebrate them with this amazing version of "Lilac Wine" by James Shelton, sung by Nina Simone?! (Jeff Buckley’s version is also pretty incredible!)

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summer reading idea:

For those interested in historical fiction as well as J.S. Bach, there is a wonderful novel that takes the reader into the daily life and work of Bach during his Leipzig years, as seen through the eyes of a young chorister. The Great Passion by James Runcie (Bloomsbury Publishing) 

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