Catalyst Quartet makes its exciting Fortas series debut. Founded by the Sphinx Organization in 2010, the ensemble has been praised for its “perfect ensemble unity” and “unequaled class of execution” (Lincoln Journal Star). Building its programs and projects around a belief in the unifying power of music, the group acts as a catalyst—redefining and reimagining the classical music experience. The ensemble brings this mission and compelling new music to the relaxed lounge setting of the Club at Studio K.


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Catalyst Quartet

Kennedy Center

“Few string quartets can command the stage like the Calder Quartet,” declared The Washington Post of this versatile and vibrant ensemble that excels equally at composer collaborations and standard-setting performances of classics. They set out to do just that with two programs mixing it up with chamber music milestones and thrilling new voices. In this program, Antoine Hunter, a superbly gifted dancer/choreographer, founder of Urban Jazz Dance Company, and advocate for the Deaf community, expresses his experience in a hearing world through dance.

Calder Quartet

War Memorial and Performing Arts Center

Pioneering composer John Cage reassembles European opera tradition as a collage. Stage action and the music itself are directed by a digital Europeraclock in place of a conductor. You’ll still hear famous arias, layered in a whole new way in Cage’s entertaining collage. The return of live theater to the Gem for the first time in a decade! 

Europeras: 3 & 4

Detroit Opera House

In this thrilling collaboration by the imaginative Calder Quartet and dancer, choreographer, and Deaf artist and advocate, Antoine Hunter, audiences are offered an immersive and joyful journey into chamber music and dance – and a special insight into Beethoven’s Op. 130 String Quartet and Grosse Fugue, written toward the end of his life, when his hearing loss had a profound impact on his life and work.

Calder Quartet + Antoine Hunter

Stanford University

Be swept away by a brilliantly wide-ranging program curated by rising-star classical singer Julia Bullock. With a voice “among today’s most expressive” (NPR), Bullock brings an arresting, often transformative emotional depth to songs both time-tested and obscure. There’s something for everyone here, but really, the magic is realized when taken all together. Hear personable and powerful renditions of music by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, Kurt Weill, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Luciano Berio, Gioachino Rossini, John Cage, Connie Converse, and more.

Julia Bullock, Soprano Bretton Brown, Piano

Carnegie Hall

"A musician who delights in making her own rules" (The New Yorker), soprano Julia Bullock presents a brilliantly wide-ranging program.  She brings an arresting, often transformative emotional depth to songs both familiar and obscure with a voice that "rises with strength and focus like a cloud condensing into a thunderbolt, [breathing] both humanity and epic grace into the music" (New York Times).

Julia Bullock, soprano (Baltimore Recital Debut) Bretton Brown, piano

Johns Hopkins University

“A musician who delights in making her own rules” (New Yorker), Julia Bullock is known for genre-defying, innovative performances that showcase her intellect and commanding stage presence. Her voice “rises with strength and focus, like a cloud condensing into a thunderbolt,” imbuing the music with “both humanity and epic grace” (New York Times).

Julia Bullock, soprano & Bretton Brown, piano

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

This concert can also be added to any Compose Your Own (CYO) subscription series. Pick three or more performances you’d like to attend and receive all the perks and savings of being a New World Symphony subscriber.

Cage, Ligeti and Ortiz

New World Center

Recital: Percussion Ensemble

Aspen Meadows Resort

Sandbox Percussion closes out the series and Bravo! Vail’s 36th Music Festival with John Cage’s Third Construction; George Crumb’s American Songbook III, Unto the Hills; and a selection of songs from Charles Ives, featuring the American soprano Susanna Phillips and Anne-Marie McDermott.

Classically Uncorked III: Sandbox Percussion

Donovan Pavilion

Tune in to a free livestream of this concert live from the Benedict Music Tent.

Livestream: Spano Leads Mahler's Third Symphony

In a list of works exemplifying the season theme of “The Adoration of Nature,” Mahler’s 3rd Symphony would be near the top. This gigantic and glorious six-movement hymn to Nature is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire. It’s also one of Mahler’s most optimistic, extroverted works. For Mahler, Nature wasn’t just the natural world; it was the entire world. Just as Nature overflows with astonishing colors and breathtaking beauty, Mahler’s universe of a symphony teems with brilliant orchestration and stunning melodies. It’s a 99-minute visceral and emotional rollercoaster with shifts of mood and surprising contrasts. The first movement, “Pan Awakens – Summer Marches In” bursts into life with a confident march. The second, “What the Flowers and Meadows Tell Me’’ is a charming minuet. Next comes the bustling scherzo, “What the Animals of the Forest Tell Me,” followed by the dark stillness of “What the Night Tells Me.” This movement features mezzo-soprano Kelly O’Connor, known for her “ravishingly velvet vocal tone” (San Francisco Chronicle). Night breaks into sunshine with “What the Morning Bells Tell Me,” opening with the angelic sound of a children’s chorus. The final movement, “What Love Tells Me” is a gorgeously grand slow movement expressing Mahler’s belief that “God can only be comprehended as Love.”

John Cage

Events

Past events

Mar 21, 2024

Catalyst Quartet · Kennedy Center

Mar 16, 2024

Calder Quartet · San Francisco Performances

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