BRATTLEBORO — The Sarasa Ensemble announces its 2021–22 concert series with live performances at the Brattleboro Music Center.
Founded in 1997, the chamber music ensemble is “a performing collective of more than one hundred instrumentalists and singers, presenting music spanning the 17th to the 21st centuries, on both period and modern instruments,” as described website of the group, based in Cambridge, Mass.
The concerts are performed in Cambridge and Lexington, Mass., and in Brattleboro.
Sarasa's first concert of the season, “Points of Transition,” takes place at the Brattleboro Music Center on Friday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
The program travels through the many points of transition in music, featuring the transformative energy of Arvo Pärt, Boccherini, David Pohle, and Beethoven, encompassing works from the 17th to 20th centuries.
Performers include Christina Day Martinson and Jesse Irons, violins; Jessica Troy and Jenny Stirling, violas; and Timothy Merton and Jennifer Morsches, cellos.
As described in a news release, Sarasa's second program, “Kaleidoscope,” features “colorful, ever-changing shapes in music with youthful Rimsky-Korsakov, timeless Purcell, and the genius of C.P.E. Bach.” It will be performed on Saturday, Nov. 20 at the BMC.
This program includes two newly commissioned works by emerging talents Li Qi and Mariel Mayz. Performers include Robyn Bollinger and Katherine Winterstein, violins; Marka Gustavsson and Jason Fisher, violas; and Timothy Merton and Jennifer Morsches, cellos.
The new year will begin with “Music from the Heart: Mitteldeutschland,” on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022 at the BMC. Following the devastation of Germany's Thirty Years' War in the 17th century, the resurgence of music became the focal point of every town and village, a lineage that led to the likes of J.S. Bach.
The program will feature works by Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, J.A. Reincken, C.H. Abel, and J.S. Bach.
This program features countertenor Reginald Mobley, with Elizabeth Blumenstock and Christina Day Martinson, violins; Keats Dieffenbach and Jenny Stirling, violas; Jennifer Morsches and Timothy Merton, cellos; and Michael Beattie, organ.
“Native Realm,” which takes its name from the title of CzesÅ‚aw MiÅ‚osz's autobiography, will be performed on March 4, 2022 at the BMC.
Poland's distinct culture and native land will be viewed through the lens of pieces by Telemann, Górecki, and Schmelzer. Performers are Miranda Fulleylove and Jesse Irons, violins; Jason Fisher, viola; and Jennifer Morsches, cello.
All concerts start at the Brattleboro Music Center, 72 Blanche Moyse Way, at 7:30 p.m.Tickets are $20 general admission/seniors, $10 for students, and under 12, free. For everyone's safety, proof of vaccination or negative results of a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours is required for admittance to events at BMC. Masks must be worn at all times while at the venue.
Visit bmcvt.org for more information about the Brattleboro Music Center and to purchase tickets, or call 802-257-4523, or email info@bmcvt.org. The programs will be available to stream free one week later on the Sarasa website. More information can be found at sarasamusic.org, admin@sarasamusic.org, or 978-766-9408.