THE OFFICIAL ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
JUVENTAS AT
NOVEMBER 16, 2024
MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER
CAMBRIDGE, MA | 8:00 PM ET
+ LIVE ON YOUTUBE
“
This season will be the ensemble’s most ambitious yet.” —Jason
M. Rubin, The
Arts Fuse
LEGACY
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF JUVENTAS
SEP 13, 14 & 15 MUSIC IN BLOOM JUNE 8 & 15 ENCORE! MAR 22 SOUNDS OF NEW ENGLAND FEB 8 & MAY 4 UP NEXT
STUDIO TO STAGE JUVENTAS AT 20 NICHOLAS SOUTHWICK: CENTER STAGE NOV 16 JAN 25 & 26
JUVENTAS AT 20
NOVEMBER 16, 2024 | MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER
Juventas’s 2024-25 season is generously sponsored by John A. Carey. Tonight’s concert is generously sponsored by Karen and Fred Ruymann. Tonight’s livestream is generously sponsored by Alex Ripley & Ted Steinemann.
Promesa (2021)
J. A. J. Sedarski
Kelley Hollis, soprano; Ryan Shannon, violin; Kenneth Mok, violin; Lu Yu, viola; Timothy Paek, cello
Apple Blossom (2024) 20th Anniversary Commission
From Flower Catalog
Stephanie Ann Boyd
Julia Scott Carey, piano
More Than Our Own Caves (2022)
Omar Najmi I–II–II–IV–V
Kelley Hollis, soprano; Julia Scott Carey, piano
Wild Beauty (2018)
Libby Meyer I. Morning Chorus–II. Waves–III. Fog–IV. Dancing in the Rain–V. Sunset Celine Ferro, clarinet; Ryan Shannon, violin; Julia Scott Carey, piano; Thomas Schmidt, percussion
The Emerald Necklace (2022)
~Intermission~
Oliver Caplan
Andrew Pease, conductor; Nicholas Southwick, flute; Celine Ferro, clarinet; Anne Howarth, horn; Ryan Shannon, violin; Lu Yu, viola; Timothy Paek, cello; Julia Scott Carey, piano; Thomas Schmidt, percussion
Rebirth of the Sun (2024) 20th Anniversary Commission, World Premiere Ayumi Okada
Andrew Pease, conductor; Kelley Hollis; soprano; Nicholas Southwick, flute; Celine Ferro, clarinet; Anne Howarth, horn; Ryan Shannon, violin; Kenneth Mok, violin; Lu Yu, viola; Timothy Paek, cello; Julia Scott Carey, piano; Thomas Schmidt, percussion
Steel and Stone (2024) 20th Anniversary Commission, World Premiere Cole Reyes
Andrew Pease, conductor; Nicholas Southwick, flute; Celine Ferro, clarinet; Anne Howarth, horn; Ryan Shannon, violin; Kenneth Mok, violin; Lu Yu, viola; Timothy Paek, cello; Julia Scott Carey, piano; Thomas Schmidt, percussion
This program is generously supported by
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Two decades ago, Composer Erin Huelskamp, Conductor Mark David Buckles, and Pianist Julia Scott Carey (still on our stage) had a novel idea: a chamber ensemble that would lift emerging composers and bring audiences music by composers who live in today’s world and respond to our time. Classical music, perhaps more than any other art form, remains rooted in greats of the past, and a misguided belief that, in order to attract listeners, ensembles must center their programming on masterworks by composers like Beethoven and Mozart. Even in the niche world of “new music,” the emphasis is typically on a small handful of late career composers who have already more-or-less secured their place in history. Juventas was—and as far as we know, still is—the only contemporary chamber ensemble in the United States with a mission focus on emerging voices.
Our first season opened in December 2005 with a concert at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel. There were six people on the audience. Since then, we have performed 209 concerts featuring the music of 334 living composers. Over 100 works have been premiered on the Juventas stage. Now in our 20th season, we reach over 2,500 audience members in-person each year, and over 1,000 online.
It takes a village to stage a concert. Juventas is here today, because of passionate, hard work. Erin, Mark David and Julia got the ball rolling. Paul Bohn, our first Board President, setup our organizational structure and secured our 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
Conductors Michael Sakir and Lydia Yankovskaya led us to new artistic heights. Generations of board members guided us through good times and challenging ones. Staff members have worked tirelessly, often behind the scenes, to run our organization. Musicians, composers and artists in other media brought their awe-inspiring talent to our stage. And last, but not least, YOU, our audience, joined us in the concert hall to share in this incredible journey. Many of you believe in our vision so strongly, that you have also supported us financially, sustaining our work and helping us grow.
Tonight’s program is a little walk through Juventas history, celebrating one of our proudest legacies: commissioning new pieces to contribute to the repertoire. All of the music on this program was commissioned for our ensemble. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Juventas program without a couple new works! This evening ends with two world premieres by Ayumi Okada and Cole Reyes, written to mark this special milestone.
Each of you played a role in making Juventas what it is today. And this, our wonderful community, is the biggest cause for celebration this evening.
With deepest gratitude,
Oliver Caplan, Artistic Director Juventas New Music Ensemble
HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY
Credit: James Jones Photography
JUVENTAS NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Juventas New Music Ensemble is a dynamic contemporary chamber group with a special focus on emerging voices.
We reimagine classical music as a vibrant living art form, uplifting rising voices and bringing audiences music from a diverse array of composers that live in today’s world and respond to our time.
Juventas has earned a reputation as a curator, with a keen eye for new talent. Since our founding in 2005, we have performed the music of over 300 living composers. Our musicians champion these artists with exceptional professional performances that open doors.
From climate change to mental health, our programs speak to the most critical topics of the 21st century. Our concerts center on the human experience, featuring deeply personal music that fosters conversation and reflection.
Our work has been recognized with multiple American Prize wins and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, New Music USA and Boston Foundation. Juventas has been featured on over a dozen recording projects, including albums from Albany Records, Navona, New Dynamic and RMN Classical.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John Carey
President
Andrew Wilkins
Treasurer
Meghan Guidry
Clerk
Minjin Chung
Lynn Eustis
Meg Fuchs
Carson Cooman
Leslie Jacobson Kaye
Karen Ruymann
Oliver Caplan
ex officio
STAFF
Oliver Caplan
Artistic Director
Joseph Sedarski
General Manager
Saskia den Boon
Grants Coordinator
Graphic Designer
Sadie Habas
Development Coordinator
Molly Breen-Aronson
Arts Administration Intern
Cassian Ramos
Arts Administration Intern
FUTURA PRODUCTIONS
LIVESTREAM PRODUCERS
John Weston
Production Director & Audio Engineer
Nathaniel Smith
Video Editor
Nick Papps
Director of Photography & Camera Operator
Cisco Santiago
Camera Operator
Chris Wilson
Assistant Engineer
IN THE COMPOSER’S OWN WORDS
J. A. J. SEDARSKI | Promesa (2021)
Juventas commissioned Promesa for our 2021 program “Source Code”, highlighting ancestral influences in contemporary voices.
Just like a family heirloom, Valz Esther, a love song composed by my great-grandfather Luis Rice, has been in my family for as long as I can remember and has been passed down from generation to generation. It’s been a huge part of my musical vocabulary, and embodies in song the everlasting love that transcends time. This truly magical piece was the inspiration for my piece, Promesa.
Commissioned by Juventas in 2021 while I was a sophomore in university, Promesa is a recomposition of Valz Esther and brings this music into the 21st century. An homage to my family, I wanted to make a deeper connection to this music I’d heard my whole life, and ensure Luis’s music is not forgotten. In addition, I wanted to expand and contract the original musical material. This approach brought interesting musical building blocks and infinite possibilities to layer different harmonic and melodic content. Almost like bringing the music in “focus” the piece deviates from the original source material and then comes back to it in flowing gestures.
Promesa is dedicated to my abuelo, Humberto Rice (Luis’s son).
Juventas co-commissioned “Apple Blossom” with the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill for our 2024 program “The Flower Catalog.” “Apple Blossom” honors Juventas Founder and Pianist Julia Scott Carey; and Marillyn Zacharis, Worcester County Horticultural Society Trustee Emerita, devoted Garden member, and horticulturist.
“Apple Blossom” is a piano prelude that speaks to constant growth, regeneration, and the courage to continue. “Apple Blossom” is the thirteenth Flower Catalog piano prelude, and the first twelve were each commissioned by a different piano soloist about her own favorite flower. The entire collection is meant to live and breathe as a full concert set but also meant for individual flowers to be picked from the catalog’s bouquet as programming and personal favor prefer. Of all the flowers in the catalog, the apple blossom is the only one who gradually turns her body into a fruit that has found its way into the bodies of most of this world’s inhabitants. And she does this again and again year after year while the weather and the earth’s conditions shift and change… Right now the apple orchard at NEGB—which just a few years ago was filled with 119 antique varieties of hundred year old trees whose varieties date back as far as the 1600s—is
STEPHANIE ANN BOYD | Apple Blossom (2024)
now filled with what look like baby apple trees, barely more than sprigs: a few years ago the ancient, precious heirloom trees fell ill with fire blight, a disease brought on by the warming climate—specifically unusually long periods of humidity—in Boston, and had to be meticulously started over; the remaining well branches painstakingly grafted onto rootstock. There’s so much magic in regeneration, continuity, and the symmetry and rhythm of life’s many cycles. And I’m grateful the commissioners for allowing me to explore this magic.
OMAR NAJMI│| More Than Our Own Caves (2022)
Juventas Soprano Kelley Hollis commissioned More Than Our Own Caves for our 2023 program “Kelley Hollis: Center Stage,” which centered on mental health and healing.
As a composer, collaborating with a poet is a uniquely exhilarating process. Most often when I write a song I am working with a text that already exists, a text that I have selected. In the collaborative process, we breathe new life into work together. Words are written with intentional space for music, music is written in direct response to newborn text. I knew from the first conversations that this piece was going to be about mental health and healing. When I first read Marlanda’s poetry though, several other themes came to light: generations and our deep connections to our ancestors, a sense of paralysis in the face of a world in peril–but the thing that stuck out the most to me was the phrase “I want”. We hear it in the first stanza: “I want you. I want you. I want you to live surrounded by roots belonging to somebody’s mother.” And again in the final stanza: “I want to return to our great-grandmothers’ gardens.” That simple phrase became the core musical thrust to the piece. Even in moments of sorrow and pain, there is a sense of reaching towards the light, and that desire–that desire to heal from the past and right what was wronged–drives the forward motion of the music. The sense of wanting and reaching is encapsulated in one musical motif that permeates the piece from the first moments of turbulence to the final exclamations of joy.
LIBBY MEYER | Wild Beauty (2018)
Juventas co-commissioned Wild Beauty with the Landscape Music for our 2018 program “This Land is Your Land,” which celebrated the 50th anniversaries of the National Trails System and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act.
Wild Beauty was composed as part of a celebration by the Landscape Music Composers Network of the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System. This piece is in response to The North Country National Scenic Trail; the longest in the National Trails System, stretching 4,600 miles over 7 states from the middle of North Dakota to the Vermont border of New York. Approximately 500 miles of the Trail meander through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where live and have spent many, many happy hours exploring stretches of the Trail most often along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
Wild Beauty divides into five sections: Morning Chorus, Waves, Fog, Dancing in the Rain and Sunset. One of the most dramatic features of our region is the unpredictable weather patterns. A friend once explained to me, “The only truly accurate forecast here is it might rain.” Because of our “Big Lake” as Lake Superior is fondly called, one could experience many varieties of weather on the same day or within the same hour; from fog to rain to spectacular winds creating even more spectacular waves along our lakeshore. I have reflected on this from my own personal experiences and tried to capture this in Wild Beauty.
A second feature of the region is the unique chorus of bird songs that are an ever-present underscore to any hike on the Trail. In Wild Beauty, I have included a few of these songs including the white throated sparrow that opens the piece in the violin as well as the calls of the common loon, barred owl, black capped chickadee, and the white crowned sparrow.
To complete Wild Beauty, members of the audience are invited to join in with Audubon bird calls and water warblers to help complete the soundscape of the morning chorus that opens the piece creating what I hope will create an aurally immersive experience.
OLIVER CAPLAN | The Emerald Necklace (2022)
Juventas co-commissioned The Emerald Necklace with the American Wild Ensemble, Landscape Music, and Michigan Technological University Department of Visual and Performing Arts, to Commemorate the Bicentennial of the Frederick Law Olmsted. It was premiered in our 2022 program “Lungs of the City.”
In 1880, Frederick Law Olmsted envisioned a ribbon of greenspaces winding through the city of Boston, Massachusetts and neighboring Brookline. The 7-mile linear route would ultimately connect the existing Boston Common and Public Garden to Franklin Park, with a series of new paths and parks, including The Fens, The Riverway and Jamaica Pond. The realized dream became known as the Emerald Necklace for its appearance on maps of Boston, like a string of green jewels. Today, the Emerald Necklace encompasses 1,100 acres of parkland, over half of the city’s park acreage.
When I first moved to Boston in 2004, the Emerald Necklace captured my imagination. It seemed almost a contradiction, to be in the heart of the city, yet able to walk for miles through wooded groves and along winding riverways. In Olmsted’s parks, I found peace, refuge and inspiration for my composing.
This piece is a love letter to a dear old friend, a remembrance of myriad moments in urban nature, from misty mornings to spring blooms.
AYUMI OKADA | Rebirth of the Sun (2024)
Juventas commissioned Rebirth of the Sun to commemorate our 20th anniversary. Tonight is the world premiere performance.
In writing a piece to commemorate Juventas’s 20th anniversary, I drew inspiration from another remarkable event this year: the total solar eclipse that crossed North America.
As I explored this phenomenon from various perspectives to decide on a theme, I envisioned experiencing an eclipse without understanding it or even knowing it was happening. The sudden transition from day to night could feel terrifying, and that brief darkness might seem like an eternity. The relief when the sun returns would be indescribable. I realized we’ve all faced similar moments in our lives, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and on various personal levels. Navigating through darkness requires immense courage and a strong sense of community, yet we know it’s possible to emerge, hopefully wiser, kinder, and more resilient. I chose to focus on the theme of rebirth.
The composition captures the moments before, during, and after the eclipse, acknowledging the depth of sorrow and struggle in darkness while celebrating our strength in the quest for light. The conclusion, marked by the return of the sun, symbolizes the enduring presence of hope and the promise of new beginnings—elements that I believe are integral to Juventas’s two decades of history and will continue into the future.
My heartfelt congratulations to Juventas on this significant milestone. Writing this piece has allowed me to step outside my comfort zone and experience a sense of rebirth myself. I am deeply grateful and honored to be part of Juventas’s legacy.
COLE REYES | Steel and Stone (2024)
Juventas commissioned Steel and Stone to commemorate our 20th anniversary. Tonight is the world premiere performance. The World Premiere of Steel and Stone is generously sponsored by Carson Cooman.
Bridges play an important part in the daily lives of many—offering connection across terrain that previously may have inhibited travel. Metaphorically, we are building and maintaining bridges within our communities constantly. They require building blocks such as steel and stone and development over time to remain sturdy and durable. The metaphorical bridges that we build with each other can prioritize human connection over difference and love over hate.
Steel and Stone is a piece that consistently develops over a few simple building blocks found in the flute and the clarinet which duet throughout nearly the entire work. The interlocking mechanisms that the instruments perform provide the basis for constructing an elaborate lattice of textures underneath that amalgamate into a singular work representing all that may go into building bridges—both literal and metaphorical.
TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS
Promesa (2021)
Text by Luis Rice
Translation by Christian Sedarski and J. A. J. Sedarski
Fue desde que te vi
Que conquistaste mi corazón
Por eso vengo a ti.
Para ofrecerte todo mi amor.
Tus ojos al mirar,
Traspasaron mi alma
Y desde entonces todo mi ser se desvive
Por conquistar los favores de tu querer
Quiéreme mucho mi bien
Y tu también dame tu corazón
Que el destino al fin
Sellará esta unión.
Quiéreme mucho mi bien
Quiéreme como te quiero yo a ti
Que tu amor será
El momento más dulce de mi existir
More Than Our Own Caves (2022)
Text by Poet Marlanda Dekine
Ever since I saw you
You conquered my heart
That is why I come here
To offer you all of my love.
Your eyes pierced my soul
And since then, all of my being lives to Conquer the favors of your love.
Love me, love me my dear
And give me your heart
So that destiny at last would
Seal this union.
Love me, love me my dear
Love me like I love you
That your love will be
The sweetest moment of my existence.
We’ve shared freckles with centuries-old wounds, our souls shrouded in the darkest blue, sitting in front of a mirror saying until chanting: I want you. I want you. I want you to live surrounded by roots belonging to somebody’s mother, roots that belong to you. Generational wounds cascade over wombs like clouds lightly misting over. We’re not crazy.
We were in crisis before the virus, microcosms of fear disguised by hope. Where are we headed?, the Earth asks since we think we know the way. I can’t look away from the fires this time. I’m back now and can’t look away.
In the dream, my grandmother carved my name into a tree,
muscadine vines surrounded me, and I welcomed myself into a meandering mirror. We know our world is groaning. Who took out its chords? Who is singing our song now? I think it’s you. I hope it’s you. Oh, how I pray for your father stuck seeing only his own face, how we’ve been destroying each other, meeting in hospital doorways. I’m trying to be perfect so I don’t die, too, or if I die should I do it perfectly?
I need to know it’s okay to see a god in my neighbor’s face. Give me my friends to help me. I won’t judge as they appear. I need to know it’s okay to need more than my own cave. Lift me out of boxes. Free me from collective fears.
I want to return to our great-grandmothers’ gardens, and count the many shades of greens. Your couch is not my home. Reach out to me. I’m waiting in the midst of wildfires and floods. Reach across and feel me. We’re more than our own caves. The DSM is a guess. It does not know our names. The couches and hospitals are not our true home. We are each other’s true homes.
Rebirth of the Sun (2024)
Text and Translation by Ayumi Okada
Sol mortuus est. Sol iam revenit.
The Sun is dead. The sun is coming back.
Raspberry Man (2011)
Sculpting the Air (2011)
Spectres (2016) You Are Not Alone (2017)
Figments Vol. 3 (2022)
Brass Tracks 2 (2023)
To What Listens (2022)
Hackpolitik (2014)
Watershed (2021)
Voices of the Land (2023)
Sauntering Songs (2023)
Scan for More!
JUVENTAS IN THE STUDIO
OUR RECORDING LEGACY
COMPOSERS
J. A. J. SEDARSKI│| b. 2000
“Showing a deeper understanding of harmony” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) Sedarski’s music is a dynamic mixture of large, dramatic gestures and intimate moments. He writes music inspired by his Mexican heritage, real-life events, and the natural world.
Sedarski started his composition journey at 14 at his family piano, collecting dust in the corner. His first credit was at 15 when he wrote music for scenes in a production of The Vagina Monologues at the Rochester Civic Center. At 19 years old, he received his first commission to write for the Boston-based Juventas New Music Ensemble and has composed for the ensemble every year since, including three world premieres in the concert hall. His music has been performed by the MIVOS Quartet, Argento Reading Ensemble, Boston University Symphony Orchestra, Boston University Chamber Orchestra, ALLEA III, and Sound Icon chamber ensemble. He’s enjoyed the tutelage of Rodney Lister, Joshua Fineberg, and John Wallace.
In his first year at university, he won the 2020 Composition Competition with Performance with Orchestra from the School of Music at Boston University for his work Variants for Orchestra. In 2022, he received an achievement award from Luke Hill’s composition studio for his work Gradus ad Paradisum. In the same year, he was a finalist for the American Prize for his work Behind the Universe, which had its world premiere with the Juventas New Music Ensemble. In 2023, he premiered his first monodrama, Sentience, inspired by recent developments in A.I. at the Boston University School of Music. In May 2023, he received his Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Composition from Boston University.
Sedarski has also enjoyed performances of his music around the world and most recently had his international debut at the Musica Hellenica Festival in July 2023. In addition to giving lectures about contemporary Mexican composers, he was able to attend the world premiere of his most recent work entitled Sangre on the festival’s program.
Currently, he works as a freelance composer, General Manager of the Juventas New Music Ensemble, and Content Marketing Manager at the Handel and Haydn Society.
sedarskimusic.com
STEPHANIE ANN BOYD | b. 1990
Michigan-born, Manhattan-based American composer Stephanie Ann Boyd writes melodic music about women’s memoirs and the natural world for symphonic and chamber ensembles. Her work has been performed in nearly all 50 states and has been commissioned by musicians and organizations in 37 countries. Boyd’s five ballets include works choreographed by New York City Ballet principal dancers Lauren Lovette, Ashley Bouder, NYCB soloist Peter Walker, and XAOC Contemporary Ballet’s Eryn Renee Young. Eero, a ballet commissioned by Access Contemporary Music and Open House New York, was written for the grand opening of the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport. Her music has been praised as “attractive lyricism” (Gramophone), “[with] ethereal dissonances” (Boston Globe), “[music that] didn’t let itself be eclipsed” (Texas Classical Review), “arrestingly poetic” (BMOP), and “wide ranging, imaginative” (Portland Press Herald).
Boyd’s music has been commissioned and performed by concertmasters of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the Des Moines Symphony, the Faroe Islands Symphony, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Smith Symphony, the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal players in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Her music has been commissioned and/ or played by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New England Conservatory Philharmonic, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, the New York Jazzharmonic, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Roosevelt University Orchestra, the Eureka Ensemble, the JVL Festival Orchestra, the Texas State University Symphony, the Cremona International Academy Orchestra, the UW La Crosse Symphony, the Detroit Civic Orchestra, and the El Paso Youth Symphony. Her work has been presented by the Thalia and her Sisters concert series, the Moirae Ensemble, and Sandcastle New Music in New York City; Æpex Contemporary Music in Michigan; Juventas New Music, Collage New Music, and the New Gallery Concert Series in Boston; Cincinnati Soundbox, and others. Stephanie has worked with conductors such as Andrew Litton, Lina Gonzales, Earl Lee, Nathan Aspinall, Cliff Colnot, Gill Rose, Julian Benichou, Kristo Kondakci, and Kevin Fitzgerald.
Stephanie holds degrees from Roosevelt University and New England Conservatory, and she was one of the last violin students of renowned pedagogue John Kendall. stephanieannboyd.com
OMAR NAJMI | b. 1987
Boston-based artist Omar Najmi splits his time between composition and performance, maintaining a busy schedule as an operatic tenor. Praised as “a world class voice in every respect,” Najmi recently made his international debut creating the title role in Joseph Summer’s operatic adaptation of Hamlet with Bulgaria’s State Opera Rousse. Other recent and upcoming engagements include Rodolfo in La Boheme with Opera Steamboat, Shakur in Thumbprint with Portland Opera, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet with Boston Lyric Opera, Lord Byron in the world-premiere of The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage with Guerilla Opera, and Spearmint Lodge in the world premiere of The Artwork of the Future with Fresh-Squeezed Opera. His other operatic engagements have included Opera Colorado, Chautauqua Opera, Annapolis Opera, Opera Saratoga, Opera Maine, Opera Fayetteville, Opera NEO, Opera North, Odyssey Opera, American Lyric Theater, and more.
Najmi began his composition career with the production of his first opera, En la ardiente oscuridad, in 2019. After a run of sold-out performances, he was invited to serve as the first ever Emerging Composer in residence with Boston Lyric Opera, where he worked with Boston Youth Poet Laureate Alondra Bobadilla in the creation of the song cycle my name is Alondra. The piece received its live premiere on BLO’s Street Stage in 2021. In 2022, his motet The Last Invocation was premiered by Emmanuel Music. He is currently working on Jo dooba so paar–a short opera exploring the intersection of queer and Muslim identity–which will be premiered as part of White Snake Projects’ Let’s Celebrate initiative. In 2022, Najmi and his husband Brendon Shapiro co-founded Catalyst New Music–an organization dedicated to fostering, developing, and producing new works. Catalyst’s first project–presented with the support of The Boston Foundation’s Live Arts Boston grant–was a concert performance of Najmi’s new opera This Is Not That Dawn, a drama set during and after the Partition of India.
omarnajmi.com
Credit: James Jones Photography
LIBBY MEYER | b. 1967
Libby Meyer is a composer whose work reflects the natural rhythms and patterns of the world around her. Her music is inspired by natural soundscapes and a curiosity about the relationship between the arts and the natural world. Her music has been performed throughout the United States by soloists and ensembles including City Water, Juventas Ensemble, The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, ConScience Chamber Singers, Capella Clausura, Tuulli String Quartet and Corvus New Music Ensemble. She is a co-founder of the Keweenaw Soundscape Project established to aurally document the Keweenaw region and surrounding lands for ecological, social and artistic value. She is a member of the Landscape Music Network, a group of composers and musicians from across the United States who have created substantial bodies of work connected to landscape, nature, and place.
She has served as Composer-in-Residence at Isle Royale National Park, The Douglass Park Conservatory and the Visby International Center for Composers in Sweden. She has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning, The Michigan Tech Research Excellence Fund, and more.
Recent projects include a new film score for 1925 film The Red Kimona, directed by Dorothy Davenport as part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers; a score for the 1912 comedy short C’est la faute à Rosalie for Cinema’s First Nasty Women, a 4-disc DVD/Blu-ray set featuring rarely-seen silent films about feminist protest; and a recording project of her vocal works with Capella Clausura recorded in May of 2019 and to be released on Albany records in December 2021.
Libby is also an active composer of theatrical incidental music and has written music for several productions of by Tech Theater Company including Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Silent Sky by Laura Gunderson and most recently Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Libby lives with her husband, a secretive cat and their large Pyrenees mountain dog on a small farm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Libby holds a DMA in Music Composition from Northwestern University in Chicago and is currently a Teaching Professor in Music Theory and Composition at Michigan Technological University.
libbymeyermusic.com
OLIVER CAPLAN | b. 1982
Andrew Wilkins has generously sponsored Oliver Caplan’s position as Artistic Director for the 2024-25 Season.
Award-winning American composer Oliver Caplan offers a voice of hope in an uncertainworld. Inspired by the resiliency of the human spirit and beauty of the natural world, his music celebrates stories of social justice, conservation and community.
From Kearney, Nebraska to Carnegie Hall, Oliver’s music has been performed by over 75 ensembles in the United States and around the globe. He has been commissioned by the American Wild Ensemble, Atlanta Chamber Players, Bella Piano Trio, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Brookline Symphony Orchestra, Columbia University Wind Ensemble and New Hampshire Master Chorale, among others. Winner of a Special Citation for the American Prize in Orchestral Composition and the Oratorio Society of New York’s 150th Anniversary Competition, additional recognitions include two Veridian Symphony Competition Wins, the Fifth House Ensemble Competition Grand Prize and fellowships at Ragdale, Millay Arts and VCCA. His vocal works include settings of poetry by Maya Angelou, Richard Blanco, Hannah Fries and Meghan Guidry. Oliver’s music is featured on 7 albums and has been streamed over a half million times.
A leader in the field of contemporary classical music, Oliver is the Artistic Director of the American Prize-winning Juventas New Music Ensemble, the only professional ensemble of its kind devoted specifically to the music of emerging composers. He also serves on the Ragdale Foundation’s Curatorial Board and is a voting member of the Recording Academy.
Oliver holds degrees from Dartmouth College and the Boston Conservatory. He resides in Medford, Massachusetts with his husband Chris and corgi Simon.
olivercaplan.com
THANK YOU to Wegmans for generously sponsoring this evening’s reception!
AYUMI OKADA| b. 1983
A native of Kyoto, Japan, Ayumi Okada is a New York-based composer, pianist, and educator. Ayumi is a recipient of the 2019 BMI Jerry Harrington Awards For Outstanding Creative Achievement in Musical Theatre. For her work on a new musical, The Uncivil Ones, she and her collaborator were honored with a Special Mention at the 2019 Women in the Arts & Media Coalition Collaboration Awards. Ayumi is a Mannes Buhuslav Martinů Composition Award winner and a Goberman Prize recipient.
Her concert music has been performed by esteemed ensembles, including Juventas New Music Ensemble, American Wild Ensemble, Listen Closely, Alaria Chamber Ensemble, and A.W. Duo. Recent commissions include a piece for Juventas New Music Ensemble in Celebration of the ensemble’s 20th Anniversary (2024) and for a project called “Lungs of the City” to commemorate the bicentennial of the birth of the 19th-century American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (2022). Her solo viola, solo cello, and string orchestra pieces were featured at the 2024 ASTA/ SAA National Conference. Ayumi’s debut EP, Here, Where The Land Ends And The Sea Begins, and several other piano & chamber pieces are published and available through Abundant Silence
Her musical theatre songs have been performed at The Duplex, Signature Theatre, The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, Feinstein’s/54 Below, and Seishin Chuo Hall, among other prestigious venues. She has worked for Takarazuka Revue Company in Japan as a co-orchestrator for several shows, including 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille and Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story On the Zattere, a new musical novel she co-wrote music and lyrics for, premiered in Tokyo in 2022.
As an educator, Ayumi has given lectures through various organizations, including Maestra Music, Musical Theatre Writers Japan, Festival for Creative Pianists, and Jensen Piano & Music Composition Studio. She joined Red Leaf Pianoworks in April 2024, and is excited to share her pieces written for the educational field of piano music alongside award-winning composers who share a passion for creating new repertoire for today’s students and performers.
She holds an MM in Music Composition from Mannes College of Music and an MA in Music Education from Kyoto University of Education. She is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Advanced Workshop, the Dramatists Guild of America, Local 802, Maestra, Landscape Music, Red Leaf Pianoworks, and is a board member of Festival for Creative Pianists and Musical Theatre Writers Japan.
ayumiokada.com
COLE REYES | b. 1998
Cole Reyes is a composer, educator, conductor, and performer originally from Chicagoland. His music interweaves personal narrative with the ongoing narratives of the changing world around us.
He has collaborated with artists such as JACK Quartet, the Rhythm Method Quartet, Bergamot Quartet, Juventas New Music Ensemble, BlackBox Ensemble, Del Sol Quartet, Transient Canvas, Hypercube, and Unheard-of//Ensemble among others. Recent commissions include those from ARTZenter and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the National Orchestral Institute, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Six Degrees Singers, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., the Victory Players, and a consortium for percussion led by Luciano Medina.
He has been a composition fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, the National Orchestral Institute and Festival, the Lake George Music Festival, and others. His primary composition teachers include Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, Robert Honstein, Roshanne Etezady, Christopher Stark, and LJ White. He is co-founder of Telos Consort, a professional chamber ensemble based in New York City dedicated to the performance and curation of new music that features saxophones, strings, and piano. He currently pursues doctoral studies at the University of Michigan.
colereyesmusic.com
“ I am truly moved by how dedicated Juventas is in every aspect of sharing contemporary chamber music: providing the highest quality of concert experience to the audience, making sure their extraordinary musicians are ensured positions to be able to focus on music-making, and seeking out the diverse array of composers as well as wholeheartedly promoting their works. I am deeply honored to have my piece premiered by Juventas.”
—Ayumi Okada
“ Working with Juventas was, in every way, a beautiful experience. From the moment I walked into the performance space, I was greeted with so many kind faces who were ready to introduce me to the team. I was blown away with the sense of genuine passion for the art they were creating which ultimately culminated in a stellar performance. I truly felt lucky to be a part of it all.”
—Cole Reyes
MUSICIANS
ANDREW PEASE | conductor (guest artist)
Andrew D. Pease serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Music at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, where he directs the Wind Ensemble and Brass Ensemble and teaches conducting, orchestration, and composition. At Hartwick, he spearheaded the creation of the pathbreaking album, Stravinsky: Alone No More, with the Hartwick Faculty Wind Octet, released by Mark Masters. Beyond Hartwick, he is co-conductor of the Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble, a community band also based in Oneonta, and co-conductor of the professional Oneonta Community Concert Band. His guest conducting work has spanned elementary through professional groups, and has taken him to several states and the United Kingdom, including two appearances at Carnegie Hall with bands from Hartwick College and Columbia University. He completed his DMA degree in wind conducting at Arizona State University, studying with Gary Hill, Wayne Bailey, and William Reber. His work there earned him the 2017 American Prize in Wind Band Conducting at the collegiate level.
Dr. Pease started his career in New York City, directing the Columbia University Wind Ensemble and the community band Columbia Summer Winds. He also taught elementary and high school band in New York and Arizona, and remains committed to public education as a board member of the New York State Band Directors Association (NYSBDA). He has additional degrees from Dartmouth College, Teachers College at Columbia University, and Hofstra University. His past conducting teachers include Max Culpepper, Melinda O’Neal, Dino Anagnost, and Peter Boonshaft, as well as clinics with other leading figures in the conducting world.
Dr. Pease runs two websites dedicated to the music of the wind band. Wind Band Literature (windliterature.org) has been used as a repertoire resource for bands around the world. The Wind Band Symphony Archive (windsymphonies.org) is a dynamic record of all known symphonies written for wind band.
KELLEY HOLLIS | soprano
Karen and Fred Ruymann have generously sponsored Kelley Hollis for the 2024-25 concert season.
Kelley Hollis is a classically trained soprano known for her interpretations of new and lesser known works. Last year Kelley was featured on the album Arnold Rosner’s Requiem (Toccata Records), recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. In 2018 she performed a concert at the Prague Castle in the Czech Republic, and was a featured artist with the Americké jaro festival.
In addition to singing with Juventas, Kelley performs with and serves on the board of Opera on Tap Boston. In 2019 she sang the role of Rosalinda in MassOpera’s critically acclaimed production of Die Fledermaus, and premiered the role of Juana in the Omar Najmi’s En el ardiente oscuridad. Her other opera roles include Mimi in Puccini’s La femme boheme, Beth in Adamo’s Little Women (Metrowest Opera), Eliza in Muhly’s Dark Sisters (Third Eye Theater Ensemble); Florencia Grimaldi in Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Micaela in Le Tragedie de Carmen, Harper in Eötvös’ Angels in America (BU Opera Institute) and Nina in Pasatieri’s The Seagull (Opera del West).
Ms. Hollis has performed twice at Boston Symphony Hall: In 2016 she appeared as the First Orphan in The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s concert production of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier alongside Renee Fleming and Susan Graham, and in 2015 she was the soprano soloist for Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, performing with the BU Symphony Orchestra. Her most recent concert repertoire includes Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Handel’s Messiah, and Faure’s Requiem
In 2014, Ms. Hollis was a finalist for Lyric Opera Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center and in 2011 Kelley received an encouragement award at the district level from the Metropolitan Opera National Council. Kelley Hollis received both her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Boston University Opera Institute. Kelley is also a graduate of A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts.
VOLUNTEER WITH JUVENTAS!
Juventas is in search of enthusiastic volunteers to support our concert performances. As a volunteer, you'll be showered with gratitude and rewarded with complimentary tickets! To become a part of our volunteer community, please reach out to our General Manager, Joe Sedarski, at joseph.sedarski@juventasmusic.org. We'll reach out with volunteer opportunities when they arise, and joining our list comes with no obligations.
Credit: James Jones Photography
NICHOLAS SOUTHWICK│| flute
Chris Beagan and Oliver Caplan have generously sponsored Nicholas Southwick for the 2024-25 concert season.
Praised by the Royal Gazette for his “beautiful phrasing” and “bright and lively playing” and by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for his “admirable ensemble cohesion,” Boston-based flutist Nicholas Southwick enjoys a diverse musical career.
Nicholas is a frequent guest artist of the Bay Chamber Concerts, where he recently performed J.S. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 with Palaver Strings. He has also performed Bach’s concerti with the Bermuda Chamber Orchestra and was a soloist for the Bach the European series at the Royal Academy of Music. As a recitalist, he has performed at Harvard University, King’s Chapel, Salem Classical, the University of Cambridge, and the Bloomsbury Festival, London.
In addition to his role as core flutist of the Juventas New Music Ensemble, Nicholas serves as Affiliated Faculty at Emerson College and holds an Artist Fellowship with Music for Food for his work with violist Long Okada in Duo Gwynne. He also founded the Acadie Duo with cellist Jaime Feldman, with whom he curates an annual chamber music series in rural Maine. Nicholas has a particular interest in interdisciplinary dialogues between music and theology and is currently Fellow in Liturgy and Music at Harvard University’s Episcopal Chaplaincy. As an orchestral player, Nicholas has made appearances with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, New Hampshire Festival Orchestra, Boston Opera Collaborative, Harvard-Radcliffe and Manchester Choral Societies, and Trentino Music Festival Orchestra (Italy).
Nicholas completed his postgraduate training at the Royal Academy of Music, London under the tutelage of Karen Jones, Laura Jellicoe, and Katherine Baker. He previously studied at the Longy School of Music of Bard College and Gordon College. His past teachers include Marco Granados, Robert Willoughby, and Susan Heath. Outside of his busy performance schedule, he loves to share the joy of music with his private flute students in Boston and the North Shore.
CELINE FERRO│| clarinet
A virtuosic chamber musician, Celine Ferro is the clarinetist of the Kalliope Reed Quintet, with whom she has performed across New England and in Mexico; a force in the Boston-based bass clarinet ensemble, Improbable Beasts, with whom she has performed across the U.S. and in Ireland; and the core clarinetist of Juventas New Music Ensemble, with whom she has performed across Greater Boston and New England. Seeking diverse collaborations that take her work outside of the typical concert hall, she is also a member of the groove ensemble, Shibui, where she can be heard on both clarinet and bass clarinet on their newest album Quint, which is on the Ronin Rhythm Records label.
As an orchestral musician, she has performed with Symphony New Hampshire, Boston Civic Symphony, Apollo Ensemble, Brookline Symphony Orchestra and has freelanced with many others. In addition to performing, Celine Ferro currently serves on faculty at the Winchester Community Music School and Powers Music School. When she’s not practicing, performing, or teaching, Celine is an avid hiker, reader, and coffee drinker.
ANNE HOWARTH | horn
Alex Ripley and Ted Steinemann have generously sponsored Anne Howarth for the 2024-25 concert season.
Horn player Anne Howarth has a passion for small group collaborations and the opportunities they offer performers and audience members alike to forge personal connections with the music and with each other. She is deeply curious about the ways in which shared musical experiences can invite deeper dialogue and contemplation.
Anne is a founding member and Outreach Director of the mixed-instrumentation chamber group Radius Ensemble and is a senior member of the wind quintet Vento Chiaro. A strong proponent of new music, Anne has commissioned works for chamber ensemble as an individual and with colleagues. As a freelance orchestral player in demand in the greater Boston area, Anne holds Principal Horn chairs with the Lexington Symphony and Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra and occasionally performs with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others. Curious about the intersection between live music and movement, Anne has collaborated with Monkeyhouse and dancer/choreographer Karen Krolak at First Night Boston, the Oberon, and Tufts University.
Anne is a native of the Detroit area, holds undergraduate degrees in both Horn Performance
and Environmental Studies from Oberlin Conservatory and Oberlin College respectively, and earned her Master of Music in Performance at New England Conservatory.
Anne teaches horn and coaches chamber music at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Tufts University and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), maintains a private studio, and is on the on faculties of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, the Brookline Music School, and the Milton Afterschool Lesson Program.
KENNETH MOK│| violin (guest artist)
Kenneth Mok, an active musician in the New England area, has performed as concertmaster of Calliope and principal second violin for the Unitas Ensemble, the Video Game Orchestra, and the Boston Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, he’s appeared with the Collegium Musicum Hong Kong, UMass Boston Chamber Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Baptist University Orchestra. Kenneth has performed in numerous national and international locations including Boston, New York, Las Vegas, Beijing (China), Fukuoka (Japan) and London.
His teaching repertoire ranges from Bartok, Prokofiev, and Paganini, to Bach, Shostakovich, and works by local living composers such as David Patterson. Kenneth’s students have received awards and acceptances through the Dedham School of Music Concerto Competition, the Hong Kong School Festival, and Youth & Muse Boston International Music Festival.
Kenneth holds a Master of Music degree from The Boston Conservatory and an undergraduate degree from Hong Kong Baptist University. In 2003, he was awarded a diploma in Violin Performance by the Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music. Recently, he completed the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Music Educator/Teaching Artist (META) fellowship program. He also currently serves as a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Credit: James Jones Photography
RYAN SHANNON│| violin
Julia Scott Carey and Richard Mitrano have generously sponsored Ryan Shannon for the 2024-25 concert season.
Ryan Shannon began his musical journey in the mountains of Colorado at five years old when his father, an amateur pianist, gave him his first violin. Sensing his love of music, his parents made it possible for him to attend the Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Ryan continued his studies at the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Lucy Chapman and Nicholas Kitchen, graduating in 2014.
As a student, Ryan had the life-changing opportunity to attend the Center for the Development of Arts Leaders program at From The Top. Through this year-long partnership with the Hope Lodge, a residence for cancer patients, He learned that music can bring together those who are struggling through difficult circumstances. In recent years he has worked to bring this love to as many people as possible. He does this as an educator, as a member of Palaver Strings, and as an explorer of new music with Juventas New Music Ensemble, whose vivacious energy creates a powerful connection between music and the hearts of those who listen.
LU YU│| viola
Born in China, Lu Yu began her musical studies at the age of six on violin. She started to play viola as her principal instrument at age twelve at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, China.
Her studies then took her to the Royal Academy of Music in London with a full scholarship where she learned under the tutelage of Matthew Souter for the Bachelor of Music degree. Ms. Yu then studied with Marcus Thompson at the New England Conservatory in Boston where she received her Master of Music degree.
Among her numerous awards, she was granted “The Young Musician of 2008” in Hong Kong. Her performance career has led to being the founding violist of the Loki String Quartet which is in residence at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Ms. Yu is also principal violist of the Boston Civic Symphony, performs with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, was recently co-principal viola of the Missouri Symphony and frequently performs with many of the ensembles around the Boston area.
TIMOTHY PAEK | cello (guest artist)
Leslie Jacobson-Kaye and Richard Kaye have generously sponsored our cello seat for the 2024-25 concert season.
Timothy Paek is an enthusiastic chamber musician and dedicated teacher. Recent highlights of Timothy’s career include an appearance at the Brookline Library Music Association as founding cellist of the Meadowlark Piano Trio, and numerous concerts with Symphony NOVA. He has also performed as a guest on numerous faculty recitals at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Timothy completed degrees at Carnegie Mellon University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Nebraska—Lincoln; his primary mentors include Anne Martindale Williams, Melissa Kraut, and Gregory Beaver.
As an educator, Timothy has worked at the St. Margaret’s School for the Art’s summer music programs as a chamber music coach, private cello instructor, and eurhythmics professor. His prior teaching engagements include the Dedham School of Music, while occasionally subbing at the Chamber Music Connection. He currently teachers at the Community Music Center Boston and the Josiah Quincy Orchestra Program. He also completed Suzuki teacher training and certification at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
As the founding cellist of the Meadowlark Piano Trio, Timothy has performed in concert venues and outreach programs throughout the nation. A recent honor includes the semifinalist of the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition as Cellist of the Meadowlark Trio. Summer festivals include: Avaloch Farm Institute, Garth Newel Music Center, Round Top Festival Institute, Mimir Chamber Festival, St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, and the Caroga Lake Music Festival. Aside from music, Timothy loves to pursue culinary interests, dancing, basketball, and playing board games.
JULIA SCOTT CAREY | piano
Paul Monsky and Beverly Woodward have generously sponsored Julia Scott Carey for the 2024-25 concert season.
Julia Scott Carey began her music training at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, where she received the Lanier Prize for Most Outstanding Graduating Senior. She was one of the first students admitted to the Harvard-New England Conservatory joint degree program, through which she received a master’s degree in composition. She received a second master’s degree in collaborative piano from Boston University.
Julia is the Minister of Music at the Central Square Congregational Church in Bridgewater, where she leads the adult and children’s choirs from the keyboard. She is one of the accompanists for the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir. She also serves as the accompanist for the Metropolitan Chorale of Brookline, the Dedham Choral Society, the Boston College University Chorale, and the Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus. She previously served as the pianist for the Handel and Haydn Society’s Educational Vocal Quartet, the Wellesley College Chamber Singers, and the Boston Children’s Chorus. She is also a founder and core ensemble member of Juventas New Music Ensemble.
As a composer, her orchestral works have been performed by numerous orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, and her works have been broadcast on national TV and radio in the United States and in Russia. She was the youngest composer ever published by the Theodore Presser Company. She was also chosen to arrange a folk song for Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Chang to play at Deval Patrick’s inaugural ball.
Julia lives in Winchester with her husband and her daughter. In addition to music, she loves cooking, running, and spending time on Cape Cod.
THOMAS SCHMIDT | percussion
One of Boston’s versatile free-lance percussionists, Thomas Schmidt has performed with The Boston Philharmonic, The Portland Symphony (Maine), Rhode Island Philharmonic, New Bedford Symphony, Placido Domingo, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Indian Hill Symphony, Lexington Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, and The Brevard Music Centers Faculty Orchestra. A regular down in the pit orchestra, he has played for The 75th Anniversary Tour of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Opera Maine, The Boston Lyric Opera, various tours with the New England Opera, and the Da Capo Opera Company. Equally at home playing in a jazz big band or drum-set for a musical, Thomas has performed with the Boston Brass All Stars Big Band and has been the drum-set player for countless musicals in the New England area.
He has performed with new music ensembles ALEA III and Dinosaur Annex as well as various choruses, such as Masterworks Chorale, Harvard-Radcliff Chorus, Back Bay Chorale, Boston Celia Society, Coro Allegro, Chorus ProMusica, The Brookline Chorus, and The Newburyport Chorale. Thomas is on the faculty at The Berklee College of Music where he teaches Orchestral Percussion, Marimba, Vibraphone, and Drum Set. Thomas is a student of Salvatore Rabbio, Pat Hollenbeck, Nancy Zeltsman, John Grimes, and Dr. Stuart Marrs. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance from The University of Maine, and his Masters Degree in Percussion Performance from the Boston Conservatory. Thomas is a Zildjian endorsed artist.
MAKE A DONATION
Donate to Juventas and help us touch hearts around the world. Last year, with a budget of just $169,000, we reached 2500+ people in person and 1,000+ people online.
Three easy ways to donate
•Venmo: @JuventasMusic
•Credit Card: www.juventasmusic.org/donate-now
•Check: Juventas New Music Ensemble, P.O. Box 230015, Boston, MA 02123.
Juventas New Music Ensemble is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your fully tax-deductible contributions are essential for us to present new music.
Advertise with Juventas
Advertise in Juventas’s 2024-25 concert season! Attract patrons from New England and beyond, while supporting arts in your community. Advertising supports the work of Juventas and creates good will by identifying your business as a patron of the arts!
For more information, please contact General Manager Joseph Sedarski, joseph.sedarski@juventasmusic.org
Make a Planned Gift
Bequests and planned gifts are simple, mutually beneficial ways for you to support Juventas New Music Ensemble beyond your lifetime. You can create your own legacy and keep supporting emerging composers for years to come by leaving a bequest in your will, life insurance policy, retirement plan, or other assets in your estate plan to Juventas New Music Ensemble, while at the same time reaping tax benefits for yourself and your descendents. If you would like more information about making a bequest to Juventas New Music Ensemble or if you’ve already included us in your estate plans, please contact our Artistic Director Oliver Caplan at olivercaplan@juventasmusic.org. Juventas New Music Ensemble is a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with a principal business address of:
Juventas New Music Ensemble
P.O. Box 230015 Boston, MA 02123
Our tax identification number is 26-2583870.
SUPPORTERS
Juventas New Music Ensemble is deeply grateful to the incredibly generous community that supports our artistic programs. Juventas received the following individual gifts from November 1, 2023 through October 31, 2024. Please visit www.juventasmusic.org/ donate-now to learn about making a tax-deductible gift.
$5,000 and Above
Anonymous
Oliver Caplan and Chris Beagan
John A. Carey
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Karen & Fred Ruymann
Andrew Wilkins
$1,000–$5,000
Anonymous
Brookline Commission for the Arts
Chris and Margie Brown
Cambridge Arts Council
Paula Luria & William Caplan
Carson Cooman
John Emler
Barbara Hughey
Leslie Jacobson Kaye and Richard Kaye
Medford Arts Council
Richard Mitrano and Julia Scott
Carey
Paul Monsky & Beverly Woodward
The Ripley-Steinemann Family Fund
Wegmans Medford
$500–$999
Boylston Cultural Council
Christie Gibson and Michael Emmanuel
Bryce and Kathryn Denney
Meg Fuchs
Meghan S. Guidry
Stella Lee
May Marquebreuck
Andrew and Laura Waldorf Reiss
Rachel Rivkind
PARMA Recordings
Ben Sweetser
Sudbury Cultural Council
$250–$499
Anne Bilder & Johan den Boon
Evelyn Bonander
Eric and Margaret Darling
Joanne Dreher
Yukiko Egozy
Casey Elia
Moriah Freeman
William and Lee Krein
Alexandra Bowers and James Liu
Nagesh Mahanthappa & Valentine Talland
Ann Omalley
Rachel Rivkind
Jon Saxton and Barbara Fox
Hanjay Wang
Theodor Weinberg & Eric Hyett
$100–$249
Edward J Amabile and Mary M Amabile
Lawrence Banks
Robert Beagan
Lee Binnig
Carol Bloom
Dana Bos
Elise Viebeck and Andrew Caplan
Colleen Cavanaugh & Philip Gschwend
David Chia
Minjin Chung
Larry Cohen and Susan Worst
Deanne Coolidge
Brian Cron
Sarah Cummer
Brian Pingree and Alexis Dearborn
The Master Palindromist
Lynn Eustis
Ellen Feingold
Ann Ferentz
Andy Foery
Moriah Freeman
Aileen C. Freeman & Susan F. Spencer
Lorna Gibson
Myra and Roy Gordon
Neal and Kim Habas
Ann Brennan Harris
Patricia Henry
Jacob Hilley
Max Hobart
Maureen Hollis
David and Mary Howarth
Elizabeth Igleheart & Millan Galland
Steven Jackson
Beth D Jacob
Jim Kane and Sharon Williams
Julia Kane
Mari and Denys Kotskyy
Kenneth Krause and Maura
McEnaney
Hank and Patricia Kucheman
Ian Lai
Mimi Lee
Ludmilla Leibman
Julie Leven
Laurie Jacobs and Steven Levine
Joshua Levit
Steve Lewis
Downing Luvisi Family
Amy Mantis
Carol McCarthy and Chris Stribakos
Jonathan and Deborah McPhee
Reeva Meyer
Angela Ng
Linda Ng
Ayumi Okada
Robert Page
Mary Pederson and Claye Metelmann
Patric Pepper & Mary Ann Larkin
Webster Pilcher and Sheryl Koenigsberg
Chris Porter
Dr. Cashman Kerr Prince & Dr.
Bryan Burns
Katie and Bryce Remesch
Kathryn Ritcheske
Nate Ruegger
Peter Ruymann
Colin Ryan
Lori K. Sanders & Jennifer A. Lewis
Isadel & EB Saunter
Louise Scribner
Charles Shadle
Harvey Silvergate
Kevin & Carol Smith
Trisha Solio
Chris Stribakos and Carol A McCarthy
Ann B. Teixeira
Kelsey Thompson
Barbara Turen
Emma Kent Wine
Murray and Susan Woolf
Michael Zammito
$50–$99
Anonymous
Gail Barry
Thomas Barth
Eric Barth
Laura Basford
Bob Bassett
Meghan Guidry
Lauren Bernofsky
Bonnie Borch-Rote
Mary Bragg
Arlene Bryer
Margaret Cain
Raesin Caine
Zoe Cardon
Colette Carmouche
Kelley Cavanaugh
Rachel Ciprotti
Charles Coe
Colby Cooman
Linda Cox
Elizabeth Dean
Saskia den Boon
Virginia Doxsey
Christine Edwards
Andrew Elliott and John Varone
Shaun Eyring
Deb Faling
Celine Ferro
David and Ellen Fries
Nancy Goodwin
Scott Goodwin
Lisa Graham
Louise & Michael Grossman
Judith Gurland
Steven & Jennifer Guthrie
Juliana Hall
Hans Heilman
Kelley Hollis
Catharine Hyson
Laurie Kahn
Leonard and Terry Kahn
Sho Kato
Michael Kong
Karen Krolak
Hal Lichtin
George Lockhart
Xiomara Lorenzo
Ann MacDonald
Linda Markarian
Honor E Mc
Ralph and Sylvia Memolo
Libby Meyer
Cathi and Jeff Myer
Roxanna Myhrum
William Neely
C. Oberting
Sylvia Oliveira
Katie Parodi
Marc Pasciucco
Jeffrey Paster
Jason Pavel and Marie Walcott
Andrew Pease
John & Sarah Peck
Dan Perkins
Karen Poggi
Alexandra Porter
Sara Potter
Kate Raisz
Jill and Ian Reiss
Chris and Lindsey Reiss
George & Bobbi Ritcheske
Tom Schmidt
Andrew & Margot Schmolka
Rebeca Sedarski
Gordon and Shannon Shannon
Jonathan Simon
Tess Sneesby
Nicholas Southwick
Arlene Stevens
Bruce and Imogene
Jodi Swartz
John and Barbara T
Tony Thaweethai
Raymond Tonkel
Charlene Valk
The Valks
Anna Varlese
David von Behren
Elaine Walsh
John Weston
Up to $49
Anonymous (6)
Barbara A Hill
Andrew Adams
Jaime Alberts
Aaron Alon
Russ Anderson
Lael Backus
Young Yun Baek
Marshall Bautz
John Beagan
J. L. Bell
Michael Berkowitz
Kenneth Bigley
Claudine Blake
Emily Blitz
Ed Bouchard
Ann Bragg
Julianna Braun
Sharon Bridgforth
Margaret Brouwer
Eliza Brown
Baird and Carol Brown
Danica A. Buckley
Gerd Dr. Burger
Anne Burt
Maureen Cavanaugh
Huntae Chung
Jeanhee Chung
Linda Ciesielski
Jennifer Clapp
Lindsay Clark
Burt and Deborah Cohen
Nell Cohen
James Curtis
Lora Davidson
Angus Davison
Patrick Dawson
Massimo De Lillo
The Dearr Family
Kathleen DeBois
Ashley Dennis
BJ & Rich Dunn
Christina English
John and Beth Eustis
Carole Eustis
Evan Fein
David Feltner and Robert Edward Smith
A. Ferello
Roderick Ferguson
Giselle Ferro
Jane Ferro
Eve Foldan
Ali Frana
Rick Frank
Rebecca Fuchs
David E Fuchs
Gia Fuchs
Mary Gardill
Stacy Garrop
John Garton
Tobin Gedstad
James Gleason
Kendra Goodwin
John H. Graves
Jeffrey Grossman and Karl Hinze
Matthew Gschwend
Sadie Habas
Jordan Hadrill
Amanda Harberg
Jan Hardenbergh
Kiyoshi Hayashi
Bonnie Haymon
Matthew Heath
Matthew Henegan
Kelley Hollis
Michaela Hollis
Anne Howarth & Frederick Frank Jr.
Jean Huang
Wolcott Humphrey
Michael Hustedde
Joe Jaxson
Rashi Jeeda
Callie Jennings
Julie Johnson-McGrath
James and Amy Jones
Susan Kander
Jeff Kauppi
Kathryn Kautzman
Rakesh Khetarpal
Abby Krawson
Matthew Kusulas and Jack Tamburri
Ursula Kwong-Brown
Dina Labkovsky
Katie Lade
Rainice Lai
Johanna LaPlante
Mina Lavcheva
Ken Lewis
Alexander Liebermann
Jesse Lipson
Tammy Lynch
Jen Lyon
Gregory Lyons
Pamela Marshall
Kathryn McKellar
Peri Levin McKenna
Rachael McKenzie
Taylor McNulty
Jim McQuaid
Alexandra Mendez-Diez
Erin Merceruio Nelson
Annemarie Mitrano
Robert Montgomery
Mary Montgomery Koppel
Dilshod Narzillaev
Nicholas Norton
Susanne Olson
Valentina Osorio
Jessica Ovici
Lindsay Packer
Timothy Paek
Megan & William Paglia-Scheff
Jane Parkin Kullmann
Martha Pierce
Gretchen Pineo
Susan Pivetz
Amanda Potter
Emma Powell
Kathleen Quigley
Remesch Family
Chris Rhodes
Greg Rhodes
Jason Ries
Susan Rizzo
Jennifer Romig
Hannah Roos
Jonathan Royer
Christina Rusnak
Mallory Ruymann
D. S.
Harshita Sahu
Antonio Santos
Kerem Sayman
Donna Scalcione
Graeme A.B. Schranz
Kristen Schroeder
Christopher Sedarski
Joseph Sedarski
Josh Sedarski
Jonathan Sedarski
Dennis Shafer
Ryan Shannon
Brendon Shapiro
Daron Sharps
Dan Shaud
Jamison Shave
Mindi Shave
David Shuve-Wilson
Ken Silber
Kyle Simpson
Mark Sivazlian
Anna Speiser
Barbara Steiner
Drew Swatosh
Susannah Thornton
Jessica’s Tybursky
Karyn Visscher
Leo Walsh
Sophie Wang
Jennifer Wang
Beverly Waring
James Weber
Chris Wild
Dr. Natalie Williams
Rebecca Witmer
Christina Wright-Ivanova
Laura Yoo
Alice Young
Lu Yu
Kiara Zani
Tracey Zimmerman
Kim Zocchi
We’re proud that our donor roster includes 100% of Juventas board, staff and ensemble members, plus 33 composer and musician collaborators.
We are also extremely thankful to the dedicated volunteers who gave their time and talents to Juventas in the past year:
Chris Beagan
Rachel Ciprotti
Gordan Shannon
Shannon Shannon
Evan Perry
JANUARY 25, 2025
MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER CAMBRIDGE, MA | 8:00 PM ET + LIVE ON YOUTUBE
JANUARY 26, 2025
SUDBURY
MA | 4:00
