Michael Kaulkin Cynthia Folio Sidney Bailin
Deborah Kavasch John W. Marvin Matthew Hetz
Ferdinando DeSena
THROUGHLINES
The album release concert
MAY 2, 2026 | 8:00 PM
MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER
CAMBRIDGE , MA
JUVENTAS NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Oliver Caplan, Artistic Director
BLOOM, BLAZE, FALL, FROST
SEP 27 & 28
CHASING DREAMS FOR LATER LIGHT NOV 15 & 16
FAMILY PHOTOS JAN 17 JAN 30–FEB 1 LU YU: CENTER STAGE MARCH 14 & 15
THROUGHLINES MAY 2 AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 MINUTES MAY 16 & 17 MUSIC IN BLOOM JUNE 14 & 21 UP NEXT
THROUGHLINES
The album release concert
MAY 2 | 8 PM | MULTICULTURAL
ARTS CENTER
String Quartet No. 1 “City Walks” (2009)
Ryan Shannon, violin; Hannah O’Brien, violin; Lu Yu, viola; Nicholas Johnson, cello
Scènes (2006)
Refugee (2023)
Journeys (2000)
Kelley Hollis, soprano; Nicholas Johnson, cello; Julia Scott Carey, piano; Thomas Schmidt, percussion
Kelley Hollis, soprano; Julia Scott Carey, piano
Michael Kaulkin
Sidney Bailin
Deborah Kavasch
John W. Marvin I. A Noiseless Patient Spider II. The Runner III. The Last Invocation
Kelley Hollis, soprano; Michael Bellofatto, horn; Julia Scott Carey, piano
Inventions for Solo Flute (2017-2023)
Matthew Hetz No. 1, No. 5, No. 12, No. 13, No. 14, No. 15
Nicholas Southwick, flute
A Woman’s Shortcomings (2024)
Ferdinando DeSena
Kristo Kondakçi, conductor; Kelley Hollis, soprano; Nicholas Southwick, flute; Celine Ferro, clarinet; Michael Bellofatto, horn; Ryan Shannon, violin; Hannah O’Brien, violin; Lu Yu, viola; Nicholas Johnson, cello; Julia Scott Carey, piano; Thomas Schmidt, percussion
“Publius” from A Matter of Honor (2007)
Cynthia Folio
Kristo Kondakçi, conductor; Daniel Fridley, bass voice; Philipp A. Stäudlin, saxophone; Ryan Shannon, violin; Hannah O’Brien, violin; Lu Yu, viola; Nicholas Johnson, cello; Pete Walsh, string bass; Julia Scott Carey, piano; Thomas Schmidt, percussion
This program is supported by the Cambridge Community Foundation; an Operating Support Grant from the Mass Cultural Council’s Portfolio Program; and PARMA Recordings.
Meg Fuchs has generously sponsored our “Meet the Artists” Reception.
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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.
John A. Carey has generously sponsored Juventas New Music Ensemble’s 2025-26 Mainstage Season.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John Carey
President
Andrew Wilkins
Treasurer
Meghan Guidry
Clerk
Margie Coffin Brown
Carson Cooman
Meg Fuchs
Leslie Jacobson Kaye
Karen Ruymann
Oliver Caplan
ex officio
STAFF
Oliver Caplan
Artistic Director
Andrew Wilkins has generously sponsored Oliver Caplan’s position for the 2025-26 concert season.
Christina George
General Manager
Meg Fuchs has generously sponsored Christina George’s position for the 2025-26 concert season.
Saskia den Boon
Grants Coordinator
Graphic Designer
Molly Breen-Aronson
Development Coordinator
J Lamoureux
Social Media Coordinator
Braden Willenbrock
Arts Administration Intern
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Contemporary classical chamber music is a niche artistic form. After Juventas concerts, audience members often ask me if they can purchase a recording of their favorite piece. Though it pains me, the answer is typically “not yet,” because our live performances are often world premieres, meaning the people in our audience are the very first people anywhere to hear this music. Even when it’s not a premiere, our concerts may be just the second or third performance of a work.
When Juventas studio records a piece, it makes the music available worldwide, for nearly anyone to listen. This is critical for the curiosity of listeners, the careers of composers and the future of our art form.
Juventas has been collaborating with New Hampshire-based PARMA Recordings for 15 years. Our first project together was William Bollinger’s The Raspberry Man, all the way back in 2011, when Juventas was a fairly new ensemble. These sessions are significant because they are nearly always the first and only studio renditions of the pieces recorded.
While Juventas has contributed tracks to over a dozen albums on PARMA’s Navona label, Throughlines represents a new milestone in our relationship: it is PARMA’s first all-Juventas album! We are so grateful for this partnership and look forward to ever more fruitful artistic endeavors in the years to come.
I’d like to extend my appreciation to the composers featured tonight; PARMA CEO Bob Lord; and team members Jan Košulič, Martina Watzkova, Ryan Harrison and Chelsea Olaniran. It has been a pleasure working on this album together.
Sincerely,
Oliver Caplan Artistic and Executive Director
IN THE COMPOSER’S OWN WORDS
Michael Kaulkin | String Quartet No. 1 “City Walks” (2009)
String quartets often rely on familiar multi-movement forms, but String Quartet No. 1 “City Walks” is a single-movement piece that unfolds as a continuous sequence of contrasting sections. Materials are always in motion: themes reappear in new guises, textures shift from transparent to dense, and the sense of direction comes less from traditional exposition and recapitulation than from moving through a chain of related “zones.” The structure is more like moving through different neighborhoods of the same musical city, where each new area carries traces of what has been heard before.
“City Walks” was written for a 2009 Berkeley, California concert bringing together new string quartets by three composer colleagues and myself. Early on in planning the piece, I came across a short quartet sketch I had written years before and forgotten about: a simple, lyrical theme marked “Andante affabile.” It felt both familiar and oddly distant, like a fragment from an earlier version of myself, and it quickly became one of the anchors of the piece. In “City Walks,” that tune appears in a relaxed, almost strolling guise, but it also resurfaces in more intense and unstable forms as the music unfolds.
The work opens with a contemplative cello solo over sustained, dense harmonies, increasingly plaintive and almost cantorial in character. This gives way to the more relaxed “Andante,” whose straightforward lyricism becomes a point of reference for much of what follows. As the piece progresses, this material is stretched, intensified, and at times pushed toward melodrama, before giving way to darker, more rhythmically driven passages. The final section is more of a “city run,” as we hurtle into an adrenaline-soaked, wildly frenetic final dash—an extended coda bringing the piece to an energetic close.
Sidney Bailin | Scènes (2006)
While much of my music is rather dark and passionate (at least, as I hear it), Scènes is bright and cheerful. The poem speaks almost hyperbolically of a bustling street life, and the music reflects that both in its instrumentation and its syncopated rhythms.
The combination of piano and vibraphone creates an uncanny juxtaposition of sounds that are at once similar and different, at once percussive and melodic; and this is balanced by the more purely melodic combination of voice and cello. The unusual blend of instruments expresses a happy-go-lucky, caution-to-the-wind freedom that, again, is emphasized by the syncopated rhythms. The harmonies, on the other hand, are designed to be pleasant to the ear, with some tang but never too far from the tonal structures that we are conditioned to think of as normal. I want it to be fun to hear this piece. I hope it gives an almost sensual pleasure.
Deborah Kavasch│| Refugee (2023)
Refugee was written in response to a project proposed by a local opera company that paired my Stanislaus State composition students with local poets to set their poetry to music. I was also invited to participate with my poet collaborator, Linda Bunney-Sarhad. Her choice of subject was deeply affected by stories of refugees crossing the Mediterranean from North African countries in unsafe boats, and her poem seemed timely, but also timeless. I captured the sound of ocean waves with the strumming of low strings in the piano interior to set up the imagery of a woman anxiously awaiting a boat that would take her and her children to an unknown destination and uncertain welcome. The music increases in tension as she speaks of being attacked for scavenging for food for her children. Throughout this journey, she accepts the inevitable, mourns the loss of home and city, craves kindness from strangers, and realizes that longing for home is the mightiest urge there is.
John W. Marvin | Journeys (2000)
Journeys is a song cycle for soprano, horn and piano on three poems by Walt Whitman. “A Noiseless Patient Spider” and “The Last Invocation”—the texts for the first and final songs—I read as concerned with the journeys of the soul through time, space and existence in search of meaning and release. But Whitman seems ambivalent about the life of the spirit and inevitably is drawn back to his joy in the human condition and his love of the earthly. At least this is a tension that I perceive in these texts, and it motivates the inclusion of “The Runner” in the cycle. Thus, the three pieces together create a musical ‘arch’ form with “The Runner” functioning as a brief and lively scherzo between the two meditative movements.
Matthew Hetz | Inventions for Solo Flute (2017-2023)
The flute will always hold a special place in my life. Around age sixteen, I surreptitiously began playing a flute which belonged to an older brother. After seeing my progress on the instrument, opposed to his lack of progress, he said I needed to buy it from him, which I did. I then gained enough proficiency to play in small, local ensembles, and was 2nd Flute in the West Los Angeles College Chamber Orchestra. My affair with flute ended when I began playing the violin. While the flute remains close to me, I have forgotten the fingerings, tonal and breath control, and today cannot play the instrument.
Throughout the affair with the flute onto the violin, I played piano, which continues to this day. The music of J.S. Bach remains a constant in my life, and his Inventions for keyboard are a mainstay.
As for the composing of my Inventions for Solo Flute, there were no outside influences, such as a call for score, request from a flute player, and so on. However, Bach’s concepts of Inventions are some of the structural inspirations for the Flute Inventions. These Inventions for Solo Flute are my homage to the instrument.
In all, there are seventeen Inventions in Major and minor keys. In some of the Inventions, I did try to match Major and minor keys. For example, No. 1 is in C Major, and No. 2 is in c minor.
The Inventions to be performed this evening are: No. 1, C Major No. 5, E Flat Major No. 12(2)(7), A Major No 13, a minor No. 14, B Flat Major No. 14, B Major
Some of these Inventions have no direct quotes of J. S. Bach’s music, but others use his “Invention” or “idea.” My Invention No. 5, E Flat Major fragments Bach’s Invention in the same key.
The writing leans more toward the Baroque and Classical styles than the filigrees of Modern and Romantic era flute music.
Ferdinando DeSena | A Woman’s Shortcomings (2024)
I have had good luck with another poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Her poem, “A Dead Rose,” served as text for my O Rose! Who Dares to Name Thee? So, I chose “A Woman’s Shortcomings” for the text of a new piece for Juventas which features soprano Kelley Hollis.
It is a lighthearted text, teasing the idea of superficial romance in search of true love. In that spirit, I fashioned a playful and fanciful large ensemble piece. As in any musical setting of text, the rhythm and inflection must take precedence. The musical accent should suit the words comfortably. Phrase structure and formal division must also be defined by the stanzas.
Ample instrumental interludes and introductions divide poetic stanzas and interject commentary. The whole has an acerbic and satiric wit as befits the text.
Cynthia Folio | “Publius” from A Matter of Honor (2007)
A Matter of Honor: A Portrait of Alexander Hamilton was composed by Cynthia Folio as a tribute to one of America’s most influential Founding Fathers. Commissioned by Astral Artistic Services, the work premiered in 2005 with an unusually colorful ensemble—alto saxophone, piano, percussion, and string quintet—performed by Astral award-winning young artists and narrated by the distinguished bass Eric Owens.
Written a decade before the Broadway musical Hamilton, Folio’s piece grew from her own deep dive into Hamilton’s life. Supported by a research leave from Temple
University, she immersed herself in six major books, including Hamilton biographies and The Federalist Papers. This scholarship shaped a musical portrait that explores Hamilton’s ideals, conflicts, and ultimately, his legacy.
The first movement, featured here, draws directly from The Federalist Papers, each section framed by the historic salutation “To the People of the State of New York” and signed “PUBLIUS.” It culminates with a letter from George Washington, praising Hamilton’s writings for their lasting importance to “the principles of freedom” and good government. Musically, the movement shifts between bold, driving textures and intricate fugues built from a single theme, ending in a reflective coda.
Critics praised the work’s theatrical power. Writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer, David Patrick Stearns described it as a psychologically rich portrait of Hamilton in his later years—“a viable form” that stands apart from earlier narrative-orchestral works like Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait
Subsequent movements (not included in tonight’s performance) trace Hamilton’s emotional journey: his candid reflections on nation-building, his sense of isolation, and the correspondence leading up to his fatal duel with Aaron Burr. The work closes with Hamilton’s heartbreaking final letter to his wife, expressing hope, devotion, and farewell.
LYRICS & TEXTS
Scènes
Text by Arthur Rimbaud (from Illuminations)
L’ancienne Comédie poursuit ses accords et divise ses Idylles:
Des boulevards de tréteaux.
Un long pier en bois d’un bout à l’autre d’un champ rocailleux où la foule barbare évolue sous les arbres dépouillés.
Dans les corridors de gaze noire, suivant le pas des promeneurs aux lanternes et aux feuilles,
Des oiseaux des mystères s’abattent sur un ponton de maçonnerie mû par l’archipel couvert des embarcations des spectateurs.
Des scènes lyriques, accompagnées de flûte et de tambour, s’inclinent dans des réduits ménagés sous les plafonds autour des salons de clubs modernes ou des salles de l’Orient ancien.
La féerie manoeuvre au sommet d’un amphithéâtre couronné de taillis,⎯ou s’agite et module pour les Béotiens, dans l’ombre des futaies mouvantes, sur l’arête des cultures.
L’opéra comique se divise sur une scène à l’arête d’intersection de dix cloisons dressées de la gallerie aux feux.
Ancient Comedy pursues its harmonies and divides its Idylls:
Raised platforms along the boulevards.
A long wooden pier the length of a rocky field in which the barbarous crowd moves about under the denuded trees.
In corridors of black gauze, following the promenaders with their lanterns and their leaves,
Birds of the mysteries swoop down onto a masonry pontoon, swayed by the sheltered archipelago of spectators’ boats.
Lyric scenes accompanied by flute and drum look down from slanting recesses set below the ceilings around modern club rooms or halls of ancient Orient.
The fairy spectacle maneuvers at the top of an amphitheatre crowned with thickets,⎯or moves and modulates for the Boeotians in the shade of waving forest trees, on the edge of the cultivated fields.
The opéra-comique is divided on a stage at the line of intersection of ten partitions set up between the gallery and the footlights.
Refugee
Text by Linda Bunney-Sarhad
I. From the beach I watch flickers on the waves: moonlight, or rockets. Soon a boat ride will risk my life and my children’s. The sea invites, enchanting. Deadly.
What choice?
Pushed from home unwelcome ahead: no one wants us anywhere.
II. Three of them found me scavenging food said I must “pay.”
Hands stifled my cries bruised my mouth, face breasts, arms.
I hobbled back, torn, too stunned to sob.
Journeys
Text by Walt Whitman
I. A Noiseless Patient Spider
Women averted their eyes remembering
I am nothing special. It happens to us all. The children are hungry.
III. Mourning a house destroyed garden in ruins city in flames
We look for welcome somewhere crave kindness from strangers a bath, a bed.
There are too many of us.
IV. Black against the brown sky silhouettes trudge on endlessly.
Longing for home is the mightiest urge there is.
A noiseless patient spider, I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated, Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding, It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself, Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand, Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them, Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold, Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul
II. The Runner
On a flat road runs the well-train’d runner. He is lean and sinewy with muscular legs He is thinly clothed, he leans forward as he runs, With lightly closed fists and arms paritially rais’d
III. The Last Invocation
At the last, tenderly, From the walls of the powerful fortress’d house, From the clasp of the knitted locks, from the keep of the well-closed doors, Let me be wafted.
Let me glide noiselessly forth; With the key of softness unlock the locks—with a whisper, Set ope the doors O soul.
Tenderly—be not impatient, (Strong is your hold O mortal flesh, Strong is your hold O love.)
A Woman’s Shortcomings
Text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
She has laughed as softly as if she sighed, She has counted six, and over, Of a purse well filled, and a heart well triedOh, each a worthy lover!
They “give her time”; for her soul must slip Where the world has set the grooving; She will lie to none with her fair red lip: But love seeks truer loving.
She trembles her fan in a sweetness dumb, As her thoughts were beyond recalling; With a glance for one, and a glance for some, From her eyelids rising and falling; Speaks common words with a blushful air, Hears bold words, unreproving; But her silence says - what she never will swearAnd love seeks better loving.
Go, lady! lean to the night-guitar, And drop a smile to the bringer; Then smile as sweetly, when he is far, At the voice of an in-door singer.
Bask tenderly beneath tender eyes; Glance lightly, on their removing; And join new vows to old perjuriesBut dare not call it loving!
Unless you can think, when the song is done, No other is soft in the rhythm; Unless you can feel, when left by One, That all men else go with him; Unless you can know, when unpraised by his breath, That your beauty itself wants proving; Unless you can swear “For life, for death!”Oh, fear to call it loving!
Unless you can muse in a crowd all day On the absent face that fixed you;
A9/20/25 | 9/21/25
Premiere: Then Is Now
10/25/25 | 10/26/25 Coming to Boston: From Korea
11/22/25 Lineage
12/13/25 | 12/14/25 Schubert Octet
1/9/26 | 1/10/26
2025/26 Season
FarCry
Yeemz × A Far Cry 1/31/26
Side by Side 2/14/26
Heart Strings: A Valentine from The Criers
3/14/26 | 3/18/26
Appalachian Spring A Far Cry on Tour!
4/25/26 In the Making: Land of the Northern Frog 5/9/26
Season Finale: The Strangers’ Case
Publius
Excerpts from The Federalist Papers
Text by John Jay, James Madison, & Alexander Hamilton (pseudonym of PUBLIUS)
[Federalist No. 1]
To the People of the State of New York:
AFTER an unequivocal experience of the inefficiency of the subsisting federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force.
PUBLIUS.
[Federalist No. 15]
To the People of the State of New York:
I have endeavoured, my Fellow Citizens, to place before you in a clear and convincing light, the importance of Union to your political safety and happiness. I have unfolded to you a complication of dangers to which you would be exposed should you permit that sacred knot which binds the people of America together to be severed or dissolved by ambition or by avarice, by jealousy or by misrepresentation.
[Federalist No. 22]
The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow from that pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority.
PUBLIUS
[Federalist No. 11]
To the People of the State of New York:
Let the 13 States, bound together in a strict and indissoluble Union, concur in erecting one great American system, superior to the control of all transatlantic force or influence, and able to dictate the terms of the connection between the old and the new world!
[Federalist No. 85]
A NATION without a NATIONAL GOVERNMENT is, in my view, an awful spectacle. The establishment of a constitution, in time of profound peace, by the voluntary consent of a whole people, is a PRODIGY, to the completion of which I look forward with trembling anxiety.
PUBLIUS
[letter to Hamilton from George Washington, August 28th, 1788]
As the perusal of the political papers under the signature of Publius has afforded me great satisfaction, I shall certainly consider them as claiming a most distinguished place in my library. . . .when the transient circumstances & fugitive performances which attended this crisis shall have disappeared, that work will merit the notice of Posterity; because in it are candidly discussed the principles of freedom & the topics of government, which will be always interesting to mankind.
Your friend and Most obedient Humble Servant [George Washington]
ABOUT THE COMPOSERS
MICHAEL KAULKIN | b. 1967
Michael Kaulkin is an award-winning composer and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His vocal, chamber, and orchestral works have been performed across the United States and internationally, and his music has been praised as “exceptionally beautiful on all counts.”
Kaulkin’s String Quartet No. 1 (“City Walks”), a finalist for The American Prize in 2015, is featured on a 2026 Navona Records release in a new recording by Juventas New Music Ensemble. Other recordings include American Standard for clarinet and piano on the Clarinet Classics (UK) release Time Pieces: 60 Years of American Music for Clarinet.
In recent years, Kaulkin has focused especially on choral music, and his works have been performed by university, community, and professional choirs in the United States and abroad. His SATB arrangement of the Yiddish folksong “Tumbalalayka” has become one of his most frequently performed works and was recorded by French vocal quartet Æsthesis on their 2022 album O Do Not Move. As winner of the Ruth Boshkoff Prize for composition from the Organization of American Kodály Educators, Kaulkin was commissioned to write the children’s choir piece Redbirds, which was premiered at OAKE’s 2022 national conference. Large-scale concert works include a newly revised 30th-anniversary edition of his choral-orchestral cantata Cycle of Friends (1996) and Most This Amazing (1999) for mixed chorus with two pianos and percussion.
Kaulkin’s orchestral works include Misterium Tremendum, which received the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Highsmith Prize and was later performed by the Oakland Symphony, and Letter to Hungary, premiered by the Hungarian Chamber Symphony Orchestra. His theatrical work includes collaborations with regional theaters, and scenes from his proposed opera Lilith were featured in West Edge Opera’s 2022 SNAPSHOT showcase of new works.
Kaulkin serves on the Musicianship and Composition faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Pre-College Academy. An avid adopter and adapter of the Kodály method, he has also taught at summer Kodály programs at Holy Names University and Portland State University and teaches music literacy classes for adult learners.
A native of Washington, D.C., Kaulkin studied composition at the University of the Arts in
Philadelphia and later at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with János Vajda and István Párkai. He earned his master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Conrad Susa. His music is available from Universal Edition, Colla Voce Music, and Swirly Music—a platform for self-publishing composers that he founded in 2014.
michaelkaulkin.com
SIDNEY BAILIN | b. 1953
Sidney Bailin started composing when he was 6. His first piece was in three-part counterpoint, a fact that he still cannot explain. Imitative counterpoint remains a defining characteristic of his music, perhaps because of his early exposure to species counterpoint, which he learned formally at the age of 10.
He entered Juilliard when he was 15, studying piano with Ania Dorfmann and composition with Hall Overton. The following year, he began private piano coaching with Jeaneane Dowis. After high school he enrolled full-time at Juilliard, studying composition with Roger Sessions and Otto Luening. But then, becoming more and more interested in mathematics, he moved to Columbia University, first as a double major in music and mathematics, then dropping the music. Thus started what he now views as a decades-long exile from music.
Eventually, Bailin received a doctorate in Mathematical Logic from the University of Oxford. His activity since then has been wide ranging: publishing papers on computer topics, writing an award-winning film script, working as a skydiving instructor and now, to this day, as a karate instructor. But in 2003 he felt the call to return to composing, and he now finds himself at the top of his compositional and creative powers.
sidneybailin.com
DEBORAH KAVASCH | b. 1949
Deborah Kavasch, BMI composer, soprano, educator, and specialist in extended vocal techniques, has had works commissioned and performed in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, and China. She has received grants and residencies in composition and performance, was a 1987 Fulbright Senior Scholar to Stockholm, and has appeared in major international music centers and festivals in concerts, solo recitals, workshops, lecture/demonstrations, and television and radio broadcasts since 1981.
Her compositions have been described as “electrifying” (Synapse), “splendidly diabolical” (ILWC Journal), and “virtuosic sound picture” (Bremen Weser Kurier). Her compositional output features much solo and solo vocal chamber music, choral works, instrumental solo and chamber music, wind ensemble and orchestral compositions, and opera. Her two operas commissioned by Opera Modesto include The Race: an Aesop’s Fables Mashup, premiered in 2021 as an internationally award-winning film, and Annabel, based on Edgar Allen Poe’s Annabel Lee, premiered in 2023.
Kavasch is distributed by Forrests Music and is recorded on Lovely Records, Composers Recordings, Inc., Cambria Recordings, TNC Classical, Everglade Records, Soundset Recordings, and Navona Records. Recent recordings on Navona Records include her choral composition Feather on God’s Breath (The Crossing), and orchestral works Lost Voices (Royal Scottish National Orchestra), Desert Storm (London Symphony Orchestra), and The Peace of Wild Things: A Reflection (LSO with violin soloist Davide Alogna).
Kavasch holds degrees in German and Music Theory/Composition from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and the Ph.D. in Music from the University of California, San Diego. She is Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Theory/Composition at California State University, Stanislaus, where she has been a faculty member since 1979.
deborahkavasch.com
JOHN W. MARVIN | b. 1931–2018
John Marvin pursued professional work in both music and the mathematical sciences, and for most of his life was active in both careers at the same time. He was born in Fayette, Missouri in 1931, began studying music when he was four, and wrote his first complete work, Introduction and Allegro for piano trio when he was a junior in college. Yet Marvin’s intellect was drawn in another direction.
He enrolled at Johns Hopkins University, and in 1962 earned his master’s degree in pure mathematics. By day, he was at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, programming computers, working with astronomers and astrophysicists, determining what computations they wanted to do on data from satellites and turning those data into numbers and pictures for their perusal. He worked on studies ranging from radio astronomy to big-bang theories. By night, he was back in Washington DC, in the pit at the Kennedy Center, playing oboe and English horn for the resident and visiting ballet and opera companies.
Marvin then taught mathematics and music at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where he balanced his classroom duties with composing. During his ten years at The Evergreen State College he began to attract the attention of important professional performers. Among them was Julie Ann Giacobassi whom he met in the seventies when they were fellow freelancers at the Kennedy Center. She has been a
champion of Marvin’s music, premiering his Five Pieces for English Horn and Piano, his Octet for Winds (at Davies Hall with members of the San Francisco Symphony), his Music from the Night for 2 oboes and English horn (also premiered at Davies Hall), and his Tapestry for oboe d’amore, viola and piano. Carolyn Hove of the Los Angeles Philharmonic has recorded Five Pieces for English horn and Piano on the Crystal Records label. Giacobassi has recorded Five Pieces for English horn and Piano and Music from the Night on the Fish Creek Music label. His works encompass a variety of genres, including instrumental and vocal chamber music, pieces for modern dance, music for carillon, and larger works for solo instruments with orchestra and wind ensemble.
Vocal music by John Marvin includes Journeys for soprano, horn and piano (to texts by Walt Whitman), Ophélie for soprano solo, choir and piano (text by Rimbaud), and Ophelia is Mad for soprano and pre-recorded accompaniment (based on Hamlet, Act IV Scene 5.)
In 2002 clarinetist Frank Renk and the Wind Ensemble of the California State University Stanislaus premiered his Triptych for solo clarinet, winds and percussion. Marvin’s Quintet for Woodwinds, premiered at Vanderbilt University in November, 2003, was commissioned by and is dedicated to the Blair Woodwind Quintet. The West Coast premiere was given in San Francisco in June, 2005 by Citywinds. Also in that year, Marvin was the guest composer at the Composers’ Showcase 2005 at the University of Montana at which his new work, Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra, was premiered. On the occasion of Julie Ann Giacobassi’s retirement from the San Francisco Symphony, Marvin wrote Farewell for soprano, contralto, English horn and harp. His Sonata for Oboe and Piano was written for Roger Weismeyer of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.
MATTHEW HETZ | b. 1957
Matthew Hetz, a native of Los Angeles, where he still resides, began piano lessons at age 16. He began playing the violin at age 23-he is primarily self-taught. Hetz attended California State University Dominguez Hills, from which he graduated Cum Laude as a Music Major-Composition and Communications Minor. His study of composition and music at the university in the 1980’s was at the height of atonality, with the dissolution of harmony as the accepted compositional practices, but he was then, and remains a composer of tonality in pursuit of lyricism.
His works have been performed throughout Los Angeles, the United States, and in Europe, with Hetz performing his piano works at NACUSA concerts including Brand Library, Glendale CA; and Steinway Piano Gallery, Beverly Hills.
Hetz is an instructor at Emeritus/Santa Monica College. He was the president of the
Culver City Symphony Orchestra and Marina del Rey Symphony for 16 years, and played violin in the orchestra. He is an environmental and mass transit advocate.
Previous recordings with PARMA Recordings are Hetz’s work for cello and piano, Sarajevo Cellist; and the 3rd Movement of Concerto for Flute, Celesta and Chamber Orchestra.
Vox Novus, Robert Voisy, Founder, broadcasted Hetz’s String Quartet, Blue, and Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, both are on the composer’s website under Digital Concerts. Festival Osmose, Danielle Baas, Artistic Director, performed and broadcasted Hetz’s Trying to Flee from Rockets for violin and piano based on the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2023, and A Gravitational Pull Towards Sadness for four hands piano in 2024. Both are on the composer’s website under Digital Concerts.
In collaboration with violinist/violist and short movie creator and producer Annelle Gregory, movies of Hetz’s works are on his website, under Digital Concerts: Nineteen Crowns-Six Pieces for violin/viola/viola, based on the COVID-19 pandemic; Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin; and Three Duos for Violin and Viola
Sarajevo Cellist was performed in Carnegie Hall after it was featured in PARMA Records’ 2021 release with Trio Casals. From Gramophone by Guy Rickards, “Evocation of a very different type occurs in the opening duo for cello and piano, Sarajevo Cellist by Matthew Hetz, inspired by the anonymous player who performed in the bomb-laden streets of the Bosnian capital in the 1990s. Its driving momentum is gripping, making it all the more maddening that only the first movement is recorded here.” and in Jazz Mania, “this fifth Moto in a series features a dozen tracks with very varied tempos and climates. It opens with the magnificent Sarajevo Cellist.
matthewhetz.com
FERDINANDO DESENA | b. 1950
Ferdinando DeSena is a Miami-based composer who was born in Brooklyn NY.
His earliest musical experiences were with neighborhood pop, and doo–wop groups. He worked as a musician in Ithaca NY for 13 years, playing in several regional bands as keyboard player and lead singer. His final group was Uptown Revue, which he led for seven years.
In search of furthering his creative potential, he graduated from Ithaca College with a BA in both Computer Science and Electronic Music. This led to a graduate program at the University of Miami where he earned an MM degree in Electronic Music and a DMA in Composition. His principal teachers were Dennis Kam in composition, and Peter Rothbart and Don Wilson in electronic music.
Dr. DeSena joined the music theory/composition faculty of the University of Miami, and directed the Electronic Music Studio. He also taught composition and music technology at New World School of the Arts in Miami.
Fred DeSena is a PARMA Recording Artist and has many recordings currently available on the Navona label.
desenamusic.org
CYNTHIA FOLIO | b. 1954
Cynthia Folio is Emeritus Professor and former Chair of Music Studies at Temple University, where she was honored with the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Creative Achievement Award, and the Faculty Senate Award for Outstanding Service. Before teaching at Temple, she taught theory and flute at Texas Christian University (1980–1990) and played flute and piccolo in the Fort Worth Symphony. She earned her Ph.D. in Music Theory and Performers Certificate in Flute from the Eastman School of Music.
Composition awards include an NEH grant, composer residencies at Yaddo, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the American Academy in Rome, and grants from Meet the Composer and the American Music Center. Her multimedia composition, When the Spirit Catches You… received the 2019 American Prize in Composition: Special Judges’ Citation for “Raising Awareness and Understanding for those Afflicted with Epilepsy.” Her commissions include Network for New Music, the Relâche Ensemble, the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Astral Artistic Services, the Women’s Sacred Music Project, Pi Kappa Lambda, the ZAWA! flute duo, and the National Flute Association. As a music theorist, her essays on the topics of jazz, contemporary music, pedagogy, improvisation, and the relationship between analysis and performance, are published in journals and books.
Folio’s recordings include New Music for String Orchestra (Centaur, 2024), featuring her composition, Pentaprism, a Inverno Azul, featuring nine compositions (BCM+D, 2014); Press Play, by the Relâche Ensemble (Meyer Music LLC, 2007); Flute Loops: Chamber Music for Flute (Centaur, 2006), featuring eight of her compositions; and a jazz flute CD, Portfolio (Centaur). In addition to her musical accomplishments, she is a second-degree black belt and winner of the 2019 Student of the Year Award for Region 8 in Tang Soo Do karate.
cynthiafolio.com
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
KRISTO KONDAKÇI | conductor (guest artist)
Celebrated for his visionary leadership and innovative programming, Albanian-American conductor Kristo Kondakçi is redefining the role of the modern conductor as a driving force for artistic excellence and meaningful change in communities worldwide.
As the David and Janet McCue Music Director of the Kendall Square Orchestra (K²O)—a 94-member ensemble drawn from over 60 leading technology and life science organizations—Kondakçi champions initiatives that combine musical innovation with philanthropic action. At Boston’s historic Symphony Hall, K²O’s Symphony for Science series has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for healthcare causes through collaborations with figures such as Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart and Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo. In partnership with Pfizer and Next Step, Kondakçi also led the creation of Come and Walk a Mile, an anthem for rare disease awareness that has reached audiences worldwide.
Residing in Boston with his wife, Chloe, he continues to design bold new projects and broaden his community-centered efforts. His upcoming season features major orchestral debuts and groundbreaking partnerships that underscore his belief that music, at its core, can unite us, heal us, and drive meaningful change.
KELLEY HOLLIS | soprano
Karen Ruymann has generously sponsored Kelley Hollis for the 2025–26 concert season.
Kelley Hollis is a classically trained soprano known for her interpretations of new and lesser known works. In summer 2019, Kelley traveled to London to record Arnold Rosner’s Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios (Tocatta Records, 2020). In 2018, she performed a concert at the Prague Castle in the Czech Republic, along with a series of recitals in cities around the country, as a featured artist with the Americké jaro festival.
In 2019 Kelley premiered the role of Juana in the Omar Najmi’s En el ardiente
oscuridad. Her other opera roles include Rosalinda in J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Mimi in Puccini’s La (femme) Boheme (MassOpera), 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).
Kelley 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 Symphony No. 2, 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, she 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.
DANIEL
FRIDLEY | bass voice (guest artist)
Bass vocalist Daniel Fridley resides in the Boston area and uses his “spotless, resonant bass” (Cleveland Classical) as a virtuosic vehicle suited to a wide range of musical styles. He performs a variety of operatic genres, specializing primarily in the music of the Baroque and Classical periods, and sings in a number of ensembles focusing on music from the Middle Ages through the 20th century. He sings in the ensembles of Blue Heron, Boston Baroque, Culomba, the Newberry Consort, and many others.
This next season, Fridley will join Upper Valley Baroque as one of the soloists for Handel’s Messiah (September), sing in the chorus of Dido’s Ghost with Emmanuel Music (October), and perform with Labyrinth Choir (October and December), Cappella Clausura (November), and Boston Baroque (December). He will take part in the Middlesex Community College Faculty Recital (November), singing Schubert, Dowland, and other exciting works. He joins Spectrum Singers as soloist and chorister (November), and makes his debut with the Old Post Road Ensemble (December) and Arcadia Players (December). In 2026, Fridley begins by making a recording of Britten’s Curlew River with Enigma Chamber Opera. He then tours with Culomba, including another workshop for Song Roots in Vancouver, BC as well as appearances around New England. He joins Boston Baroque for Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass (March) and Mozart’s Idomeneo (April). In between, he takes Telemann’s Don Quichotte to tour in Germany with the Boston Early Music Festival (March). Finally, he closes the spring season performing with Cappella Clausura (May)
and Labyrinth Choir (June), including a tour to Croatia.
As a teacher, Fridley teaches students of all ages and aspirations, sharing his love for music. He continues to serve as a professor of voice at Middlesex Community College where he began teaching in 2023. He also continues to teach private lessons at Endicott College as an adjunct professor. Fridley teaches private piano, voice, and recorder lessons through Note-Worthy Experiences Music Studio, working with students of all ages to foster their musical creativity and encouraging them to find joy in making music. He is also developing a private voice studio out of his home in Watertown, MA.
Fridley grew up in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon, but has gradually made his way across the country to the East Coast. His other musical interests include conducting and dance (both historical and ballroom). Outside of the musical realm, he’s an avid explorer of both board games and the wonders of the natural world. He also loves to read and to bake, and to enjoy a well brewed cup of coffee.
NICHOLAS SOUTHWICK | flute
Emily Lyons and Ryan Snyder have generously sponsored Nicholas Southwick for the 2025-26 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,” Nicholas Southwick enjoys a diverse musical career as a flutist, lecturer, and curator passionately committed to bringing over ten centuries of classical music to life in performance, writing, and spoken word.
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 been invited to perform at Harvard University, King’s Chapel, Salem Classical, the University of Cambridge, and the Bloomsbury Festival, in London.
In addition to his role as core flutist of the Juventas New Music Ensemble, Nicholas performs with violist Long Okada in Duo Gwynne, holding a 2023-24 Artist Fellowship with Music for Food. 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 spirituality, having served as Fellow in Liturgy and Music at Harvard University’s Episcopal Chaplaincy and regularly performing for Duke Initiatives in Theology and the
Arts (DITA). As an orchestral player, Nicholas has made appearances with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Emmanuel Music, New Hampshire Festival Orchestra, Boston Opera Collaborative, Harvard-Radcliffe and Manchester Choral Societies, and Trentino Music Festival Orchestra (Italy).
A devoted and passionate instructor, Nicholas is committed to empowering creativity in the classroom and encouraging robust interdisciplinary dialogues as a vehicle for encountering music within its social, cultural, and historical contexts. He is currently Assistant Professor at the Berklee College of Music and serves as Affiliated Faculty at Emerson College.
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.
CELINE FERRO | clarinet
Meghan Guidry has generously sponsored Celine Ferro for the 2025-26 concert season.
Celine Ferro is a core member of the Juventas New Music Ensemble, the clarinetist of the Kalliope Reed Quintet, and a force in the all-bass clarinet ensemble Improbable Beasts. Seeking diverse collaborations that take her work beyond the typical concert hall, Ferro is also the clarinetist and bass clarinetist of the groove ensemble Shibui, where she can be heard on their latest album, Quint, released by Ronin Rhythm Records.
Alongside these projects and ensembles, Ferro has recently performed chamber music with Castle of Our Skins, contributed to a variety of orchestral workshops and concerts throughout New England, and even curated a unique collaboration between the Improbable Beasts and Shibui, blending together heavy metal elements, medieval influences, contemporary classical music, and ritualistic groove music.
Beyond these engagements, Ferro serves on the faculty of Powers Music School and the Winchester Community Music School. When she is not teaching, performing, or practicing for all of the above, Celine is an avid hiker, reader, and coffee drinker.
MICHAEL BELLOFATTO | horn (guest artist)
Michael Bellofatto currently holds Principal Horn chairs with the Vista Philharmonic, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and formerly held the position of Acting Principal Horn with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. He is an active orchestral musician in Boston, Greater New England, and beyond, having appeared frequently with such groups as Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Portland Symphony, Boston, Hartford Symphony, Cape Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, and most recently the New York Philharmonic. Michael is a graduate of the Ithaca College School of Music.
PHILIPP A. STÄUDLIN | alto saxophone (guest artist)
Philipp A. Stäudlin is an award-winning virtuoso saxophonist who has performed hundreds of concerts throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His characteristic tonal qualities, deep sense of phrasing, and superb technical skills make him one of the most unique voices in today’s classical saxophone world.
A native of Friedrichshafen, Germany, Stäudlin has appeared as a soloist with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Sound Icon ensemble, White Rabbit Ensemble (former ensemble-in-residence at Harvard University), Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, Callithumpian Consort, Bielefelder Philharmoniker, Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, Tufts University Orchestra, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, and the Providence Singers. He has also performed with the Harvard Group for New Music, EQ ensemble, ECCE ensemble, Talea Ensemble, Steamboat Switzerland, Dinosaur Annex, Ensemble White Rabbit, Ludovico Ensemble, IGNM Basel, Alea III, Back Bay Chorale, and many others.
A graduate of Musikhochschule Basel, Stäudlin received a Soloist Diploma, having studied with Marcus Weiss and Iwan Roth. He was awarded a full scholarship two years in a row from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to study with Kenneth Radnofsky at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where he received an Artist Diploma as well as the Victor Rosenbaum Medal.
Stäudlin currently has 15 CD recordings available on the New World, Tzadik, Albany, Innova, Suspicious Motives, New Focus, Navona, and Newport Classics, Enja, and Ars Musici labels. He is a member of the Sound Icon, Callithumpian Consort, and EQ ensembles. Stäudlin has premiered more than 100 works.
He lives with his wife, pianist Yoko Hagino, and their daughter in Melrose, Massachusetts.
RYAN SHANNON | violin
Oliver Caplan and Chris Beagan have generously sponsored Ryan Shannon for the 2025–26 concert season.
Ryan Shannon is a freelance violinist/violist based in Boston. He performs widely throughout the New England area, collaborating with ensembles of any size: from small quartets to 100 piece orchestras. He has shared the stage with A Far Cry, Celtic Woman and Johnny Mathis, as well as such masters as Yo-Yo Ma and Andrea Bocelli. Although he specializes in the newest music of the contemporary period, frequently performing such composers as Jessie Montgomery, Paul Wianko, and Anna Clyne, Ryan holds a deep fondness and love for the great masters, particularly Brahms, Haydn, and Beethoven. Ryan studied at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Lucy Chapman and Nicholas Kitchen. He is the Artistic Director of Heartspur Arts Festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as a core member of Juventas New Music Ensemble in Boston.
Ryan has over a decade of experience performing at Weddings with the Fensgate Chamber Players under the direction of Brian Clague.
HANNAH O’BRIEN | violin (guest artist)
Hannah O’Brien is a classical and Irish fiddle player based in the Boston area. A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music and the New England Conservatory, Hannah has played with many ensembles including the Boston Lyric Opera, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Des Moines Metro Opera, Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and the New Bedford Symphony.
Most recently, Hannah spent her summer at Spoleto Festival USA as a “Tell Your Story” fellow, composing and performing a new work for the festival. She has had the opportunity to perform with Aoife O’Donovan, Time For Three, and members of the Calidore String Quartet as well as recording on the Grammy Nominated Album “Sila: The Breath of the World” by John Luther Adams.
In addition to classical performance, Hannah is an Irish fiddler, composer and arranger,
and is part of an acoustic string duo with musical partner Grant Flick. The duo released its second record, Unmatched Pair, in August 2024, and look forward to touring their project in the midwest and New England Area. They are recipients of many grants including the University of Michigan Binkow Chamber Music Grant, and the Club Passim Iguana Fund, and spent last summer as Resonance Festival Artists at the Honeywell Arts Academy. She can also be seen playing Irish music around Boston, and has participated as an artist in the Boston Celtic Music Fest.
LU YU | viola
Julia Scott Carey and Richard Mitrano have generously sponsored Lu Yu for the 2025–26 concert season.
Born in China, violist Lu Yu began her musical journey on the violin at the age of six, before turning to the viola as her principal instrument at twelve, all while studying at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou. Her musical path led her to the Royal Academy of Music in London on full scholarship, where she earned her bachelor of music degree under the guidance of Matthew Souter. She later continued her studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Marcus Thompson, receiving her master of music degree.
An expressive and versatile musician, Ms. Yu maintains an active career devoted equally to solo performance, chamber music, contemporary repertoire, and teaching. She is a core member violist of the Juventas New Music Ensemble, reflecting her strong commitment to collaborative artistry and the performance of new and adventurous works. Honored as “The Young Musician of 2008” in Hong Kong, her performances have taken her to stages throughout the United States and abroad. Her orchestral experience includes past engagements as principal violist of the Boston Civic Symphony, performances with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and co-principal viola of the Missouri Symphony, along with frequent collaborations with ensembles across the Boston area.
Equally dedicated to education, Ms. Yu brings a thoughtful and supportive approach to teaching, guiding students with the same musical integrity that shapes her performances. She is also a devoted wife and mother, balancing a vibrant artistic life with the joys of family.
NICHOLAS JOHNSON | cello (guest artist)
Cellist Nicholas Johnson (they/he) strives to create meaningful art at local levels through collaborations which cross genres. As a recipient of the 2023 St. Botolph Club Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award, they commissioned and recorded a new suite of music inspired by the cosmos by Mason Bynes and Jingmian Gong, building upon Toru Takemitsu’s Orion for cello and piano (to be released Summer 2024). They perform and record with Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera, and in the 2022-2023 season returned to their native state of Florida as guest principal of the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra.
In recent seasons Nicholas has performed with Boston Public Quartet, Semiosis Quartet, Winsor Music, and Juventas New Music. With these ensembles and the contemporary sinfonietta Sound Icon, he regularly works with young composers at Berklee College of Music, RWU, and MIT to workshop and record their new music. Nick has soloed alongside Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, members of the Silk Road Ensemble, and Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble performing Chen Yi’s Suite for Cello and Chamber Winds.
PETE WALSH | string bass (principal guest artist)
Pete Walsh is a double bass player and educator based in Boston, MA. He enjoys a vibrant, musically diverse career comprised of orchestral playing, historical performance, chamber music, jazz and electric bass, and everything in between.
As an orchestral musician Pete is currently Principal Bass of the Boston Festival Orchestra, Principal Bass of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and Assistant Principal Bass of the Cape Cod Symphony. He is a frequent guest with top classical ensembles in Boston including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops and Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project and has also performed with the Dallas, Detroit, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. He has participated in tours with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and recently traveled to Japan with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. He was also a section member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra for many years.
Pete is equally dedicated to chamber music and small ensemble playing and is Principal Bass with the Boston based ‘Phoenix’ Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Artist
with Juventas New Music Ensemble. As a guest artist he has appeared with A Far Cry, a septet of the Boston Symphony Double Bass Section, Walden Chamber Players, Fine Arts String Quartet, Rasa String Quartet, Harvard Musical Association, Lake George Music Festival, Unitas Ensemble, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra.
Pete is particularly inspired by studying historical performance practices. He has performed with early music groups such as the Handel and Haydn Society, Smithsonian Academy Orchestra, Connecticut Early Music Society and Festival, Bach Virtuosi Festival, Emmanuel Music’s Bach Cantata Series, and Marsh Chapel Collegium.
Pete was a summer musician for three years at Yellow Barn, an intensive international chamber music festival in Vermont where he performed alongside musicians from prominent chamber ensembles. Pete has also been a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany and on tour in China, National Orchestral Institute, and Round Top Music Festival.
As an educator Pete currently maintains a private studio and teaches through the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra program. He is a faculty member at New England Conservatory’s Summer Orchestral Institute. He has also coached the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra’s bass section and taught through the Wellesley Public School system, Harvard University’s Music Lesson Program, and the Boston Philharmonic’s Crescendo! program.
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Pete was initially drawn to the bass by listening to great jazz upright and electric bass players. He began playing electric bass at age 10 and shortly after joined his middle school orchestra program on double bass. Institutions such as the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra fostered a love for classical music. He also spent formative summers at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. While in Dallas he studied with Clifford Spohr of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Jeff Bradetich of the University of North Texas.
He received both his B.M. and M.M. at Boston University studying with Benjamin Levy and Edwin Barker, respectively, of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He additionally studied historical performance with Heather Miller-Lardin, Principal Bass of the Handel and Haydn Society.
Pete performs on two instruments, a modern double bass by American luthier Arnold Schnitzer made in 2015 (#38) in New York and double bass made in southern Germany around 1870 with a distinctive carved lion head scroll. His modern bow is by Sue Lipkins of New York and baroque bow is by H.F. Grabenstein of Vermont.
JULIA SCOTT CAREY | piano
Max Hobart has generously sponsored Julia Scott Carey for the 2025–26 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
Christine Lee Gibson and Michael Emanuel have generously sponsored Thomas Schmidt for the 2025–26 concert season.
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.
Credit: James Jones Photography
Saul Oct 3 + 5
Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Beethoven
Oct 24 + 25
Symphony No. 7
Oct 24 + 25
Handel’s Messiah
Nov 28 + 29 + 30
Handel’s Messiah
Nov 28 + 29 + 30
Baroque Christmas Dec 18 + 21
Mozart + Haydn
Jan 9 + 11
Mozart + Haydn
Bach + Telemann May 15 + 16
Voices Carry May 29 + 31
Jan 9 + 11
Handel’s Water Music
Apr 10 + 12
Apr 10 + 12
Handel’s Water Music
Apr 10 + 12
Voices Carry May 29 + 31
617.262.1815
MAKE A DONATION
Donate to Juventas and help us touch hearts in New England and around the world. This year, with a budget of just $211,000, we are presenting over 20 concert performances. They will reach over 2,500 people in-person and 1,000 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 2025-26 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 Christina George, christina.george@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.
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, Christina George, at christina.george@juventasmusic.org.
We'll reach out with volunteer opportunities when they arise, and joining our list comes with no obligations.
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 April 15, 2025 through April 15, 2026. Please visit www.juventasmusic.org/donate-now to learn about making a tax-deductible gift.
$5,000 and Above
Anonymous
The Boston Foundation Free for All Fund
Oliver Caplan and Chris Beagan
John A. Carey
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Karen MacDonald Ruymann & Frederick W. Ruymann, MD
Andrew Wilkins
$2,000-$4,999
Anonymous
Cambridge Arts Council
Cambridge Community Foundation
Colleen Cavanaugh & Philip Gschwend
Bonnie Hirsch
Medford Arts Council
The Puffin Foundation
The Ripley-Steinemann Family Fund
$1,000–$1,999
Brookline Commission for the Arts
Paula Luria Caplan and William Caplan
Julia Scott Carey and Richard Mitrano
Carson Cooman
Meg Fuchs
Christie Gibson and Michael Emanuel
Good Treble Fund
Max Hobart
Leslie Jacobson Kaye and Richard Kaye
Stella J. Lee
Emily Lyons and Ryan Snyder
Wegmans Medford
$500–$999
Boylston Cultural Council
Chris and Margie Brown
Laurel A Copeland
Brian Cron
Diane Droste
April and Jon Durant
Beth D Jacob
Gloria Lee
Nagesh Mahanthappa & Valentine Talland
Ben Sweetser
Sudbury Cultural Council
$250–$499
Anonymous
Anne Bilder & Johan den Boon
Larry Cohen and Susan Worst
Deanne Coolidge
Joanne Dreher
William Dwyer
Yukiko Egozy
John Emler
Lynn Eustis
Ann Ferentz
Moriah Freeman
Elizabeth Igleheart and Millan Galland
Louise & Michael Grossman
Jacob Hilley
Ian Lai
Joshua Levit
Alexandra Bowers and James Liu
Jane Parkin Kullmann
Carol Richart
Katie and Bryce Remesch
Alexis and Nate Ruegger
Lori K. Sanders & Jennifer A. Lewis
Lucy and Len Schmolka
Sidney Slobotkin
$100–$249
Anonymous (3)
Hugh Russell and Kenneth Allen
Charlie & Lea Anderson
Scott and Tina Apelgren
James Aronson
Jonathan Barnhart
Lee & Deb Binnig
Carol Bloom
Evelyn Bonander
Mary Bragg
Mary Frances Breen
Camille Breen
Gail Bucher
Michele Caniato
Judith Mitrano
Susan Carlson
David Chia
Rachel Ciprotti
Sarah Cummer
Kathryn Denney
Susan Dolan
Daniel Dona
Allison Donelan
Barry Duncan
Casey Elia
Andrew Elliott and John Varone
Andy Foery
Rebecca Fuchs
Lorna Gibson
Myra and Roy Gordon
John H. Graves
Meghan Guidry
Jennifer Guthrie
Jan Hardenbergh
Heidi Hellring & Nathan Arnell
Patricia Henry
M L Hetz
Maureen Hollis
Mary and David Howarth
Alyson Hudson
Barbara Hughey
Catharine Hyson
Sachiko Isihara
Howard Jacobson
Ona Jonaityte
David and Andrea Jones
Jim Kane and Sharon Williams
Tim Kane
Susan Kendall
Kenneth Krause and Maura
McEnaney
Kimberly and Chris Lehner
Ludmilla Leibman
Steven Levine and Laurie Jacobs
Harold Lichtin
Beth Manca
Robert Markelewicz MD
May Marquebreuck
Kevin Mathieu
Honor McClellan
Ralph and Sylvia Memolo
Claye and Mary Pederson Metelmann
Reeva Meyer
Paul Monsky and Beverly Woodward
Jennifer Moore
Christine Mortensen
Cathi and Jeff Myer
Susan Navarre and Tim Olevsky
Bob Page and Dean Vassil
Nathan Painter
Katie Parodi
Jason Pavel and Marie Walcott
Dan Perkins
Velura Perry
Maureen Peters
Brian Pingree and Alexis Dearborn
Quigley family
Ron Raines & Laura Kiessling
Kathryn Ritcheske
Andrew Royer
Peter Ruymann
Mallory A Ruymann
Celine Ferro and Colin Ryan
Ellen Sarkisian
Jon Saxton and Barbara Fox
Scott Smith
Anders Soderquist
Sharon Daniels Sullivan
Arlene Stevens
Ann B. Teixeira
Kelsey Thompson
Bradley Vernatter
Dino J. Martins
Elaine Walsh
Hanjay Wang
Emma Kent Wine
Vicki and Andrew Wittenstein
Sandy & Craig Blocker
Pat & Greg Yukna
John Zeber
Anonymous (2)
Ruth Abram
Brad Amidon
Victoria Aparece
Young Yun Baek
Gail Barry
Laura Basford
Bob Bassett
John Beagan and Sarah Peck
Robert Beagan
J. L. Bell
Kenneth Bigley
Johanna Biviano
Kyla Blocker
Mary Breen
Caitlin Breen
Thomas Breen
David Brewster
Margaret Cain
Russell Capasso
Tammis Coffin
Mary Coombs
Elizabeth A Dean
Claudine Donikian
Cynthia Farnsworth
Ellen Feingold
David Feltner and Robert Edward
Smith
Anthony F
David and Ellen Fries
Hannah Fries
David E. Fuchs
John Garton
Frank Genco
Holly Greenhalgh, in memorial
James Gleason
Mara Goldberg
Nancy Goodwin
Raymond Greenhalgh
Jon and Carrie Hammond
Hans Heilman
Adam Howarth
Wolcott Humphrey
Tim Jarrett
Jon and Jean Jones
Stephanie Kacoyanis and Lawrence Wind
Leonard and Terry Kahn
Gerry Kane
Sho Kato
William Krein
Jessica Lamoureux
Joleen & James
Amy Lee
Steve Lewis
Nancy Lipsitt and Len Newman
Dino Martins
Andrea Mazzariello
Tom McAuliffe
Carol McCarthy and Chris
Stribakos
Ann McDonald
Mona McKindley
Rachel Panitch
Karen Poggi
Ajay Rai
Mark and Jody Raider
Ian Reiss
Fern and Ginny Remedi-Brown
Bobbi Ritcheske
Janet Rothrock
Jonathan Royer
Dewey Sasser
Isadel & EB Saunter
Thomas Schmidt
Andrew & Margot Schmolka
In memory of Howard Schranz
Charles Shadle
Gordon and Shannon Shannon
Jonathan Simon, DC
Sivazlian Family
Robert Swander
Kathleen Sweadner
Barbara Turen
Katharine & Dave Velleman
Rachel Veto
Karen Walwyn
Lauri Wasson
Lynn Chang and Lisa Wong
Elton Wong
Lu Yu
Michael Zammito
Marc Zegans
Up to $49
Anonymous (8)
Cindy & John Adams
Eva Adib
Halden Aistrup
Nate Aistrup
Ian Aistrup
Jaime Alberts
Hina Allen
Aaron Alon
Steven Averett
Nancy Bakey
Skylar Lapin
Dawn Beckman
Brittney Benton
Steven Bergman
Vivian Best
Johanna Biviano
Emily & Stuart Blitz
Kelsey Blocker
Betsy Bobo
Ed Bouchard
Molly Breen-Aronson
Monica Bruno
Sarah Brustin
Erin Burke
Rufus Burns-Heath
Riikka Caffrey
Althaea Carroll
Casey Cavanaugh
Madeline Champagnr
Jennifer W Chan
Jenith Charpintier
Lucy Cheng
Grace Chua
Minjin Chung
Jeanhee Chung
Linda Ciesielski
J. Beth Ciesielski
Jenna Clark
Stewart Coffin
Joey Marie Coughlin
Lana Crosson
Julia Crosson
Eve Cruanes
BethAyn Curtis
James Curtis
Giancarlo D’Agostino
Deepa Datta
Patrick Dawson
Jade Deatherage
Michael Delman
Saskia den Boon
Karin Denison
Alex Dobin
Gerd Dr. Burger
Emily Eddy
David L. Eddy
Mary Eddy
John Eustis
Beth Eustis
Noam Faingold
Richard Farnsworth
Evan Fein
Roderick Ferguson
Maggie FInnegan
Anna Fisher-Roberts
Kimberly Fletcher
Miriam Fogel
Gay Foster
David and Ellen Fries
Gia Fuchs
Avi Gahm-Diaz
Stacy Garrop
Thomas Garvey
Tobin Gedstad
Richard George
Christina George
Michael Gilbertson
Alvaro Gonzalez Orellana
Scott Goodwin
Mary Greene
Matthew Gschwend
Judy Gurland
Andrew Haber
Sylvia Giessel
Amanda Harberg
Britt Harter
Kiyoshi Hayashi
Hans Heilman
Anna Hennessy
Cara Herbitter
Shannon Hickey
Hannah Hickman
Anne Hoef
Susanna Hoglund
Michaela Hollis
Kelley Hollis
Grant Home
Paige Hopkins
Stephanie Howard
Anne Howarth & Frederick Frank Jr.
Henry Huberty
Wolcott Humphrey
Michael Hustedde
Meghan Hyland
James Isherwood
Kun Yong Jeoung
Cynthia Johnson
James and Amie Jones
Nathan Kane
Leah Kane
Jessica Kaplan
Jason Kaplan
Antony Karacic
Kiril Karapetkov
Jasmine Kaur
Zachary Kaye
Melody Kaye
Bella Kelly
Louise Kelly
Noelle Kelly
Robert Kendall
Krista Killeen
Lauryn Koeppel
Abby Krawson
Lawrence Labagnara
Rainice Lai
Jessica Lamoureux
Theodore Lanman
Marc, Skylar, Laura Lapin
Lisa LaRochelle
Kathleen Larson Day
Vi Le
Ellie Lee
Noah Lee
JB Leitko
Aimee Lents
Kurt Lents
Jacqueline Lestina
Naomi Lev
Rose Lewis
Rozime Lindsey
Olga Lisovska
John R Lister
Gale Livingston
George Lockhart
Tammy Lynch
Ann MacDonald
Gami Maislin
Seth Maislin
Pamela Marshall
Megan Martin
Andrea Martine
Seth Mascolo
Pranav Mashankar
Jennifer Matasick
Patrick McAllister
Mac McBurney
Amy McCaffery
Patrick McGovern
Kathryn McKellar
Kim McNamara
Taylor McNulty
Sarah McSweeney
Alexandra Mendez-Diez
Erin Merceruio Nelson
Ilyena Metzger
Libby Meyer
Annemarie Mitrano
Will Morningstar
B. Morrison
Rebecca Murray
Linda Ng
Jessica Oakhem
Ayumi Okada
Amy Oneill
Nicola Payne
Andy Pease and Lisa Samols
Paula Petrella
Katherine Potter
Teresa Pyo
Nate Raider
Jennifer Raider
Matt Raider
Daniel Ramos
Ellen Rathjen
Lianne Ratzersdorfer
Anne Ray
Alexander and Sabrina Recendiz
Sophia Reyes
Stephanie Riley
Gwyneth Rix
Susan Rizzo
Nathan Roller
Hanna Roos
Patricia Roos
David Roth
Haley Royer
Jason M Rubin
Melissa Rubinsky
Christina Rusnak
Erica Ryan
Elizabeth Ryan
Anna Salvato
Antonio Santos
Leo Schmidt
Alida Schmidt
Caitlin Schmidt
Kristen Schroeder
Joseph Sedarski
S. Shannon
Ryan Shannon
Daron Sharps
Aaron Sheehan
Sadie Shelkey
Nancy Shepard
Alex Shiozaki
Amy Shuman
Kate Umble Smucker
Carolyn Soucy
Nicholas Southwick
Charlene Southwick
Lauren Spavelko
Emily Spear
Matthew Sperling
Sydney Spicer
Greg A Steinke
Beth Stotts
Imogene & Bruce Stulken
Barbara Tarrh
Colleen Tay
Maria Thompson Corely
Benjamin Thurtle
Caroline Todd
Amy Tuttle
Lisa Vaas
Hannah Vokal
Leo Walsh
Jennifer Walsh
Jenna Wang
Beverly Waring
Lauri Wasson
Beth Wasson
Abbie White
Sharon Williams
Todd Wilson
S. Wright
Elaine Wu
Sophia Xie
Alison Yakabe
Lidiya Yankovskaya
Steven Yao
Noah Yonge
Haesoo Yoon
Lily Zielinski
We’re proud that our donor roster includes 100% of Juventas board, staff and ensemble members, plus 31 of our artistic collaborators
We are also extremely thankful to the dedicated volunteers who gave their time and talents to Juventas in the past year:
Chris Beagan
Milan Galland
Elizabeth Igleheart
Ann MacDonald
Rachael McKenzie
Jonathon Sedarski
Elaine Walsh
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