The glory and fury of nature, and our place within it, is the story told through Vivaldi’s famous violin concertos, The Four Seasons. The beauty of this Baroque instrumentation is highlighted in Surgent, a new commission by Kevin Alexander Day. To ensure the safety of audience members and performers, all live concerts with CMSCVA adhere to guidelines such as socially distanced seating, masks, paperless ticketing, and more.  Program: Kevin Alexander Day, Surgent; Vivaldi, The Four Seasons.      Performers: Mary Boodell, traverso flute; Jonathan Colbert, bass; Johnny Gandelsman, violin; Christina Day Martinson, violin; Dana Kelley, viola; Jessie Montgomery, violin; Carsten Schmidt, Harpsichord; and James Wilson, cello.  

In 1828, Franz Schubert gave the only public concert of his own works and wrote some of his most famous pieces. In 1955, the esteemed activist Rosa Parks sparked the Civil Rights Movement. In 2021, the award-winning Thalea String Quartet joins CMCSVA Artistic Director James Wilson to perform two visionary works inspired by these years – Schubert’s majestic Cello Quintet in C major, D.956; and String Quartet no. 5 (“Parks”) by violinist/composer Daniel Bernard Roumain (aka DBR). Tickets go on sale starting May 30.  

Let yourself be carried away by a program of music that captures the American artistic experience from the late 19th century to the 1930’s – Theme and Variations for flute and string quartet by Amy Beach, Florence Price’s String Quartet in A minor, and  the “American” String Quartet by Antonín Dvořák. It’s a story that spans the continent and crosses an ocean, vividly told by violinists Johnny Gandelsman and Njioma Grevious, violist Jordan Bak, flutist Mary Boodell, and cellist James Wilson. Tickets go on sale May 30.