Our festival opener challenges the idea that women’s influence on the arts is a recent phenomenon. The program opens with an arrangement of a Medieval sacred poem written by Hildegard von Bingen, an abbess, writer, composer and Renaissance woman before the Renaissance period itself was even upon the world. More than 800 years later, women are just starting to gain some measure of recognition for their equal talents. Vividly charismatic and tactile music by Gabriella Smith and Caroline Shaw round out the first half. The concert concludes with an all-female powerhouse cast in Ernest Chausson’s Concert, which features virtuosic writing for all involved in a deeply passionate idiom.

Hildegard von Bingen (arr. Alex Fortes): Columba Aspexit
Aizuri Quartet

Gabriella Smith: Carrot Revolution
Aizuri Quartet

Caroline Shaw: Limestone & Felt
Wayne Lee, viola
Clancy Newman, cello

INTERMISSION

Ernest Chausson: Concert for violin, piano, and string quartet
Jasmine Lin, violin
Juliana Han, piano
Aizuri Quartet

$32 general, $16 student, $82 season pass
General seating. Box office opens 1 hour before the concert; the house opens 30 minutes before the concert.