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A PERSONAL JOURNEY

Where music and life takes us

This program will include music by Björn Wennås, Evert Taube, Heitor Villa Lobos, Joao Pernambuco and Francesco Loccisano.

Björn Wennås is a versatile guitarist, composer, and educator whose musical journey spans continents and genres. Originally from Sweden, Björn moved to the United States in 1999, bringing with him a rich musical background and a passion for teaching.

Björn holds a Bachelor's Degree in Musicology and Anthropology from Uppsala University, a Diploma in Music from Berklee College of Music, and a Masters of Music from Longy School of Music. His comprehensive education forms the foundation of his multifaceted approach to music and performance.

Björn's performance career began at age 12 with the Flamenco group Los Dos Jovenes. Currently, he performs with Zafarán, a pan-Mediterranean project, and Ishna, a contemporary Irish ensemble. He is the former MD and guitarist of the award-winning group Newpoli.

His versatility is evident in his involvement with various musical styles, from jazz and big bands to classical guitar. Björn is also proficient in the chitarra battente, a traditional ten-string instrument from southern Italy.

Björn's talents have earned him numerous accolades, including nominations for the Just Plain Folk's Award, the International Massimo Urbani Award, and wins in the Independent Music Award and the Iguana Award. He has been recognized as an Official Showcase Artist at the International Folk Alliance and a Library of Congress Artist.

Björn Wennås's Website

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“Otherworldly” mezzo-soprano Clare McNamara brings her versatility to a wide variety of early and new repertoire throughout the United States and abroad. She has maintained affiliations with groups such as Skylark, Emmanuel Music, Cut Circle, Lorelei Ensemble, The Washington Bach Consort, Tapestry, Blue Heron, the Staunton Music Festival, and The Boston Camerata.

A member of the H+H chorus since 2014, Clare has appeared as alto soloist in Bach’s Mass in B minor and his Missa Brevis in G major (Harry Christophers), where she was praised for her “rich timbre and expressive phrasing” and was labeled a “vocal highlight” (Boston Classical Review). Clare’s “astonishing” voice is featured in the 2020 “pathbreaking” release of Cut Circle’s compendium of the works of Johannes Ockeghem (Gramophone Magazine); she also joined the group for numerous European festival performances. She was hailed as “pure-toned” and “as good as they come” (MusicWeb International) for her solo Hildegard chant on the Skylark album “Seven” (2018), one of three GRAMMY-nominations for the ensemble. Clare appears on eight other albums with Skylark, including “Clear Voices in the Dark,” the first US recording of Francis Poulenc’s tour-de-force Figure Humaine (2024). During her nine years with Lorelei, she collaborated with A Far Cry and the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons (Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, and Carnegie Hall). She joined Emmanuel Music for Bachfest in Leipzig, Germany, in June 2024.

In January, 2021, Clare appeared as a soloist for the United Nations’ Chamber Music Society’s concert for the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, globally broadcast online. Other online concerts have included pandemic-tide digital music creation: a vocal recital with her husband Ian Garvie (piano), a program of women’s trios for Skylark’s digital subscription platform, Skylark+, and a concert of early 3-voice repertoire with new ensemble Ourania presented by Boston's SoHIP.

Clare holds an A.B. in Music from Princeton University and an M.M. in Early Music Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She resides in the Greater Boston area with her husband, mother, and infant son.

CLARE'S WEBSITE

Join us in our sanctuary for the second part of our annual "Major Music" tradition.

The second part of our annual Major Music tradition, the First Church Senior Choir is joined by two pianists for the brilliant two piano arrangement of the Requiem. Free and open to the public.

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Renowned for his interpretations of the First Viennese School, Brahms, Schumann and Chopin, Franco-Canadian Pianist Paul-André Bempéchat is a self-styled, eclectic product of the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School, where he worked with the legendary performer-teachers Artur Balsam, Felix Galimir, and Nadia Reisenberg in piano and chamber music, and Martin Isepp in vocal accompanying.

Decorated as Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, and as Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academic Chapel at Uppsala University, M. Bempéchat has toured in virtually every country in Europe, including major appearances at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Barbican Centre London, the Philharmonics in Meiningen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Rotterdam and Belgrade; he has also appeared at the Wiener Festwochen, the Husum Festival of Rarities for the Piano, the Caramoor and Holland Festivals, and most recently Uppsala University. Colleagues and critics alike have hailed him as a singularly lucid, introspective interpreter capable of drawing audiences into a near-palpable relationship with the select composers he performs.

http://www.bempechat.com/

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Rasa String Quartet explores the musical space where classical and folk traditions intersect and influence one another.

Formed in 2019, the Boston-based ensemble consists of violinists Emma Powell and Maura Shawn Scanlin, violist Kiyoshi Hayashi, and cellist Mina Kim, who are graduates of the New England Conservatory, the Shepherd School of Music, and Yale University.

Rasa String Quartet are winners of the 2022 Associazione Europea Di Musica E Comunicazione International Chamber Music Competition (Italy,) the 2021 Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition (ATL,) the 2020 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition (OH,) and were the 2022-23 ensemble in residence at Phillips Exeter Academy.

They’ve collaborated with renowned folk musicians like celtic harpist, Maeve Gilchrist, Irish Fiddler, Liz Carroll, and singer-songwriter, Judy Collins, performed their own programs at various venues and festivals around the country, including the 2023 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, Celebrity Series, Rockport Music, WGBH, WBUR, and the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, and have taught educational residencies at a variety of institutions like Walnut Hill School for the Arts, UMass Dartmouth, and Boston Music Project.

By exploring the connection between music and storytelling at the heart of folk traditions, Rasa String Quartet delivers engaging and accessible programs that showcase works from a variety of cultures and highlight unknown composers. They seek to educate their audiences by contextualizing the genres, styles, and composers they present, inviting their listeners to approach both familiar and unfamiliar sounds with an open and curious mind.

In sanskrit, the term ‘RASA’ refers to the indescribable power of any art form to inspire strong emotions in the reader or listener.

RASA STRING QUARTET WEBSITE