Sunday, March 30th, 2025 10:30 am
FCB Annual Major Music Service Johannes Brahms’ Requiem
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.
Friday, April 4th, 2025 7:30 pm
Paul-André Bempéchat Piano Recital of Beethoven Sonatas
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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/
Friday, May 2nd, 2025 7:30 pm
The Rasa String Quartet
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The Program:
"Nature’s Counterpoint: Changing Perspectives"
Program Description:
Join Rasa String Quartet for an unforgettable journey through the intricate beauty of fugue and the wonders of nature. Featuring works by Caroline Shaw, Aleksandra Vrebalov, The Fretless, Bach, and Beethoven, we reveal how small, delicate elements—like a Bird’s Nest, a Beech Tree, or the interwoven voices of a fugue—unite to create something extraordinary. Discover how music and nature mirror each other, weaving together into breathtaking masterpieces that celebrate the complexity, harmony, and unity of our world.
Program Setlist:
The Fretless: Bird’s Nest
J.S. Bach: The Art of Fugue – Contrapunctus 1
J.S. Skinner: Bovaglie's Plaid
Alexandra Vrebalov: Pannonia Boundless
Caroline Shaw: Plan & Elevation, V. The Beech Tree
The Fretless: Alphonso McKenzie’s/Salkantay
L.V. Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59 No. 3
About the Rasa Quartet:
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.