The Jasper String Quartet will return to “live in-person” performance this evening, Thursday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting House, 20 East Mermaid Lane. The program includes Debussy’s String Quartet, Vivian Fung’s Quartet No 1, and Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum.” The Quartet’s members are: violinists J Freivogel & Karen Kim, violist Andrew Gonzalez, and cellist Rachel Henderson Freivogel.

 Violinist Freivogel explained, “We formed the Jasper at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music because the four of us wanted to perform a full chamber music recital each semester, rather than just the academically required one movement. As a group, we went to graduate school together for string quartet performance at Rice University and Yale University, and it was that decision, to go to grad school together, that set us on our professional path in 2006.

 “All of our schooling and teachers have a lot of overlap,” he said, “and members of the quartet have also attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School. We’re named after the Jasper National Park in Canada. The supreme natural beauty of that park aligned our idealistic and grand expectations for the quartet.

 “We started Jasper Chamber Concerts six years ago with the mission to encourage curiosity, community, and inclusivity through world class chamber music performances,” he continued. “That mission guides our repertoire choices and it is a given that each piece that we program is a work in which we all whole-heartedly believe, In our view, the works on each program are in balance with one another and are meant to illuminate new aspects of each other. Just as a hydrangea’s color might transform due to the makeup of its soil, we aim that each complete program might reveal new insight into pieces familiar and new.

 “The Chestnut Hill Friends Meetinghouse is a wood-laden, warm and intimate venue. What could be better to feel the energy of the audience and performers together?”

 Camerata’s ‘Vivladissomo’

Valentin Radu will conduct Camerata Ama Deus, Baroque Chamber Orchestra, in “Vivaldissimo” Saturday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. in the Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Chestnut Hill. The concert will mark the ensemble’s first “live in-person” performance since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown began in April, 2020.

The program will feature Antonio Vivaldi’ Violin Concerto in F major (“Autumn” from “The Four Seasons”), the Oboe Concerto in B-flat major, the Trumpet Concerto in C major, the Violin Concerto in D minor, the Flute Concerto in D major (“Il cardellino”), the Double Violin Concerto in G major and the Concerto for Trumpet & Oboe in D major. Soloists include violinists Thomas DiSarlo & Linda Kistler, oboist Sarah Davol, trumpeter Elin Frazier and baroque flutist Steven Zohn.

Explained Radu, “We recently published our season 35 brochure outlining our largest season ever, presenting 13 unique concert programs and 21 performances.” He pointed out that he and his players will return to many of their traditional venues, such as the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Chestnut Hill.

“Though the times of COVID-19 are not yet behind us,” Radu concluded, “and we remain committed to making adjustments as changing conditions warrant, we are confident that our approach of optimism, creative problem solving, adaptability and agility in the face of change will continue to serve us well through these challenging times.” For more information call 610-688-2800 or visit VoxAmaDeus.org.

The Crossing’s ‘Motion Studies’ 

Donald Nally will conduct The Crossing in “Motion Studies” Sunday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m. in the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. The concert includes two world premieres: Justine Chen’s “Shallow Breath and Stealth” and Gabriel Kahane’s “Choral Music.”

Explaining the program, Nally said, “While our ‘Returning’ concert of 9/11 was a true homecoming for our community, ‘Motion Studies’ will be a return to those issues we feel we need to be singing about – issues that were there before the pandemic and will be here after. We are fortunate to have composers tackle challenging topics like this: the ubiquity of surveillance and data collection, our relationship to the earth’s water, the naivety of adolescence as seen from 20 years beyond. ‘Motion Studies’ is a virtuosic evening of choral singing that reminds us that words matter, and that our commissions connect us an invite us to imagine a better world.” For information visit crossingchoir.org.

You can contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@comcast.net.