Beyond the Notes artistic director, Sarah Whitney, will join AUREA Ensemble for an eclectic concert that combines poetry with classical, folk and contemporary music. This program called Listen!, embraces the relationship of sound, nature, music and poetry. Music of Bach, Dohnanyi, Piazzolla, Caroline Shaw, and Chris Turner’s brilliant harmonica improvisations illuminate words of Linda Pastan, Wendell Berry, Galway Kinnell, Federico Garcia Lorca and more.

Guest Artist, AUREA Ensemble:

Consuelo Sherba (viola)

Emmanuel Feldman (cello)

Nigel Gore (spoken word)

Chris Turner (spoken word and harmonica)

The mission of Aurea is to investigate and invigorate the relationship between music and the spoken word. Aurea aspires to unify the humanities and fine arts in dynamic, accessible & engaging ways through performance and educational outreach. Aurea’s concerts combine poetry with classical, folk and contemporary music, to create performances that sweep from intimate chamber settings to major theatrical venues.

Aurea takes its name from Catena Aurea Homeri, or the Golden Chain of Homer, a symbol of 18th century esoteric alchemy, which strove for the refinement of the human condition. That alchemy – combining disparate elements into a divine new element – defines every Aurea event.

Their eclectic humanities-based repertoire, featuring an extraordinary string ensemble, is built on a strong musical framework of original or previously composed music with eloquent spoken word including poetry, journals, and prose; laced together with soaring harmonica improvisations. Aurea collaborating guest artists have included musicians, actors, puppeteers, dancers and visual artists.

Aurea approaches cross-cultural themes in their programming believing the arts inform our understanding of these issues. Serving a broad audience, Aurea reaches national festivals including the Chicago Humanities Festival, the NYU Humanities Festival, Maverick Concerts, Providence International Arts Festival, FirstWorks, university concerts, an annual concert series and educational outreach.

Prepare for an evening of inventive music where creativity and technology meet. Violinist Sarah Whitney and award-winning violist-composer Jessica Meyer join forces, both performing with loop pedals to push the boundaries of traditional string playing. With Meyer’s playing described as "fierce and lyrical" and her works hailed as “evocative” (New York Times), the duo presents a captivating program of solos and duos, featuring original compositions by Meyer. Their dynamic performances are as accessible as they are innovative, offering a fresh, modern take on classical music.

With playing that is “fierce and lyrical” and works that are “other-worldly” (The Strad) and “evocative” (New York Times), Jessica Meyer is an award-winning composer and violist whose passionate musicianship radiates accessibility and emotional clarity.  

Since the start of her composition career in 2014 at age 40, Meyer's compositions have viscerally explored the wide palette of colors available to each instrument while combining techniques inspired by her experiences as a contemporary and period instrumentalist.  Her works have been performed in venues from the Kennedy Center to Carnegie Hall, by musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, and by orchestras around the country. Premieres have included performances by GRAMMY-winning vocal ensembles Roomful of Teeth and Vox Clamantis, the St. Lawrence String Quartet as the composer in residence at Spoleto Festival USA, the American Brass Quintet, PUBLIQuartet, Sybarite 5, NOVUS NY of Trinity Wall Street, a work for A Far Cry commissioned by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the Juilliard School for a project with the Historical Performance Program, and by the Lorelei Ensemble for a song cycle that received the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award from Chorus America.

Upcoming premieres include a work for MET tenor Paul Appleby and the Claremont Trio, a work for viola and piano commissioned by the Pre-College Department of The Juilliard School, and a new orchestral piece to be premiered by a consortium of orchestras across the United States.  In 2023, she joined both the Viola and Chamber Music Faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.