The Nutcracker
A PRODUCTION BY BALLET SAN ANTONIO IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ORCHESTRA SAN ANTONIO (TOSA)
32nd Annual Engel Chamber Music Concert
Music for Winds & Piano
Decoda artists Claire Bryant (cello), Catherine Gregory (flute), and David Kaplan (piano) lead masterclasses and interactive performance workshops with graduate students in the Institute for Music Leadership.
Decoda makes its Penn State debut with special guests Ringdown, the cinematic electro-pop duo featuring composers and vocalists Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee Parpan—an “ecstatically blissful” (Night After Night) and “irresistible” (Feast of Music) pair creating music that floats up from the dusty record bin between Brahms and Brandi Carlisle, and centers around joy, human connection, and trying to inspire people to feel more love.
The program, Reverberations, explores the profound relationship between inspiration and imagination, revealing an interconnected web of musical influence. Two works by Aaron Copland—Midday Thoughts and the beloved Appalachian Spring—showcase his singular approach to American musical identity, borrowing, distorting, amplifying, and reinventing folk material. Appalachian Spring will feature a special side-by-side collaboration with Penn State School of Music students.
Ringdown’s new work, Every Stone in Cambridge Reminds Me of You, reflects Copland’s musical lens and his friendship with Leonard Bernstein through a bold contemporary voice, and was written for and will be performed with Decoda. Ringdown will also perform selections from their latest album, The Lady on the Bike. The program further features Hanns Eisler’s kaleidoscopic Septet No. 1, merging Expressionist textures with fragments of American children’s songs, and Eisler on the Go—a brooding folk ballad by Woody Guthrie and Billy Bragg, arranged by Decodan Claire Bryant, chronicling Eisler’s exile during America’s Red Scare.
Public Performance:
Tuesday, March 31, 2026; 7:30 PM
Center for the Performing Arts
The Pennsylvania State University
Eisenhower Auditorium
367 Shortlidge Road
University Park, PA 16802-2108
Featuring “some of the brightest young classical musicians in the world” (Time Out New York), Decoda is Carnegie Hall’s first-ever affiliate ensemble, comprising alums of the adventurous Ensemble Connect. This season, as part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival, the spectacularly versatile group presents American Renaissance—a program of works by William Grant Still, Florence Price, Charles Ives, Jessie Montgomery, Margaret Bonds, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Zenobia Powell Perry, and more.
Program to include:
IVES The Unanswered Question
STILL Summerland
JESSIE MONTGOMERY Sergeant McCauley
PRICE Piano Quintet in A Minor
And selected songs by Margaret Bonds, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, and Zenobia Powell Perry
Decoda’s 12th summer Chamber Music Festival, which will take place June 2026 at our summer home, Warren Wilson College, in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina.
This unique summer festival is dedicated to training the next generation of young artists to rethink and reimagine their role in society. Through outstanding chamber music making, creative collaboration, and hands-on project design and development, DCMF cultivates the vision of community through music with the young artists of tomorrow.
https://www.decodamusic.org/summer
Christmas Baroque Brilliance is a concert experience that guides audiences through the Christmas story with music, narration, and wonder. Through the radiant works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and Georg Philipp Telemann, this program offers an emotionally compelling alternative to traditional holiday concerts. A perfect holiday celebration for families and friends seeking depth, beauty, and inspiration.
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.2
Narrated by The Orchestra San Antonio's Board Chair Jeff Galt and Family.
A collaboration with 100A Productions.
Christmas Baroque Brilliance is a concert experience that guides audiences through the Christmas story with music, poetry, and wonder. Through the radiant works of Bach, Handel, and Telemann, the program traces the arc from ancient prophecy to the joyous celebration of Christ's birth. This program offers a fresh, emotionally compelling alternative to traditional holiday concerts, perfect for audiences seeking depth, beauty, and inspiration.
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.2
Narrated by The Orchestra San Antonio's Board Chair Jeff Galt and Family.
The Nutcracker
A PRODUCTION BY BALLET SAN ANTONIO IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ORCHESTRA SAN ANTONIO (TOSA)
UCLA Faculty Performance Series
Brandenburg No. 5
Catherine Gregory X Experiential Orchestra
A program that pays homage to the beauty and mysteries of the sea with works by Takemitsu, Ravel, George Crumb, Grace Williams, Michelle Ross and James Blachly.
Schumacher Concert Series
An Evening of Flute and Piano with David Kaplan, piano
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
1220 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Emma O’Halloran: here and now (US premiere, Kaleidoscope commission)
Alberto Ginastera: Duo for flute and oboe
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson: Louisiana Blues Strut
Franz Schubert: Octet in F Major, D. 803
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
1220 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Pamela Z: It’s Time (world premiere, Kaleidoscope commission)
Liza Lim: Transcendental Etude (US premiere)
Liliya Ugay: Mother Tales
Peter S. Shin: soshi so$$$hi
John Adams: China Gates
W. A. Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds in Eb Major, K. 452
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
1220 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Libby Larsen: I am signaling you through the flames (world premiere)
Jonathan Bingham: Solos
Juhi Bansal: Spaces Between (commissioned by Catherine Gregory)
Piotr Szewczyk: Dopamine Rush
Michael Laurello:I always visit the same imaginary city when I dream
Béla Bartók: Sonata for 2 pianos and percussion
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
1220 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Will Healy: Permafrost Ghosts (world premiere)
Errollyn Wallen: Woogie Boogie
Paquito d’Rivera: Aries Tropicales
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quintet in f minor, op. 34
Decoda’s new summer partner, Warren Wilson College, aligns harmoniously with our own mission to create, connect, and spread compassion through music. Believing that “the world needs curiosity,” Warren Wilson is a campus community that fosters relationships with community partners through meaningful engagement, sustainable agriculture practices, and by educating the next generation of “curiously insightful, experienced, and capable individuals.”
Decoda’s Chamber Music Festival is dedicated to training the next generation of young artists to rethink and reimagine their role in society. Through outstanding chamber music making, creative collaboration, and hands-on project design and development, DCMF cultivates the vision of community through music with the young artists of tomorrow.
The Da Camera Society
Mother’s Day Concert
Concerto for piano and 14 instruments (1986) NY PREMIERE
Aldo Clementi
David Kaplan, piano
Overture, Scherzo, Finale (1841) WORLD PREMIERE
Robert Schumann arr. Kimmy Szeto
arrangement for chamber orchestra
Morse Code Fantasy (2015)
Augusta Read Thomas
David Kaplan, piano
mit gutem Humor, un poco lol ma con serioso vibes (2014)
Caroline Shaw
David Kaplan, piano
Liebesbrief an Schumann (2014)
Han Lash
David Kaplan, piano
*** (2014)
Marcos Balter
David Kaplan, piano
Une relecture des Kinderszenen de Robert Schumann (2020) US PREMIERE
Tristan Murail
for flute,cello and piano
Decoda—comprising alums of the adventurous Ensemble Connect and featuring “some of the brightest young classical musicians in the world” (Time Out New York)—is Carnegie Hall’s first-ever affiliate ensemble. With every concert, the spectacularly versatile ensemble showcases its commitment to virtuosic performance, audience and community engagement, and seemingly boundless repertoire. For its 2024–2025 Carnegie Hall concert, Decoda performs works by Robert and Clara Schumann, Gustav and Alma Mahler, Schoenberg, and a one-of-a-kind collaborative suite by four of today’s leading composers, featuring live narration and singers.
R. SCHUMANN "Eintritt" from Waldszenen
C. SCHUMANN "Geheimes Flüstern," Op. 23
G. MAHLER "Ging heut' Morgen übers Feld" from Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
A. MAHLER "Licht in der Nacht"
SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht
DAVID KIRKLAND GARNER / STEPHEN JAFFE / ERIC MOE / MELINDA WAGNER A Forest Unfolding
Decoda
Lucy Fitz Gibbon, Soprano
Thomas Meglioranza, Baritone
Richard Powers, Narrator
Nine members of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music faculty join together for a celebratory program of chamber music, inspired by the tradition of Schubertiade, in which friends gather to share music and joy. Curated by piano faculty David Kaplan, the program features the "Trout Quintet" by Schubert, as well as by music for strings, piano, and winds by Clara Schumann, Lowell Liebermann, and Caroline Shaw.
Artists:
David Kaplan, piano
Movses Pogossian, violin
Varty Manouelian, violin
Che-Yen Chen, viola
Wendy Richman, viola
Ben Hong, cello
Christopher Hanulik, bass
Catherine Gregory, flute
Jan Baker, saxophone
This Portrait concert features three Decoda artists and celebrates Reza Vali's 70th Birthday, as part of a year of events and performances dedicated to Vali’s unique accomplishments and artistic identity. Dedicated to championing the work of living composers, Decoda has a particular history working with Vali, and brings forth an especially committed and informed interpretation of his distinct musical voice. This performance marks the premiere of a new version of Vali’s work ‘Mystery of the Rose’ for flute, cello and piano.
BEETHOVEN Fidelio Overture
ELLINGTON Fantasy
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5
Just Breathe at Moab Music Festival
Catherine Gregory, flutes
Ian Rosenbaum, percussion
Ariadne Greif, soprano
Voice of an American Master: A Tribute to George Crumb at the NFA
Honoring a national treasure and ground-breaking composer, this recital features a selection of George Crumb’s soulful flute music.
Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale) for 3 Masked Players
Catherine Gregory, flute; Brook Speltz, cello; Daniel Anastasio, piano.
Decoda is thrilled to announce the 10th Anniversary Season of Decoda’s celebrated Chamber Music Festival at our new home, tucked away in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, right outside of Asheville, North Carolina, June 23 - 30, 2024.
Decoda’s new summer partner, Warren Wilson College, aligns harmoniously with our own mission to create, connect, and spread compassion through music. Believing that “the world needs curiosity,” Warren Wilson is a campus community that fosters relationships with community partners through meaningful engagement, sustainable agriculture practices, and by educating the next generation of “curiously insightful, experienced, and capable individuals.”
Decoda cannot wait to celebrate ten years of our unique summer festival, which is dedicated to training the next generation of young artists to rethink and reimagine their role in society. Through outstanding chamber music making, creative collaboration, and hands-on project design and development, DCMF cultivates the vision of community through music with the young artists of tomorrow.
Weill Music Room at Carnegie Hall
Tickets are limited; to reserve please email info@decodamusic.org
With the support of the Cultural Development Fund for New York City, Decoda will record and perform the complete chamber music of Xiao Bao He, a composer currently incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. The concert will take place May 28, 2024 at 7:00 pm in the Weill Music Room in Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing, and the recordings will take place at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn.
Over the past five years, Xiao Bao He has written a series of chamber pieces for Decoda and for Decoda members. Through a partnership with Musicambia, Teaching Artist Brad Balliett (former Artistic Director of Decoda) has worked with Xiao Bao He for many years, facilitating the creation of these new works. Decoda will record three Suites by He, including works that received their premieres at Carnegie Hall, Trinity Wall Street, and the Peabody Institute of Music.
This project represents a continuation and widening of Decoda's Music for Transformation initiative, a series of residencies, creative workshops, and performances that aims to center the compositional voices of incarcerated songwriters and composers.
Featuring “some of the brightest young classical musicians in the world” (Time Out New York), Decoda is Carnegie Hall’s first-ever affiliate ensemble, comprising alums of the adventurous Ensemble Connect. Copland’s Appalachian Spring—celebrating its 80th anniversary this season—serves as an inspiration and departure point for this unique program. Experience a premiere composed by and featuring Ringdown, the new electronic cinematic pop duo of Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee; an American folk–inspired septet by Copland’s friend Hanns Eisler written shortly before his expulsion from the US; a new arrangement of Billy Bragg’s setting of Woody Guthrie’s “Eisler on the Go”; and the dynamic Vera by Hannah Kendall.
Program
COPLAND Midday Thoughts for Solo Piano
HANNAH KENDALL Vera
EISLER Septet No. 1, Op. 95a (Variations on Children's Songs)
BILLY BRAGG "Eisler on the Go" (arr. Claire Bryant)
RINGDOWN New Work (World Premiere, commissioned by Carnegie Hall)
COPLAND Appalachian Spring Suite for 13 Instruments
Australian flutist Catherine Gregory, winner of the Pro Musicis International Award, has performed around the globe in some of the world's foremost venues -- from Alice Tully Hall in New York, to London's Milton Court, Hamburg's new Elbphilharmonie, and the Sydney Opera House. The New York Times has called her playing "magically mysterious," also writing that "Ms. Gregory left a deep impression, her sound rich and fully present." She has been a guest of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Philadelphia CMS, Caramoor, Bay Chamber Festival, and the Southern Cross Soloists, as well as on tour with the Australian and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2019.
A member of the UCLA piano faculty and a Yamaha/Bösendorfer Artist, David Kaplan has been called "excellent and adventurous" by The New York Times, and praised by the Boston Globe for "grace and fire" at the keyboard. He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Britten Sinfonia and Das Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, and has performed recitals at the Ravinia Festival, Sarasota Opera House, Washington's National Gallery, Music on Main in Vancouver, and Strathmore. Kaplan's New Dances of the League of David, a recital infusing Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze with 16 new works was cited among the "Best Classical Music Performances of 2015" by The New York Times.
Classical Crossroads and Rolling Hills United Methodist Church present Second Sundays at Two
Decoda at NOLA Chamber Fest
As an artist-led collective, Decoda seeks to create a more compassionate and connected world through music – thoughtfully curating outstanding performances of live chamber music, facilitating creative community projects, and inspiring the next generation of musical artists to rethink and reimagine their role in society. Join us for an exciting program performed by this unique ensemble.
This event is presented by the University of New Orleans School of the Arts.
The Julia Perry Centenary Celebration and Festival Closing Night Concert, conducted by Experiential Orchestra Music Director James Blachly, features Julia Perry’s Violin Concerto performed by Curtis Stewart and the Experiential Orchestra, following the March 1 release of their recording of the piece as part of EXO’s American Counterpoints album.
Perry’s Violin Concerto was composed in 1963 and revised in 1968, but she continued to update the score until 1977, only two years before her death. Both this performance and the recording include Perry’s extensive revisions to its orchestration, by Roger Zahab. EXO, Stewart, and Blachly gave the professional world premiere performance of this revised version of the concerto in December 2022 in New York. Students from three New York City conservatories will join EXO for the concerto, sitting side-by-side with EXO members.
The festival Closing Night Concert also includes soprano Louise Toppin performing the world premiere orchestral arrangement of Julia Perry’s setting of the spiritual I’m a Poor Li’l Orphan in this World and Experiential Orchestra performing Perry’s beautiful Prelude for Strings. The concert closes with the two youth ensembles performing the first half of the concert – Ruckel Middle School Chorus (Niceville, FL) and Sandra Day O’Connor HS Orchestra (San Antonio, TX) – joining EXO on stage to perform Perry's Ye, Who Seek the Truth, introducing this important composer’s music to the next generation.
Performances by Ruckel Middle School Chorus and the Sandra Day O’Connor HS Orchestra
~ Intermission ~
I’m a Poor Li’l Orphan in this World by Julia Perry (1952) arr. Norpoth (world premiere of arrangement)
Louise Toppin, Soprano
James Blachly, EXO Music Director
Experiential Orchestra
Prelude for Strings by Julia Perry (1946) (arr. Zahab)
James Blachly, EXO Music Director
Experiential Orchestra
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Julia Perry (1963-68, rev. 1977)
Curtis Stewart, Violin
James Blachly, EXO Music Director
Experiential Orchestra plus Students from Three New York City Conservatories
Ye, Who Seek the Truth by Julia Perry (1952, arr. Norpoth)
Louise Toppin, Soprano; James Blachly, EXO Music Director; Experiential Orchestra; Ruckel Middle School Chorus (Niceville, FL); and Sandra Day O’Connor High School Orchestra (San Antonio, TX)
The Julia Perry Centenary Celebration and Festival presented by Experiential Orchestra and Videmus brings Julia Perry’s legacy to the next generation, through side-by-side rehearsals and readings with the Experiential Orchestra led by Music Director James Blachly and students from three New York City conservatories.
Ensemble Échappé
Ben Grow, conductor
Roscoe Mitchell
Cutouts
Nonaah
Nicole Mitchell
Cult of Electromagnetic Connectivity
Before and After (Any War)
Eve Bulgarian
Making Sense of It
Not My Home
David Ludwig
Paganiniana
Winter Wind, Melting Ice: The Season of Transition
Concerts
Fri., March 8 I 7:30 pm Unitarian Church, Montpelier
Sat., March 9 I 7:30 pm Warren Church, Warren
Join Scrag this March for music that highlights the blustery winds of March and ushers in the vibrancy of Spring. Beloved Scrag guest artists Catherine Gregory (flute) and David Kaplan (piano) return to Vermont for a rich program, together with Scrag co-Artistic Director Mary Bonhag (soprano), that includes Scrag co-Artistic Director Evan Premo’s Inside the Breath, inspired by a painting by local Vermont artist Jan Sandman, songs from Schubert’s Winterreise, Debussy’s Footsteps in the Snow, David Lang’s Vent, Elliott Carter’s Warble for Lilac-time, and more.
PlaylistPlaylisted on Apple Music and Amazon Musiced on Apple Music and Amazon Music
