Viola, Voice, and Correspondence
Visiting artist and violist Sam Kelder is the guest performer in this solo viola concert featuring work by Berklee College of Music faculty. Kelder is a proponent of contemporary classical playing, chamber music, large-form projects, and music education. Kelder’s multifaceted career spans the music of the Baroque era to contemporary composer-performer collaborations.
Program includes Skye’s Hum for solo viola.
A Soulful Nexus with Akropolis Reed Quintet
This concert features a pre-concert talk with composer Jennifer Higdon beginning at 2:45 pm.
Program:
Marc Mellits — Splinter
Jennifer Higdon — Rush Not The Reeds (CMT co-commission)
Derrick Skye — A Soulful Nexus **Album release performance**
George Gershwin — An American in Paris
These two concerts with Chamber Music Tulsa will feature the world premiere of a new work by acclaimed American composer Jennifer Higdon with Jennifer present at the world premeire performances.
This particular also concert celebrates the release of Akropolis’ 7th album A Soulful Nexus which comes out on September 25, 2026. CDs will be available for purchase at this event.
Skye, Bonis, & Shostakovich with Redlands Symphony
Program includes Skye’s Prisms, Cycles, Leaps
Jon Armstrong’s Voluntary Breath + Bridge to Everywhere
Bridge to Everywhere is thrilled to perform works by Ann Southam, Derrick Skye, and James Waterman, as well as the centerpiece work “Voluntary Breath” by Jon Armstrong. This concert is held in conjunction with the Music + Healing Initiative at Mount Saint Mary’s University, honoring the legacy of Sister Callista Roy, nurses, and all healers.
A Soulful Nexus with Akropolis Reed Quintet
Join Akropolis for their residency at Hope College in Holland, Michigan!
‘Tesseract' World Premiere with NEC Philharmonia
Tonight's concert features two new works — Gabriela Lena Frank's Frida y Diego Suite (2025) and Derrick Skye's new double concerto — and two staples of the orchestral literature — excerpts from the Berlioz Roméo et Juliette and Ravel's :a valse. NEC alumnae Tessa Lark, violin, and Deborah Pae, cello, return to Jordan Hall as soloists in the concerto.
The live stream of this event is available to NEC Community members only. To watch the stream, please click the “Streaming Access” button at the top of the page and enter the NEC Community streaming password on the video window labeled “NEC-Produced Stream” when prompted.
Gabriela Lena Frank: Frida y Diego Suite (2025) from El último sueño de Frida y Diego
Derrick Skye: Tesseract (world premiere)
Tessa Lark, violin
Deborah Pae, cello
Intermission
Berlioz: Romeo alone and the Capulet’s Ball from Romèo et Juliette
Ravel: La valse
Ivalas Quartet, ‘Deliverance'
Hear a free outdoor concert by the Ivalas Quartet, known for performing with “tremendous heart and beauty” (The Strad) and for enriching the classical music world with its dedication to the works of BIPOC composers. The group’s thoughtfully crafted program brings fresh insight to works by leading contemporaries Jessie Montgomery, Derrick Skye, and Angélica Negrón, as well as timeless repertoire by Bloch and Dvořák.
Beethoven, Haydn, Derrick Skye with Telegraph Quartet
PROGRAM
Derrick Skye: American Mirror, Part 1
F.J. Haydn: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 54 No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1
We’re thrilled to welcome back the award-winning Telegraph Quartet as the 2026 Artists-in-Residence at Mt. Gretna! Known for their “elegance and pinpoint control” (The New York Times), this celebrated ensemble has graced iconic stages like Carnegie Hall and now brings their brilliance to our community.
Comprising of Eric Chin and Joseph Maile (violins), Pei-Ling Lin (viola), and Jeremiah Shaw (cello), the Telegraph Quartet has made a name for itself with its passion, precision, and broad repertoire spanning classic and contemporary works. Since their formation in 2013, they’ve gained widespread acclaim, winning the 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.
Akropolis Chamber Music Institute 2026 Opening Recital
Program
Marc Mellits: Splinter (2014)
Derrick Skye: A Soulful Nexus (2023)
Ryan Lindveit: Venus of Willendorf (2024)
Jeff Scott: Homage to Paradise Valley (2019)
Castle Of Our Skins
Performance-lecture centered around Derrick Skye’s “American Mirror” string quartet
New Haven Symphony
Between Suns, West African Drum Concerto (reorchestrated arrangement)
Dayton Philharmonic
The Known Lost - Art Installation with music from Neuroscience AI Opera, Chamber Ensemble + Electronics
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
The Known Lost - Art Installation with music from Neuroscience AI Opera, Chamber Ensemble + Electronics
Swiss Institute of Contemporary Art
The Known Lost - Art Installation with music from Neuroscience AI Opera, Chamber Ensemble + Electronics
