Violist Ashleigh Gordon, artistic and executive director, Castle of Our Skins. Robert Torres photograph
By Keith Powers
“We do education, and that happens in classrooms and concerts. Every performance is an educational opportunity. If anyone wants to learn from us, let them take a look at our work.”
Co-founder, executive and artistic director Ashleigh Gordon of Castle of Our Skins responds to questions about CoOS’s mission, and how (or if) it’s changed since the tragic summer when George Floyd’s death, and the subsequent BLM protests, overwhelmed the public consciousness.
It has changed. “We’re like other organizations—we did have reflection points,” Gordon says. “We came out with a stronger sense of identity. Having eyes and ears open, and being responsive—that’s something that any organization can do.
“We amplify music of the Black diaspora,” she says, “and when we looked at our repertoire, we found that we had a dominance of Black men. We made many changes for gender inclusivity. We wanted to make sure we were as widespread as possible, exploring the beautiful mosaic of the diaspora.”
Gordon founded CoOS ten years ago, with composer Anthony Green. Active collaborators, the group has performed frequently in venues around Boston, and farther afield, as a quartet and in other configurations. I asked if CoOS yearned for a home of its own.
“I’m not sure about our own brick-and-mortar—that would make the audience come to us,” Gordon says. “We prioritize being in Black spaces. There is no shortage of non-Black audiences for classical music, so it’s strategic, where we place ourselves. Our partnerships have taken us all over New England, to England, Germany and South Africa. And we are able to find partners in Roxbury, Mattapan and Dorchester.
“I think of it as us finding nests, rather than homes,” she says. “We enjoy the openness.”
An influx of financial support flowed toward CoOS in the past few years—“the racial reckoning,” Gordon refers to it, generously—and Gordon has the organization building strength in multiple areas. Curriculum guides, and publishing initiatives that will make scores and teaching materials for CoOS’s core repertory easily available, are priorities. The organization is hiring its first executive director as well, which promises to ease Gordon’s non-musical workload.
“The future involves commissioning, curriculum creation, and music-score publishing,” she says. “It’s a large shift for us—distribution is a new realm. But trying to find music scores can be difficult. We want to be a hub for musical inclusion, offering the language and tools to teach about the Black diaspora.”
Recordings can teach as well. CoOS releases its first recording this month, Homage: Chamber Music from the African Continent and Diaspora, with pianist Samantha Ege, which includes music by Ndodana-Breen, Moore, Perry, Tillis and Coleridge-Taylor.
Castle of Our Skins performs A Spiritual Fantasy—music with connections to Coleridge-Taylor and Still, by White, Price, Tillis and Green—on March 4 at BoCo’s Studio 106, part of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Voices of Loss, Reckoning, and Hope festival. CoOS and Project STEP also perform the premiere of Green’s Chorale March 12 at Rockport Music’s Shalin Liu Performance Center.
Chamber Music Events, March 2–7
Radius Ensemble presents music of Jonathan Bailey Holland—a new horn trio with narrator (Christopher Lyden)—with works by Gardner, Woolf, He (competition winner) and Poulenc, March 3 at Pickman Hall.
Lyracle presents music of the lyra viol—a bass viol with sympathetic strings, plentiful scordatura turnings and some interesting old rep—with mezzo Ashley Mulcahy aided by lyra viol accompaniment from James Perretta and Sarah Mead, March 3 at First Parish Church in Quincy and again March 5 at North Bennet Street School.
Fermata Chamber Soloists present Coleridge-Taylor and Brahms March 3 at the Goethe-Institut. Cellist Leland Ko gives an artist diploma recital March 3 at Jordan Hall.
Semiosis Quartet performs music of Lubkowski, Zorn, Montgomery and Burtner March 4 (United Parish in Brookline) and March 5 at the New School of Music in Cambridge.
Continuing its 25th season, Chameleon Art Ensemble plays Adès (the great “Court Studies”), Matthews, Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Korngold, March 4 and 5 at First Church in the Back Bay. Transient Canvas performs the premiere of Matthew Evan Taylor’s Liminal Echos as part of his portrait concert March 5 at Longy.
Tenor Jason McStoots joins Newton Baroque for 18th c. French music March 4 at Second Church in West Newton. Seraphim Singers perform a premiere from Edie Hill with music of Van Ness, Betinis, Britten, Randle, Thomas and Walker, March 4 at Eliot Church in Newton, and March 5 at First Church in Cambridge.
The Celebrity Series brings engaging pianist Igor Levit to Jordan Hall March 4 for the last three Beethoven sonatas. Cellist Seth Parker Woods continues the Gardner Museum’s Sunday series March 5 with music of Mumford, Walker, Perkinson, Mendelssohn (Fe.) and Schumann (R.). Masterworks Chorale sings Handel and Purcell March 5 at Sanders Theatre. Horizon Ensemble presents a free concert with music of Marcea McGuire, with works by Jacob, Mendelssohn (Fe.) and Mozart, March 5 at Church of the Covenant on Newbury St. Seven Times Salt brings soprano Angie Tyler to sing 17th c. love songs March 5 to I AM Books in the North End, inspired by the poetry of the late Scott Harney. The Boston Clavichord Society presents Yiheng Yang at Gore Place in Waltham March 5, music of C.P.E., Haydn, Martinez and Mozart. Tenor Lawrence Brownlee performs his own commissions of Black composers setting text from Harlem Renaissance writers, March 5 in Calderwood Studios at GBH, part of the Celebrity Series. Zumix explores the Zarzuela repertory in East Boston March 5.
Ashmont Hill Chamber Music continues it Bach Project (7th year) with the St. John Passion March 5 at Parish of All Saints in Dorchester. Andrew Sheranian directs.
First Monday at Jordan Hall features music of Ligeti and Ockeghem March 6. Violinist Peter Sulski performs a noon-time recital at King’s Chapel March 7. Music of Francine Trester gets explored March 7 in the David Friend Recital Hall at Berklee. The BSO’s 3-week Voices festival hosts a rare Tuesday night Boston Symphony Chamber Players program March 7 at Symphony Hall (free)—works by Kay, Foumai, Lee, and Montgomery.
Quicksilver, Goosby, BAE, “Eleanor Rigby”: Chamber Music Events, March 9 through 14
Violist Lila Brown performs sonatas, duos and solo works at BoCo on March 9. Pianist Judith Gordon, violinist Sharan Leventhal and cellist Rhonda Rider join in. The Worcester Chamber Music Society presents You Say You Want an Evolution, music of McCartney, Malsky, Townshend, Montgomery, Tyler, and Shostakovich, March 9 at St. Peter’s Catholic Church.
Newport Classical hosts violinist Randall Goosby at Emmanuel Church in Newport, performing L. Boulanger, Ravel, Still and Beethoven, March 10. Boston Artists Ensemble’s season continues March 10 (Salem) and March 12 (Brookline) with a mystery work, Beethoven “Ghost” and the Shostakovich G minor quintet. Quicksilver performs what directors Robert Mealy and Julie Andrijeski call “The Very First Viennese School.” You probably know what they mean. It’s part of the Boston Early Music Festival season March 10 at First Church Cambridge. Bay Colony Brass presents horn music March 11 at the Masonic Temple in Arlington. Boston Cecilia sings music by Dvorak and Brahms, and American composers influenced by them, March 11 at All Saints Parish in Brookline.
The Concord Chamber Music Society hosts the Pacifica Quartet on March 12, performing Tillis, Prokofiev and Dvorak. ACRONYM comes to the Gardner March 12 for a set of Brandenburgs and trio sonatas by Mrs. Philharmonica. Boston Chamber Music Society returns to Sanders March 12 for a program of Brahms (Clarinet Trio A minor, Romie de Guise-Langlois), Berg (trio from Kammerkonzert) and Schubert.
Collage New Music celebrates 50th with commissions and premieres: Kim, Festinger, Epstein, Primosch (“A Sibyl,” with soprano Mary Mackenzie), March 12 at MIT’s Killian Hall. BoCo String Masters at Seully Hall features violist Hsin-Yun Huang and pianist Amy Yang March 12. Coro Allegro sings Pinkham, Vaughan Williams (Mass in G Minor) and Crouch March 12 in the Back Bay’s Church of the Covenant. Lots of Daniel Pinkham this year, his centennial.
BoCo’s Piano Masters monthly series brings Peter Dugan to Seully Hall March 14.