George Steel, curator of music at the Gardner Museum: “My hope is that the musical mix will reflect the demographics of Boston.”
By Keith Powers
“I’m at a museum founded by a woman with interesting tastes and curiosities,” says George Steel, curator of music at the Gardner Museum. “I try to view our music series in that context.”
Fascinatingly blunt, and to the point—Steel aims to continue that curiosity.
“I’m never content with the way anything is,” he says. “I’m aware of the shortcomings of classical music programming, and at the Gardner we’re taking active steps to do it better. The folks who are in a position to make these changes are in jobs like mine.
“We looked at music by women that we presented, and composers of color,” he says. “What was the representation? It used to be about 3 percent, and now it’s 40 percent. And we have to be conscious of who the performers are.”
Seth Parker Woods. ACRONYM. Benedetti-Elschenbroich-Grynyuk Trio. Sphinx Virtuosi. That’s part of the sweep of performers coming this spring to the Gardner’s “everyone in a front row, square box” Calderwood Hall.
“We are selling out almost every concert,” he says. “That was the case before and after the pandemic, but there is some shift in the audience. My hope is that the musical mix will reflect the demographics of Boston, and put out the welcome mat.”
Presenting concerts in a century-old museum, created with the idea of exploring the arts, makes a difference.
“The concert series is a significant driver of membership, and visitation,” Steel says. “The Gardner experience lives in many disciplines. Every concert is an experiment, and I’m always conscious of seeing performing arts more broadly. The total experience is more important—horticulture, art and music.”
The early music ensemble ACRONYM comes to the Gardner Museum Sunday series March 12, for a set of Brandenburgs and trio sonatas by Mrs. Philharmonica.
Who was Mrs. Philharmonica? Come to the Gardner Museum March 12 to hear ACRONYM, who performs her trio sonatas. Jeff Weeks photograph
Quicksilver, Pacifica, Goosby, BAE, “Eleanor Rigby”: Chamber Music Events, March 7–14
Violinist Peter Sulski performs a noon-time recital at King’s Chapel March 7. Great Marsh Concert takes place at Rockport Music’s Shalin Liu Performance Center March 7, with music of Honstein, Bradshaw and a world premiere by LJ White. 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.
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. CoOS and Project STEP also perform the premiere of Anthony Green’s Chorale March 12 at Rockport Music’s Shalin Liu Performance Center. Boston Chamber Music Society returns to Sanders March 12 for a program of Brahms (Clarinet Trio A minor with 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.