Review: BEYOND THE VEIL at First Congregational Church

Ensemble New SRQ is on the forefront of bringing new compositions and contemporary works to the masses. Their 8th Season opener brought forth four new pieces of work, one with it’s North American premiere. Artistic Director’s Samantha Bennett and George Nickerson are both world renowned performers at the top of their game. They formed the ensemblenewSRQ and are dedicated to presenting well thought out and curated concerts of contemporary classical chamber music.

“Beyond the Veil”, the first concert of this season, highlighted works that are reflective of this Autumnal time of year. In the first song “Burgundy in Autumn”, written by Nia Imani Franklin (most recognizably known as Miss America 2019), a fun and  light song mimicked the falling of leaves. With trickling notes and light plucky strings, this jovial music enticed listeners to lean in for the more complex features that followed. 

In between the presentations, Bennett or Nickerson would explain the piece that was to be presented and explained the intricacies of what was going to be heard. With the intention offered it was straightforward to decipher the meaning of the music that was played. These explanations personified the music and, no pun intended, set the tone for what was being heard. These accounts were very helpful as some portions of the presented pieces seemed to plunge into mayhem, interspersed with harmonizing violin, viola and cello.

The final piece of the night, “Tensio”, was an overwhelming interspersion of the quartet, alongside electronica phenomena. In the small space of the concert, this piece was tremendous! Different sounds, audio signals and those beyond this writer’s comprehension, made this piece unlike any presentation incomparable. While it was a lot to take in at the time, the work was deeply reverberating while being performed and for much longer.

Monthly shows presented, and season tickets are still available.

Next concert:

Ligeti 100, 11/20 at 7:30PM(First Congregational Church, 1031 South Euclid Avenue, Sarasota )

23/24 Tickets — enSRQ

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