Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe is thrilled to be collaborating with Horizon Ensemble on Different Trains, a featured piece in the upcoming performance We Will Outlive Them. Different Trains is a powerful and evocative work by composer Steve Reich. Drawing on Reich's childhood memories of train journeys across America during World War II, the piece contrasts those experiences with the trains carrying Holocaust victims to concentration camps. The music weaves recorded speech, train sounds, and live instruments into a deeply emotional reflection on history and memory. Janelle Gilchrist’s choreography honors the spirit of the score, bringing these themes to life through movement. This collaboration reflects the Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe mission: to bring the community together through dance by creating equitable and inclusive performance opportunities. By working closely with the musicians of Horizon Ensemble, we continue our commitment to fostering growth, creativity, and innovative dance for our community. Find more information about the concert through the link in our bio! #bostonmusician #backbayevents #bostonconcerts #bostonnewmusic #bostonmusicscene #newenglandmusic #newmusic #boston #bostonmusicians #backbay #bostonevents #bostonmusic

Next in our performer highlights, meet Ai Ra! Originally from Hollywood, Florida, Ai Chaim Ra has burst onto the classical music scene recently with Teatro Nuovo, St. Pete Opera, and more performing leading roles in opera, operetta, and straight plays. Ever the advocate of new music, in the 2022-2023 season Ai performed The Bishop of Puebla in the East Coast Premiere of Juana by Carla Lucero and Ensemble in the premiere of Lori Laitman’s Uncovered . His New England Debut as Gastone in MassOpera’s immersive production of La Traviata was a critically acclaimed sold out run, and he then reprised the role with Lighthouse Opera. Ai debuted with Seagle Music Festival singing Roméo (Roméo et Juliette) and with Teatro Nuovo covering the lead role of Edemondo in the modern premiere performance of Anna di Resburgo by Carolina Uccelli. He looks forward to more exciting debuts in 2026, including with Cedar Rapids Opera and performances at Carnegie Hall. Ai is a proud graduate of the Florida State University, UMKC, and Northeastern University. Find out more at airatenor.com. Come hear We Will Outlive Them April 18th at 7:30 PM. More information can be found through our bio. #bostonmusician #bostonnewmusic #bostonmusicscene #bostonconcerts #backbayevents #newenglandmusic #bostonmusicscene #newmusic #boston #bostonevents #bostonmusic

For our next Artist Spotlight, meet Isabel Merat! She will be singing the role of Chaim in Letters to Rivka from Galicia. Originally from Queens, New York and now residing in Boston, lyric coloratura soprano Isabel Merat is pursuing a Master of Music in Voice and Opera at the New England Conservatory. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Oberlin Conservatory. At NEC, Isabel has performed with the Graduate Opera department and is an active member of Song Lab, where she studies and performs art song repertoire and has participated in masterclasses with leading artists. This Season, Isabel performed Michael Gandolfi’s Lowell Songs in the NEC’s Composer’s Series with the Ecce Ensemble at Jordan Hall. She also performed with Anna Sunmin Park in their curated concert program To Keep My Love Alive with the Federation of the Art Song at the Zimmerli Art Museum. Isabel also sings as a Soprano Choral Fellow with Old South Church in Boston. In addition to performing, Isabel is passionate about Arts Administration and Music Education. She serves as Administrative Intern of Bloch Performing Arts and works as a Teaching Assistant in NEC’s Voice for Non-Majors program. Come hear We Will Outlive Them: Letters to Rivka from Galicia Saturday April 18th at 7:30 PM. More information can be found through the link in our bio. #bostonconcerts #bostonnewmusic #newenglandmusic #bostonevents #bostonmusic

Have you gotten tickets for We Will Outlive Them yet? Go to the link in our bio! This is a pay what you can event, so come listen to some incredible, moving, and important music! #backbayevents #bostonconcerts #bostonnewmusic #bostonmusicscene #newenglandmusic #newmusic #boston #bostonmusicians #bostonevents #bostonmusic

Today we're highlighting Jessica Bloch, soprano in We Will Outlive Them: Letters to Rivka from Galicia. Jessica Arielle Bloch-Moisand from Boston, MA is a versatile soprano singing opera, art song, musical theater, and more. This spring, Jessica performed in concert with the Hawaii International Musical Festival, and was the featured soprano in Gena Branscombe Project’s Winds of Change, Songs of Time, reviving and publicly recording several works by The Pen Women. Jessica is honored to perform Brontzi’s letters in We Will Outlive Them, a project she is producing with Horizon Ensemble that tells her family’s story as victims of The Holocaust. Previously, she has performed with Opera51: 2nd Lady (Die Zuaberflöte), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), and Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana). Other recent credits include performing with Opera del West, the Brockton Symphony Orchestra, Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Opera Fusion, Hartford Opera Theater, VOICES Boston and more. Other role highlights include Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), Noemie (Cendrillon), Princess Gilda (The Three Feathers), and Concepcion/Young Juana (Juana). Jessica was the 2nd place Winner of the 2023 Music International Grand Prix New York semifinals for Adult Popular music, and previously a finalist in competition: Professional Women in Opera with the American Prize, Corsica Lirica Competition and the Lucine Amara Art Song Competition. Outside of performing, Jessica was the Interim Artistic Director for MassOpera (2024-2025), and is also a voice educator and theater instructor for students of all ages. Credits include: Founder & Voice Teacher at Bloch Performing Arts, Voice Teacher & Vocal Theater Lab Assistant Director at New England Conservatory’s Prep School, Artistic Director at New England Conservatory’s Summer Vocal Institute. Come hear her April 18th at 7:30 PM! More information can be found through the link in our bio. #bostonmusic #bostonevents #bostonmusicians #newenglandmusic #bostonconcerts

Steve Reich (b. 1936) is an American composer who pioneered the style known as minimalism, a type of music marked by repeated figures, slow harmonic progressions, and rhythmic techniques such as phasing. We will be performing his string quartet "Different Trains" accompanied with dancers from the Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe. As a young boy, Reich's parents were divorced and agreed to split custody of him. One parent lived in New York, and the other in Los Angeles. Due to this, Reich spent a lot of time on trains crossing the United States, accompanied by his governess. Years later, Reich looked back on this period of his life and pondered that, as a Jew, had he been in Europe during that time he might have been traveling in very different trains - the trains used to transport victims of the holocaust to concentration camps. The piece includes a prerecorded electronic track of 3 other string quartets and snippets of speech taken from interviews Reich conducted. The first part, "America - Before the War" features interviews with Reich's governess and a Pullman porter, each reminiscing on train travel. The second part, "Europe - During the War" features interviews with three holocaust survivors who speak about their experience in camps and in trains. The third part, "After the War," features the survivors speaking about their experience after the war, as well as reprisals of the interviews from Before the War. We find this piece incredibly moving, and we look forward to sharing it with you at We Will Outlive Them, April 18th at 7:30 PM. #bostonconcerts #newenglandmusic #bostonevents #bostonmusic #bostonnewmusic

We are excited to announce the next Horizon Ensemble concert, "We Will Outlive Them" on April 18th at 7:30 PM. This concert begins with Steve Reich's string quartet Different Trains, performed by the Horizon Quartet in collaboration with the Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe. The second piece on the program is the premiere of Quinn Gutman's We Will Outlive Them... Letters to Rivka from Galicia, which we are incredibly honored to share with you. This program was created to observe Yom Hashoah and honor Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and we look forward to sharing more information about each of the pieces, composers, and performers in the coming weeks. For now, find more information about the concert and register for (free!) tickets in advance through the link in our bio. #newenglandmusic #newmusic #bostonevents #bostonmusic #bostonnewmusic #bostonconcerts

Stronger Together was a great time, thank you to all who braved the cold as well as those of you who watched from home! We enjoyed premiering two new pieces by our friends Gaston Gosselin and Veronica Kao, and made the first ever recording of Ulysses Kay's Southern Harmony, which will soon be shared to our YouTube - we'll let you know when it's up! We reflected on how music makes us stronger together, sharing our thoughts via sticky note, and donated food and winter clothing to the Women's Lunch Place. Thank you to everyone who brought goods to donate! We'll see you all at the next concert! #newenglandmusic #newmusic #bostonmusicscene #bostonevents #bostonmusic #bostonmusicians

Our friend Hannah Elizabeth has an amazing project, For Her: Under the Skin Concert Series! The preview performance is today at Unbound Visual Arts in Brighton. In addition to hearing incredible new works, there is also a wonderful donation drive, which you can find information for on the second and third slides. Go support our friend in this wonderful project and catch some great new music! #newenglandmusic #newmusic #bostonconcerts #bostonevents #bostonmusic

Stronger Together is just a day away! Come hear some great music and reflect with us on ideas of musical community and what it means to come together. In addition, we are having a food and clothing drive for Women's Lunch Place. Bring Non-perishable foods, such as canned & dried beans, pasta, rice, peanut butter, & spices, clean winter clothes such as hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, and socks (new, like-new, or used gently) or toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Find more information about the event through the link in our bio! #bostonmusicscene #newenglandmusic #bostonmusic #bostonevents #backbayevents #bostonmusician