Past Events
Baltimore: w/ Allison Clendaniel + Lisa Perry, Scott Li, The Undercroft, March 10
We are so excited to play in Baltimore's new DIY space! We're sharing the evening with a vocal duo (Allison Clendaniel and Lisa Perry) and Scott Li. Come and treat your ears to some fun new sounds!!
The Undercroft, 2629 Huntingdon Ave, Baltimore, MD
Tuesday, March 10
7pm
Donations at the door
Philly: Light Pressure w/ Maren Montalbano, March 7
A split bill with the fabulous Maren Montalbano! This concert showcases a wide spectrum of new music ranging from sensual storytelling to delicate timbral whispers. Montalbano will sing songs that look at the world from a woman’s perspective, featuring a world premiere of a song by Gregory W. Brown about the 17th-century Quaker martyr Mary Dyer, as well as a sneak preview of music written by Melissa Dunphy from the Bodice Ripper Project.
Our Program:
Lotófagos - Beat Furrer
Poems for the fire - Haukur Þór Harðarson with text by Sophie Fetokaki
yes I said yes I will Yes - Amy Beth Kirsten
excerpts from 'Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs' - György Kurtág
Saturday, March 7
7:30pm
Viorel Farcas Art Gallery, 3806 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA
NYC: split bill w/ Marina Kifferstein + Meaghan Burke Scholes Street Studio, March 6
We are very excited to premiere a new work by Haukur Þór Harðarson, a Berlin-based Icelandic composer. He composes with a unique sensitivity to acoustic sounds and the physicality of listening spaces. The piece will feature a commissioned text by poet Sophie Fetokaki as well!
Program:
Lotófagos - Beat Furrer
Poems for the fire - Haukur Þór Harðarson with text by Sophie Fetokaki (world premiere!!!)
VULNERR - Dan Lewis
Vidi l'angelo nel marmo - Katherine Balch
Marina Kifferstein (violin) and Meaghan Burke (cello) will present some new pieces that they've been working on together!!
Friday, March 6
8pm
Scholes Street Studio
375 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, NY 11206
New Textures and Tones, Cambridge House Concert, March 5
We are very excited to premiere a new work by Haukur Þór Harðarson, a Berlin-based Icelandic composer. He composes with a unique sensitivity to acoustic sounds and the physicality of listening spaces. The piece will feature a commissioned text by poet Sophie Fetokaki as well!
This is a house concert in Cambridge with limited capacity, so we kindly ask that you send us a message on social media platforms or email us (departureduo@gmail.com) to reserve your spot. We will confirm by sending you the address.
Program:
Lotófagos - Beat Furrer
Poems for the fire - Haukur Þór Harðarson with text by Sophie Fetokaki (world premiere!!!)
VULNERR - Dan Lewis
Vidi l'angelo nel marmo - Katherine Balch
Thursday, March 5
8pm
House Concert in Cambridge (RSVP in advance!)
Brandeis University Composers Concert, Feb 29
The presentation of Brandeis University composers' works! Come listen to pieces by Matt Kim, Todd Kitchen, Jeremy Rapaport-Stein, Gleb Kanasevich, David Girardin, and Leah Samantha Chanen.
Saturday, February 29
Slosberg Recital Hall
Brandeis University
7:30pm
Workshop with Brandeis University Composers, Feb 23
We are working with the graduate composers at Brandeis University (Boston) on their pieces for soprano+double bass!
Spectrum NYC, Oct 20
Whoop whoop! Another chance for all of our Big Apple friends to get a taste of our high/low corner of the musical universe!
Program:
"Two Wilde Poems" by Joseph Bozich
"Evil's Peak" by Mikhail Johnson
"Deus Ex Machina" by Talia Amar
"Only for noise" by Rachel Walker
Excerpts from "Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs" by György Kurtág
Sunday, Oct 20
3pm
Spectrum NYC, 70 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn
MAKESHIFT, Boston Oct 19
We are thrilled to play a program of new and old favorites, including two brand new commissioned pieces! Our concert, "Life and Death Through High and Low," meditates on perspectives of life cycles through the lens of our high/low music.
Program:
"Two Wilde Poems" by Joseph Bozich
"Evil's Peak" by Mikhail Johnson
"Deus Ex Machina" by Talia Amar
"Only for noise" by Rachel Walker
Excerpts from "Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs" by György Kurtág
Saturday, Oct 19
Make Shift Boston, 549 Columbus Ave
8pm
Scholes Street Studio w/ longleash, NYC Oct 17
We're thrilled to split a program with our dear friends longleash trio. Come to Scholes for an evening of new sounds!!
Program:
"Evil's Peak" by Mikhail Johnson
"Only for noise" by Rachel Walker
"Phrases" by Katherine Balch
Excerpts from "Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs" by György Kurtág
Thursday, Oct 17
8pm
Scholes Street Studio, 375 Lorimer St, Brooklyn
Original Gravity Concert Series: Turtle Swamp Brewery (JP), Oct 11
What makes great music even greater? Delicious BEER, of course!!
Join us for an evening of tasty New England beverage and our favorite New England composers/pieces at Turtle Swamp Brewery in Jamaica Plain. Hosted by Original Gravity.
John Aylward - "Tiergarten" (2018)*
Joseph Bozich - "Two Wilde Poems" (2018)*
Amy Beth Kirsten - "yes I said yes I will Yes" (2012)
Emily Koh - "emojicons" (2018)*
John Liberatore - "Plain Truths from Timothy Dexter" (2012)
Friday, Oct 11
7:30pm
Turtle Swamp Brewery, Jamaica Plain
Berlin: KM28, Sept 11
Departure Duo is in DEUTSCHLAND!!! We are playing on Sarah Saviet's excellently curated Sequence Series at KM28. Sarah Saviet (violin) and Joe Houston (piano) will each play a set before us, and we could not be more excited to hear them!
Program:
Katherine Balch, Phrases
John Aylward, Tiergarten
György Kurtág, Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs (excerpts)
Quentin Tschofen, . . . de este tiempo o desierto . . .
Wednesday, Sept 11
KM28 (Karl-Marx-Strasse 28, Berlin)
19:30 doors, 20:30 start
cash donation at the door
Boston House Concert! June 14
We celebrated summer by playing a private house concert in Jamaica Plain. Warm weather and high/low musical delights!
Friday, June 14
7pm
Departure Duo w/ Callithumpian Consort, April 18 (Brown Hall, NEC)
We head back to our alma mater, New England Conservatory, to play in a concert with the great Callithumpian Consort! We are very excited to play with all the members of this excellent ensemble. Swing by to see Departure Duo in a whole new context!
Program
The Sleepers (world premiere) - Todd Seeber
Sept Crimes de l'Amour - Georges Aperghis
Thursday, April 18
Brown Hall, New England Conservatory
7:30pm
Recital at Clark University, April 7
We gave a recital of some of our repertoire (new and old favorites) at Clark University. We are very grateful to John Aylward for having us back again!
Program
Tiergarten - John Aylward
Seer/Seen - Jesse Diener-Bennett
yes I said yes I will Yes - Amy Beth Kirsten
Family Recipe for Biscuits - Sarah Gibson
Immensity Of - Emily Praetorius
Sunday, April 7
Razzo Hall at the Traina Center for the Arts, Clark University, Worcester
3pm
New School of Music (Cambridge) March 25
What is better than a high/low duo concert....A DOUBLE HIGH/LOW DUO CONCERT!
We are excited to share the stage with our friends Pushback, a soprano (Ally Smither) and bassoon (Ben Roidl-Ward) duo. We will premiere our most recent round of commissions (30 by '30, here we come!) which includes pieces by Emily Praetorius, Jesse Diener-Bennett, and Adam Kennaugh.
Monday, March 25
8:00pm
New School of Music, 25 Lowell St, Cambridge
$10/door
Scholes Street Studio (Brooklyn), March 24
What is better than a high/low duo concert....A DOUBLE HIGH/LOW DUO CONCERT!
We are excited to share the stage with our friends Pushback, a soprano (Ally Smither) and bassoon (Ben Roidl-Ward) duo. We will premiere our most recent round of commissions (30 by '30, here we come!) which includes pieces by Emily Praetorius, Jesse Diener-Bennett, and Adam Kennaugh.
Sunday, March 24
7:00pm
Scholes Street Studio, 375 Lorimer St, Brooklyn
$10/door
Rock Hall at Temple University (Philadelphia), March 23
What is better than a high/low duo concert....A DOUBLE HIGH/LOW DUO CONCERT!
We are excited to share the stage with our friends Pushback, a soprano (Ally Smither) and bassoon (Ben Roidl-Ward) duo. We will premiere our most recent round of commissions (30 by '30, here we come!) which includes pieces by Emily Praetorius, Jesse Diener-Bennett, and Adam Kennaugh.
Saturday, March 23
7:30pm
Rock Hall at Temple University
free entry!
Yellow Barn Artist Residency March 11-21
We have a residency at Yellow Barn!!!! We worked on our next round of premieres as part of 30 by '30.
Our residency included an educational concert at the Greenwood School and a final presentation house concert.
Oh My Ears! Feb 2
Departure Duo is excited to play at Oh My Ears 2019 (our first show in Arizona whooo!!). We are presenting a concert of half Departure Duo commissions and half pre-existing pieces.
The program:
Tiergarten - John Aylward
emojicons - Emily Koh
yes I said yes I will Yes - Amy Beth Kirsten
Family Recipe for Biscuits - Sarah Gibson
https://www.facebook.com/events/2014442475270620/
Saturday, February 2
5pm
Eric Fischl Gallery at Phoenix College
House Concert (San Diego) Jan 30
We are very grateful to Celeste Oram for hosting us in her house concert series. We'll be splitting the bill with Keir GoGwilt and Kyle Motl, who will be playing a set of improvised music. Looking forward to sharing chamber music in a cozy chamber!!
https://www.facebook.com/events/2214011572152202/
3849 Eagle St, San Diego
7pm
donations graciously accepted
Craft in America: Window Concert, Jan 26
Departure Duo is thrilled to be hosted by Craft in America as part of their Window Concert series.
"If you can bare the trouth": Narratives from the world of soprano and double bass
This program explores narratives, storytelling, and their roots in a varied program of Departure Duo commissions alongside preexisting works. With works by Sarah Gibson, John Liberatore, Amy Beth Kirsten, John Aylward, Emily Koh, and David Smooke, this program examines the stories we tell and the methods we use to tell them. With literary sources as varied as Joyce, Rilke, Timothy Dexter, and emojis, this program promises a diverse look into the world of soprano and double bass
Saturday, January 26
19h
free entry!
8415 West Third Street, Los Angeles
Westridge School (Pasadena), Jan 25
We are playing an educational lecture concert at the wonderful Westridge School for Girls in Pasadena.
2pm
PAC (Performing Arts Center), Westridge
The Red Room (Baltimore), Oct 21
Our first concert in Baltimore!!! We are very grateful to High Zero Foundation for hosting us at the Red Room.
Program shared with the amazing Bonnie Lander and John Dierker!!
Sunday, October 21
The Red Room at Normals Books and Records, 425 E 31st Street, Baltimore
Scholes Street Studio, Oct 19
Departure Duo comes back to the Big Apple!
Program:
All Are Welcome Here - David Smooke
Declining - John Kennedy
emojicons - Emily Koh
the keeper of sheep - Alex Jang
Tiergarten* - John Aylward
Family Recipe for Biscuits - Sarah Gibson
*premiere
Friday, October 19
Scholes Street Studio, Brooklyn
Her Voice (NY), Oct 18
We are proud to be featured in this concert of vocal music composed by and for women. Curated by Anna Heflin.
Program
Phrases - Katherine Balch
emojicons - Emily Koh
Thursday, October 18
Greenpoint Gallery, 390 McGuinness Blvd, NY
7:30pm, $12/door
Radio Bean (Burlington), Oct 16
We are thrilled to share our high/low world with wonderful Burlington!
Program:
All Are Welcome Here - David Smooke
Phrases - Katherine Balch
emojicons - Emily Koh
Tiergarten - John Aylward
excerpts from Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs - György Kurtág
Outpost 186 (Cambridge), Oct 15
Wonderful new and slightly older pieces for soprano and double bass! We are very excited to put these pieces in conversation with each other.
Program:
All Are Welcome Here - David Smooke
Declining - John Kennedy
emojicons - Emily Koh
the keeper of sheep - Alex Jang
Tiergarten* - John Aylward
Family Recipe for Biscuits - Sarah Gibson
*world premiere
Monday, October 15
Outpost 186, 186 1/2 Hampshire St, Cambridge
Spoleto Festival USA: Music In Time | Departure Duo
We are THRILLED to be performing at Spoleto Festival USA in beautiful Charleston, SC. We'll be performing as part of the Music In Time series directed and hosted by John Kennedy. For tickets and more info, please view the event on the Spoleto Festival USA website. Tickets are available beginning Monday, January 22, 2018 at 10 AM.
From SFUSA Website:
In an unusual pairing of register extremes (high and low), soprano Nina Guo and bassist Edward Kass explore “meeting in the middle” and ask the audience to consider “in-betweenness” in all its forms. “In-betweenness” ranges from the haze between reality and memory in Beat Furrer’s haunting Lotófagos to humanity’s symbiotic yet tenuous relationship with technology in Talia Amar’s Deus Ex Machina. In her setting of Molly Brown’s soliloquy from Joyce’s Ulysses, Amy Beth Kirsten looks at the tension between our public and private selves, while works by Katie Balch and John Kennedy ponder what exists between the meaning and sounds of words. David Smooke’s setting of the phrase “all are welcome here” in 16 languages reminds us that “here” is relative.
June 4
5pm
Woolfe Street Playhouse
34 Woolfe Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Ticket available through Spoleto Festival USA
Scholes Street Studio
...somewhere else
World premieres, Boston premieres, Departure premieres! So many new things!
This program will feature new works by Joseph Bozich, Dan Lewis, and Quentin Tschofen, and pre-existing pieces by Katherine Balch and Amy Beth Kirsten. The title of our program comes from a consideration of spaces; what are the other spaces we create in our minds? How can we be with someone yet somewhere else?
April 13
8pm
Scholes Street Studio
Brooklyn, NY
Outpost 186
...somewhere else
World premieres, Boston premieres, Departure premieres! So many new things!
This program will feature new works by Joseph Bozich, Dan Lewis, and Quentin Tschofen, and pre-existing pieces by Katherine Balch and Amy Beth Kirsten. The title of our program comes from a consideration of spaces; what are the other spaces we create in our minds? How can we be with someone yet somewhere else?
April 12
8pm
Outpost 186
Inman Square, Cambridge
Residency at University of Georgia, Athens
We are eternally grateful to Emily Koh for inviting us to UGA. We'll be working with composition students on how to write for soprano+double bass, and we'll give masterclasses to performance students on new music performance strategies. Of course, we will also play a concert of our own and premiere a new piece by Emily.
So excited, y'all!!
Concert on March 29 at 5pm in Edge Recital Hall
March 28-30, 2018
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
NO HAY BANDA (Montreal)
Our first international concert! Many thanks to Noam Bierstone and NO HAY BANDA for hosting us on a concert in Montreal.
BRRRRRRR...it was COLD!
NEC 150
Departure was selected to play at New England Conservatory in celebration of NEC's 150th anniversary and new building opening. We are honored to be considered representative of NEC's musicianship.
Columbia Maison Française
We played Katie Balch's beautiful "Phrases" (text by the inimitable Rimbaud) at Columbia Maison Française.
skewed acuity: words of warped reality
We took a program of old and new favorites to NYC (and of course there's a theme to go with it).
Our program featured pieces whose texts play on the idea of perception. From the pithy musings of 18th century eccentrics (yes, a pair of them!) to Jose Angel Valente's, all words highlight differences in what reality is and can be. We find ourselves less interested in the subject matter and more fascinated by what it reveals about the author.
Program to include:
"Lotófagos" by Beat Furrer
"Fire and Ice" by Fred Lerdahl
"Deus ex machina" by Talia Amar
"Plain truths from Timothy Dexter" by John Liberatore
"Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs" by György Kurtág
skewed acuity: words of warped reality
Our program featured pieces whose texts play on the idea of perception (that's the theme!). From the pithy musings of 18th century eccentrics (yes, a pair of them!) to Jose Angel Valente's, all words highlight differences in what reality is and can be. We find ourselves less interested in the subject matter and more fascinated by what it reveals about the author. Nina and Eddie each played a solo piece on this program.
Program to include:
"Phrases" by Katherine Balch
"Plain truths from Timothy Dexter" by John Liberatore
"Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs" by György Kurtág
Sop + Bass + ACCESSORIES! @Center for New Music (San Francisco)
Departure returns to C4NM to present an eclectic program of soprano and double bass music with accessories! With pieces featuring toy piano, jingle bells, musical saw, iPhone, and more, this concert showcases the recent trend of accessorizing the soprano and double bass combo. The program features composers such as Katherine Balch, Beat Furrer, Talia Amar, and Stephen Dembski.
Sop + Bass + ACCESSORIES! @Art Share L.A.
Continuing our summer tour, Departure returns to Art Share L.A. to present an eclectic program of soprano and double bass music with accessories! With pieces featuring toy piano, jingle bells, musical saw, iPhone, and more, this concert showcases the recent trend of accessorizing the soprano and double bass combo. The program features composers such as Katherine Balch, Beat Furrer, Talia Amar, and Stephen Dembski.
Omaha Under the Radar
With the music by Kurtág, Balch, and Furrer, Departure is excited to appear in Omaha's experimental performance festival, Omaha Under the Radar!!
Our program is shared with Liz Pearse and New Chamber Ballet.
high / low / hit at Spectrum (NYC)
a concert of permutations for soprano, double bass, and percussion
Departure and Mike Jones hit the road with some new music. Same program as in Cambridge!
high / low / hit (Boston & Hartford)
a concert of permutations for soprano, double bass, and percussion
Departure invites percussionist Mike Jones in an evening of new music for soprano, double bass, and percussion. The program includes works by Agusti Charles, Katherine Balch, Jesse Diener-Bennett, Kaija Saariaho, and Francois Sarhan.
pretty high, pretty low at Gallery 263
Departure presented a concert of beautiful new music, including Dembski's "Pied Beauty" and Talia Amar's "Deus ex Machina" at Gallery 263 in Cambridgeport, MA.
Dedications and Departure at the Lilypad
Departure joins percussionist Julian Loida for an shared evening of new music. Julian Loida's "Recital of Dedications" explores the juxtaposition of speech, visual media, and music. Departure's set included Furrer's "Lotofagos" and Lerdahl's "Fire and Ice" among others from the soprano/double bass repertoire. We three collaborated on a Crumb's "Madrigals: Book 1."
Music for Food Outreach
Departure performed at the Conservatory at Highlands in conjunction with Music for Food, a musician-led initiative for local hunger relief. All proceeds go to Centre Street Food Pantry.
Art Share L.A. (Los Angeles)
Art Share L.A. was the second stop in our (mini) California tour. Our program included works by Furrer, Balch, and Jaeger.
Center for New Music (San Francisco)
Curated by Kyle Bruckmann, our program included pieces by Furrer, Balch, and Jaeger.
Departure Duo in Charleston, South Carolina...moments after our Spoleto festival USA recital!!
Poster from our 2019 spring tour with Pushback Collective!
Working with student composers at UGA. Photo by Emily Koh.