Throughout history music has been used to communicate the deep and varied emotions of our shared human experience. In this program, we address the current emotional state of our world starting in the depths of despair with Shostakovich’s eighth string quartet from Communist Russia, and ending with a message of hope and gratitude delivered by a late-Beethoven string quartet. We feature works by contemporary composers Caroline Shaw, Jessie Montgomery, and Eliza Brown that address this theme of political protest, resistance to the status quo, and hope for a better future. It also features the world premiere of a new work by Santa Cruz composer Chris Pratorius Gómez, in collaboration with queer poet Kristen Nelson, written specifically for this program.

Throughout history music has been used to communicate the deep and varied emotions of our shared human experience. In this program, we address the current emotional state of our world starting in the depths of despair with Shostakovich’s eighth string quartet from Communist Russia, and ending with a message of hope and gratitude delivered by a late-Beethoven string quartet. We feature works by contemporary composers Caroline Shaw, Jessie Montgomery, and Eliza Brown that address this theme of political protest, resistance to the status quo, and hope for a better future. It also features the world premiere of a new work by Santa Cruz composer Chris Pratorius Gómez, in collaboration with queer poet Kristen Nelson, written specifically for this program.

In collaboration with the Santa Cruz MAH and the city-wide arts take over festival, The Ripple Effect, we are delighted to offer this program in the front atrium alongside work from installation artist micha cárdenas.