A rare chance to see the Nelson-based Apple Hill String Quartet at Bass Hall is coming on Saturday, Nov. 7, when the quartet will perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Ernest Bloch and premiere a piece by Broadway composer Cenovia Cummins.
Hosted by the Monadnock Center for History and Culture, the concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
“We are playing some selections that are not in the usual canon for string quartets, so it is kind of a special opportunity for people,” said Elise Kuder, violinist for the Apple Hill String Quartet and co-director of the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in Nelson.
The quartet — comprising Kuder, Jesse MacDonald, Mike Kelly, and Jacob McKay — will be joined by guest pianist Sally Pinkas, artist-in-residence at Dartmouth College’s Hopkins Center for the Arts and a longtime summer faculty member at Apple Hill.
The concert will include Beethoven’s “String Quartet in A Major,” which Kuder describes as “beautiful, and full of surprises,” and Bloch’s “Piano Quintet #1.” Kuder, who has not performed the piece previously, said that seeing Bloch’s Quintet #1 performed live is rare.
“It is a very impressive, riveting piece of music. It’s very powerful, with a lot of tension, and a kind of mysticism that is perfect for Halloween season,” Kuder said.
Kuder describes the piece as “cinematic,” and hints that it has “almost a surprise ending.”
“Without giving anything away, the piece ends with a very redemptive quality, on a strangely sacred, positive note,” she said. “This piece is not commonly performed, and it is the type of piece you have to experience live and in person. It is super intense and haunting.”
The group will also perform a new piece written specifically for Apple Hill by Cummins, who is well known for her Broadway work. She has also written for film and was the solo violinist for the “Green Day” musical.
“Every year, we get to commission a new piece from a composer of our choosing, and we were very excited to work with Cenovia Cummins this year,” Kuder said. “She wrote the piece with us in mind.”
Cummins will attend the performance Nov. 7 and be available to speak with audience members after the concert.
“This is kind of a special chance for people to meet the composer. She is so excited about the piece and the quartet, and this is her first time writing for a string quartet,” Kuder said.
Kuder said the quartet loves performing at Bass Hall, one of their favorite venues in the Monadnock region.
“We don’t get to Peterborough or Bass Hall every year. Bass Hall just has gorgeous acoustics, and it is always lovely to be in Peterborough,” Kuder said. “This is a really wonderful program and special program. It is full of all the emotions.”
While the quartet hosts a 10-week summer concert series at the Apple Hill Music School in Nelson, winter performances in the historic unheated barn are limited, keeping the ensemble on the road much of the year.
“We do perform smaller concerts in the winter at Apple Hill, but because of the heat issue, we can’t do larger shows,” Kuder said. “People often think of the summer program and the concerts, but we are a year-round quartet and organization. We perform throughout the year, around the country and internationally.”
Tickets for the concert are available at monadnockcenter.org/events. Find information about the Apple Hill String Quartet at applehill.org.
Upcoming: Strings in Flight at High Mowing School
The Apple Hill String Quartet will present two performances of “Strings in Flight: Quartet and Circus” on Nov. 13 and 14 at High Mowing School in Wilton.
The performance is a collaboration among Apple Hill, the Flying Gravity Circus’ student circus artists, and High Mowing School. It will feature the Flying Gravity Circus’ “Indigo Troupe,” directed by Madison Ward with special guest Ben Hemmendinger; the Souhegan Harmony Ensemble, directed by Andrew Koutroubas; and the Flying Gravity Circus “Blue Troupe.” For tickets: flyinggravitycircus.org.