High Mowing School in Wilton will host "Strings in Flight: Quartet & Circus," featuring acrobatics, aerial arts and juggling set to live chamber music, on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4 p.m. The performances will take place in the lower school auditorium on the Pine Hill campus.
The production pairs youth performers from Flying Gravity Circus with the Nelson-based Apple Hill String Quartet, which includes violinists Jesse MacDonald and Elise Kuder, violist Mike Kelley and cellist Jacob MacKay. Guest keyboardist Ben Hemmendinger will accompany the quartet in a repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Andrea Tarrodi, Joe Hisaishi and Cenovia Cummins.
"Playing for circus artists changes how you listen," MacDonald said in a statement. "Every phrase has to carry them, and they answer with a kind of physical music of their own. It has been a joy to build this program together."
The circus performers include students from High Mowing's Circus Studies Program and Flying Gravity's pre-professional Indigo Troupe. Katherine C. Meyer, head of school, noted that circus arts and string music are central to the school's curriculum, making the project a natural fit.
A brief opening act features cellist Andrew Koutroubas, a High Mowing alumnus and founder of Silentwoods Collective, performing with Flying Gravity's Blue Troupe. Circus Studies coach Madison Ward noted that collaborating with a live string quartet asks students to "listen as deeply as they move."
Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under. To purchase tickets, visit flyinggravitycircus.org.