A Radical Welcome

“A Radical Welcome reflects BPQ’s belief that great music belongs to everyone, and that who’s in the room matters.”

Joy Cline Phinney, Boston Public Quartet pianist

For nineteen years, Boston Public Quartet has been presenting concerts centered in the audience experience. At the core of this program is music written for string quartet plus a changing fifth instrument. Each of the pieces explores the variety of range, rhythm, and colors that five performers can create. The event will allow Boston residents who typically do not have access to classical music to experience a diverse and affordable concert program, walk away with the knowledge of three underplayed pieces from underplayed composers, as well as a handmade memento from the concert.

Mending and Melding

by Melika M. Fitzhugh
featuring guest artist Steph Davis on gyil
and student musicians

Clarinet Quintet

by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
featuring guest artist Eric Thomas on clarinet

Piano Quintet

by Amy Beach

The Boston Public Quartet was created to connect, inspire and innovate as an ensemble-in-residence in Boston’s diverse neighborhoods. At home performing on a street corner in Mattapan Square and the Harvard Musical Association in Boston, the BPQ is dedicated to normalizing the amplification of historically excluded voices.

Betsy Hinkle, violin Grant Houston, violin Jason Amos, viola Nicholas Johnson, cello Joy Cline Phinney, piano

Steph Davis is a marimbist, gyil player, Africana studies scholar, and cultural activist. Grounded in the culture and sounds of the African diaspora, Davis’ performances can be described as sonic portraits of Black lineage, love, resilience, hope, grief, and truth. Their anthropological approach to programming explores Black historiographies and uses music to inspire truth-telling and collective liberation.

Eric Thomas has appeared as a guest artist with groups including the internationally acclaimed Apple Hill Chamber Players, Sylvan Winds, the Boston Pops Traveling Ensemble, and at festivals such as the Bravo! Festival at Vail, Wellesley Composers Conference and Cabrillo Contemporary Music Festival. He has been featured soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Keene Chamber Orchestra and at Brown University, Colby College, New England Conservatory, and Phillips Academy (Andover). Also a composer, grants from the Quinney Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts allowed Eric to be artist-in-residence for the Moab Music Festival where he completed a variety of activities in the community.

Thanks to funding from the City of Boston and the historic Strand Theatre, admission to A Radical Welcome is free.

A Radical Welcome is the largest concert experience of Boston Public Quartet’s season, but audiences can also attend the ensemble’s upcoming educational events at the Shaw-Roxbury Library on March 19, April 30, and May 14 (4 pm), as well as their inaugural A Radical Festival at Franklin Park’s Schoolmaster Hill Ruins on June 13 (5 pm). The festival will be a celebration of Boston’s vibrant culture and history, including performances, local artists, and food. Vendors and artists are encouraged to contact info@bostonpublicquartet.com for participation information.