Commissioning Club

In recognition of our 30th Anniversary in the 2012-13 Season, we launched an annual commission program so BCMS as an organization can actively contribute to the creation of our art in our time. The program also helps us to continue our recent practice of expanding our repertoire with forgotten and more recent works even as we lovingly interpret the familiar classics. One new work written for BCMS has been programmed each season since 2013-14, our 31st.

Join the BCMS Commissioning Club to provide an ongoing funding base for this venture! With a contribution of at least $250 per individual or $500 per couple per year, you can help BCMS to engage future composers and prepare their work for presentation. The BCMS Commissioning Club members would be invited to be the first to hear the work as it is prepared for premiere on our series, and to enter a dialog with our composer and musicians at private events.

We expect in time these BCMS commissions will join others in our repertoire that are the evidence of similar commitments of individuals, families, ensembles and chamber societies throughout the ages. For more information, please contact Wen Huang, Managing Director, by calling the BCMS office at 617.349.0086.

Join the Commissioning Club and donate now

Commissioned works

George Tsontakis
Portraits by El Greco (Book I): Quintet for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello and Piano
Premiered on April 13, 2014 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge by Alex Fiterstein, clarinet; Harumi Rhodes, violin; Marcus Thompson, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Randall Hodgkinson, piano

Pierre Jalbert
Street Antiphons for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano
Premiered on April 19, 2015 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge by Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Harumi Rhodes, violin; Clancy Newman, cello; Max Levinson, piano / Reprised on January 15, 2023 at Jordan Hall, Boston by Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Alyssa Wang, violin; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Max Levinson, piano

Full recording available from the reprisal performance

Harold Meltzer
Piano Quartet
Premiered on March 13, 2016 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge by Harumi Rhodes, violin; Dimitri Murrath, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Max Levinson, piano

David Rakowski
Entre nous for Oboe and String Quartet
Premiered on April 9, 2017 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge by Peggy Pearson, oboe; Harumi Rhodes and Yura Lee, violins; Dimitri Murrath, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello / Reprised on February 26, 2023 at Jordan Hall, Boston by Peggy Pearson, oboe; Alyssa Wang and Jennifer Frautschi, violins; Marcus Thompson, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello

Full recording available from the reprisal performance

Daniel Strong Godfrey
Ad Concordiam: Quintet Variations for Oboe, Strings and Piano
Premiered on April 8, 2018 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge by Peggy Pearson, oboe; Harumi Rhodes, violin; Marcus Thompson, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Max Levinson, piano

Lowell Liebermann
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 138   
Premiered on October 17, 2021 at Jordan Hall, Boston by Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Max Levinson, piano

Joan Tower
Purple Rain for String Quintet (2020)  
Premiered on February 13, 2022 at Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge by Jennifer Frautschi and Yura Lee, violins; Dimitri Murrath and Marcus Thompson, violas; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello

Michi Wiancko
Tyranny of Coordinates for Piano Quintet   
Premiered on April 10, 2022 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge by Jennifer Frautschi and Yura Lee, violins; Dimitri Murrath, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Max Levinson, piano

Scott Wheeler
Sextet for Oboe, Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Double Bass and Piano
Premiered on October 2, 2022 at Jordan Hall, Boston by Peggy Pearson, oboe; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Marcus Thompson, viola; Thomas Van Dyck, double bass; Max Levinson, piano

Full recording available from the premiere

Elena Ruehr
Bächlein Helle, after Schubert for Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, and Piano
Premiered on February 25, 2023 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge by David Bowlin, violin; Marcus Thompson, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Thomas Van Dyck, double bass; Max Levinson, piano

Full recording available from the premiere

Lavell Blackwell
On the Impulse to Move for Oboe, Violin, Viola, and Cello
Oboe and string trio version premiered on March 17, 2023 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge by Peggy Pearson, oboe; Gabriela Diaz, violin; Marcus Thompson, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello

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Commissioning Club Contributors