The New Spectrum started out as a vehicle for musicians to play chamber music without boundaries and the need to label the type of music we perform. We believe that all music – whether current or historical – are alive and connected in some way.
As co-founders of NSE, we first met while playing Elliot Carter’s Triple Duo at Tanglewood Music Center in the summer of 2008, but the idea of forming a group did not come together until a year later when we found ourselves searching for a serious musical outlet in the Bay Area. The first NSE concert in spring 2009 kicked off with a cello/piano duo program at the Community Music Center in San Francisco. Having met playing Carter’s music, we chose his iconic Sonata from 1948 as a starting point and central piece to build a program. With very little funding, we were delighted and overwhelmed by the audience reception (we had to add chairs!), and the presentation format for this first concert set the tone for all following NSE programs.
Over the past two years, the ensemble quickly attracted like-minded musicians who are passionate about making classical music accessible to a wider audience. We continue to strive for a unique concert experience by presenting chamber music in a relevant and interesting context. NSE has received grants from
American Composers Forum and Zellerbach Family Foundation. Most recently, the Ensemble performed at Stanford University’s Pan-Asian Musical Festival focusing on music from Central Asia.
