Oct. 24-25: A Far Cry Continues 20th Anniversary Season with Folie à Deux – A Neighborhood Chamber Music Concert Curated by Rafael Popper-Keizer
Photo by Josh Reynolds available in high resolution here.
GRAMMY®-Nominated A Far Cry Continues 20th Anniversary Season with Folie à Deux on October 24 and 25
A Neighborhood Chamber Music Concert
Curated by A Far Cry Cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer
Saturday, October 24, 2026 3:00pm
St. John’s Episcopal Church | 1 Roanoke Avenue | Jamaica Plain, MA
Tickets and More Information
Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 3:00pm
First Church Cambridge | 11 Garden Street | Cambridge, MA
Tickets and More Information
Boston, MA – GRAMMY®-nominated chamber orchestra and “world-wide phenomenon” (WBUR) A Far Cry (AFC) continues its 20th anniversary season with Folie à Deux, its first set of Neighborhood Chamber Concerts of the year, on Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 3pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church (1 Roanoke Avenue, Jamaica Plain) and Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 3pm at First Church Cambridge (11 Garden Street, Cambridge).
Curated by A Far Cry cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer, Folie à Deux explores musical partnership through six striking duos for violin, viola, cello, and marimba. Moving through every two-part permutation of the ensemble’s four instruments, this program reveals how intimacy, tension, and joy emerge when two voices come together.
The performance will showcase a colorful assortment of vibrant works by contemporary composers, ranging from the shimmering stillness of Akshaya Avril Tucker’s Breathing Sunlight to the mournful echoes of Osvaldo Golijov’s Mariel; from the playful textures of Caroline Shaw’s Limestone and Felt to the profound gravity of Penderecki’s Ciaccona, to the spirit of perseverance fueling Fabian Otten’s L’Assillo, to the American and Japanese folk influences shaping Paul Wiancko’s American Haiku. Together the full program forms a kaleidoscopic meditation on memory, identity, and the power of shared experience.
“Making music with another person is an act of mutual trust and shared vulnerability; it requires an open mind and a willingness to live in the space where the sound of one instrument ends and the other begins,” says Rafael Popper-Keizer. “In Folie à Deux, I wanted to celebrate this intimacy with six remarkable duos, each of which creates a richly complex world of sound and emotion with the smallest possible ensemble.”
A Far Cry’s 20th anniversary season includes nine thoughtfully curated programs presented throughout the Boston area including a grand finale anniversary celebration, from September 2026 through June 2027 at venues including New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plan, Old South Church in Boston, First Church in Cambridge, and the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama. See schedule below.
A Far Cry was founded in 2007 on the belief that every voice deserves to be heard; so instead of one artistic director, the collective of musicians curate and submit program ideas inspired by individual curiosities, the greater musical community, and what is happening in the world at large. The result is a dynamic representation of music and collaborators across genres and backgrounds. The Criers believe it is this core value and sense of curiosity and mission that led The Boston Globe to write that, “even though A Far Cry has decisively established itself as a mainstay of the Boston musical community, something about it feels perpetually fresh with every performance.” In addition to its home season in Boston, the ensemble tours nationally, collaborates regularly with other world-class musicians throughout the country, and has twice been nominated for GRAMMY Awards in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category. The group’s recording of Rounds by Jessie Montgomery with pianist Awadagin Pratt on his album Stillpoint garnered Montgomery the GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2024.
A Far Cry’s national tours have taken the ensemble to leading venues including The Kennedy Center, National Gallery of Art, Kaufman Music Center, the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, at Caramoor, the Ravinia Festival, Rockport Chamber Music Festival-Shalin Liu, Groton Hill Music Center, Newport Classical Music Festival, and many more. The Criers are proud to call Boston home, and maintain strong roots in the city. Collaborating with local students through educational partnerships with the New England Conservatory and Project STEP, A Far Cry aims to pass on the spirit of collaboratively-empowered music to the next generation.
More about A Far Cry: www.afarcry.org/group-bio
A Far Cry Season 20: At-a-Glance Concert Schedule
September 19: Goldberg Variations with Simone Dinnerstein, piano
October 24-25: Folie à deux
November 7: Mighty Fortress with Boston Children's Chorus, Ariadne Greif, soprano; Clare McNamara, alto; Brian Giebler, tenor; and Paul Max Tipton, bass
December 19-20: Brandenburgs (12/19), (12/20)
January 9-10, 2027: Coming to Boston: From Haiti with Charlot Lucien, Haitian poet (1/9), (1/10)
February 12, 2027: Heartstrings: The Most Beautiful Music in the World with Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah, Boston Poet Laureate
March 13-14, 2027: The Greatest (3/13), (3/14)
April 10, 2027: Side by Side: Absolute Cinema with Students from New England Conservatory and Project STEP
June 5, 2027: Season 20 Celebration - Mix Tape for Boston: Costumes Change, Pulse Remains
A Far Cry’s full performance calendar: afarcry.org/all-concerts
For Calendar Editors:
Description: GRAMMY®-nominated chamber orchestra and “world-wide phenomenon” (WBUR) A Far Cry continues its 20th anniversary season with Folie à Deux, its first set of Neighborhood Chamber Concerts of the year, on Saturday, October 24 at St. John’s Episcopal Church and Sunday, October 25 at First Church Cambridge. Curated by A Far Cry cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer, Folie à Deux explores musical partnership through six striking duos for violin, viola, cello, and marimba.
Concert details:
Who: GRAMMY®-nominated chamber orchestra A Far Cry
What: Folie à Deux – A Neighborhood Community Concert
When: Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 3:00pm
Where: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1 Roanoke Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Tickets and More Information: https://www.afarcry.org/all-concerts/folie-deux-jp
Who: GRAMMY®-nominated chamber orchestra A Far Cry
What: Folie à Deux – A Neighborhood Community Concert
When: Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 3:00pm
Where: First Church Cambridge, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Tickets and More Information: https://www.afarcry.org/all-concerts/folie-deux-cambridge