March 13: Maya Beiser Performs Terry Riley’s In C at the MFA Boston with Percussionists Jamey Haddad and Matt Kilmer
Maya Beiser Performs Terry Riley’s In C at the MFA Boston
with Percussionists Jamey Haddad and Matt Kilmer
“One of the freshest and most satisfying versions [of In C] I have ever heard." – The Boston Globe
“[Maya Beiser’s In C is] mesmerizing and graceful…supremely exhilarating…” – NPR, All Things Considered
“A fresh and revelatory take on a six-decade-old magnum opus.” – The New York Times
Friday, March 13, 2026 at 7pm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | Harry and Mildred Remis Auditorium
465 Huntington Ave. | Boston, MA
Tickets and More Information
Maya Beiser x Terry Riley: In C
Press download and CDs available upon request. Hi res photos available here.
Boston, MA – On Friday, March 13, 2026 at 7pm, cellist and producer Maya Beiser – who has been called a “cello rock star” by Rolling Stone and praised as “a force of nature” by The Boston Globe – performs Terry Riley’s iconic work In C as recorded on her bestselling 2024 album, with percussionists Jamey Haddad and Matt Kilmer at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the Harry and Mildred Remis Auditorium (465 Huntington Ave.). Beiser recreates In C as a series of ever-evolving cello loops, constructing a hypnotic, rapturous soundscape that reenvisions this classic 1964 minimalist masterpiece.
A frequent performer in Boston, Beiser last headlined the sold-out performance of Bowie Cello Symphonic Aura: Blackstar Visualized — composer Evan Ziporyn’s reimagining of David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar — with Ziporyn and Ambient Orchestra presented by Global Arts Live in January 2026, honoring the 10th anniversary of Bowie’s passing.
As NPR puts it, “[Maya Beiser’s Terry Riley] album is a musical journey for mind and body—both a stimulant and a sedative. It offers many engaging stopovers, from an oasis of calm where the pulse evaporates, to Led Zeppelin–like headbanging reminiscent of Kashmir, to moments where the cello loops interleave with the sweet delicacy of Vivaldi. If you have a spare hour to let this singular, hypnotic music wash over you, the world might just seem a little brighter.”
“To me,” Maya Beiser says, “Terry Riley’s In C is an amalgamation of an ‘open source’ and ‘sacred text.’ In creating this album I was interested in finding the serendipitous rhythmic and melodic connections that emerge when reconstructing In C’s 53 melodic cells as a series of cello loops, floating above continuous C string cello drones. The cello’s lowest, most lush string, with its overtones and harmonics, forms the depth and resonance of the album.”
Terry Riley describes Maya's performance on the recording as, “stunningly beautiful.” He says, “The overall shape flows so naturally and her cello sound is so warm and powerful.”
Strings writes that Beiser “has blazed a new path,” describing the album as “a sonic tsunami that runs from soft ripples to towering waves of sound.”
About Maya Beiser:
Hailed by The Washington Post as “the reigning queen of avant-garde cello,” Maya Beiser is a cellist, sound artist, and musical innovator whose work has redefined the scope of contemporary classical performance. Raised on a commune in the Galilee Mountains of Israel by her Argentinean father and French mother, Beiser grew up immersed in the music and rituals of Jews, Muslims, and Christians—an early fusion of worlds that continues to shape her boundary-defying artistic vision.
A Yale graduate and United States Artists Distinguished Fellow, Beiser has performed on the world’s most iconic stages, from Carnegie Hall to the Barbican, challenging norms and reinventing the solo cello as an expansive sonic canvas. Her fifteen solo albums—many topping classical charts—span reimagined masterpieces, original works, and cinematic collaborations. She is the featured soloist on numerous film soundtracks and a sought-after collaborator across genres and continents.
As the founder of Islandia Music Records, Beiser creates projects with deep cultural, spiritual, and social resonance—pushing the art-music genre into uncharted territory.
For more information, visit www.mayabeiser.com.
For Calendar Editors:
Concert details:
Who: Cellist Maya Beiser with Percussionists Jamey Haddad and Matt Kilmer
What: Terry Riley’s In C – as recorded on Beiser’s 2024 Islandia Records album
When: Friday, March 13, 2026 at 7pm
Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; 465 Huntington Avenue; Boston, MA 02115
Tickets and More information: www.mfa.org/event/music/maya-beiser-presents-terry-rileys-in-c?event=152451