Christina Jensen 10/15/26 Christina Jensen 10/15/26

GatherNYC Announces 2026–2027 Season Now Presented at New Home Venue Jazzcultural – 31 Concerts Every Sunday at 11am

GatherNYC Announces 2026–2027 Season
Now Presented at New Home Venue Jazzcultural

31 Concerts – Held Weekly, Every Sunday Morning at 11AM
from October 25, 2026 through May 30, 2027

“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee” – The New Yorker

“A sweet chamber music series” – The New York Times

“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine

Jazzcultural | 349 West 46th St | New York, NY 10036
Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org

New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, announces its 2026–2027 season featuring 31 concerts, with performances held every Sunday at 11am from October 25, 2026 to May 30, 2027. After five years at the Museum of Arts and Design, GatherNYC is moving to Jazzcultural, a new listening room in the heart of Manhattan located at 349 West 46th St. The season opens on October 25 with a performance by Metcalf and Boyd’s cello and guitar duo Boyd Meets Girl with violinist Doori Na and pianist Vanessa Perez, playing a festive program called Seasons. Coffee and pastries are served before each concert at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free.

Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.

Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of them winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”

Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be offering 31 concerts throughout our 2026–2027 season, in our gorgeous new home venue, Jazzcultural. This exquisite, all-wood room designed for intimate listening is a perfect space for us. In these challenging times, we feel it’s essential to provide our community with a gathering place each week where we can enjoy world-class artists together in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment. We look forward to welcoming new and old friends week after week.”

GatherNYC 2026–2027 Schedule – All Concerts Held on Sundays at 11AM:

October 25, 2026: Boyd Meets Girl feat. Doori Na, violin and Vanessa Perez, piano – Seasons

To kick off the 31-concert season of weekly concerts, Artistic Directors Laura Metcalf (cello) and Rupert Boyd (guitar) are joined by acclaimed musicians Doori Na (violin) and Vanessa Perez (piano) for a festive concert celebrating the seasons. The eclectic program pairs beloved favorites by Vivaldi, Piazzolla and Gershwin with modern delights by Yaz Lancaster, Joe Hisaishi and more.

November 1: Rupert Boyd, guitar

GatherNYC Co-Artistic Director Rupert Boyd shares an exquisite and eclectic mix of music for guitar, ranging from J.S. Bach to Astor Piazzolla to The Beatles, and from his homeland of Australia to Andalusia, Spain. Described by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a player who deserves to be heard,” Boyd will give a concert not to be missed.

November 8: Trio Candesco

The newly formed Trio Candesco, made up of distinguished instrumental faculty of Princeton University (Sarah Shin, flute; Jessica Thompson, viola; Jacqueline Kerrod, harp), performs a beloved masterpiece by Debussy alongside lesser-known but brilliant works for this uniquely colorful instrumentation.

November 15: Arcis Saxophone Quartet

Coming to GatherNYC all the way from Munich, Germany, the Arcis Saxophone Quartet is an internationally acclaimed ensemble that has won most of the major European chamber music competitions and whose creativity knows no bounds. They have shared their unique concerts and repertoire all over the world, from Ecuador to Saudi Arabia to Berlin and Bavaria, in prestigious halls and non-traditional venues alike. They even founded their own in-house record label through which they have released two critically acclaimed albums.

November 22: Fire & Grace

Fire & Grace is a unique collaboration between guitarist William Coulter and violinist Edwin Huizinga. These virtuoso performers explore the musical landscape of classical, folk, and contemporary traditions from around the world. Fire & Grace’s repertoire is vast, ranging from Bach to Vivaldi, tango to Celtic reels, traditional Bulgarian to American fiddle tunes and waltzes, all played with a sense of discovery and commitment to the elements of passion and virtuosity – fire and grace – found in these diverse traditions.

November 29: Horszowski Trio

The Horszowski Trio – violinist Jesse Mills, cellist Ole Akahoshi, and pianist Rieko Aizawa – brings a rare combination of virtuosity, warmth, and adventurous programming to the chamber-music stage. Named for legendary pianist Mieczysław Horszowski, who was Rieko Aizawa’s teacher and mentor, the New York–based trio has earned international acclaim for performances that make both beloved classics and contemporary music come alive. Their repertoire spans Schubert, Schumann, Dvořák, Ravel, and Haydn as well as music by living composers, including works written especially for the ensemble. They have toured extensively in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, premiered new works by composers including Charles Wuorinen, and released acclaimed recordings – including the complete Schumann piano trios.

December 6: Jennifer Koh, violin and Andrius Zlabys, piano

GRAMMY Award–winning international violin soloist Jennifer Koh, world-renowned for her dazzling technique and intensely expressive performances, moves fearlessly between the great works of the violin repertoire and bold new music. Koh has commissioned and premiered more than 100 new works, collaborating with some of today’s most exciting composers, and brings extraordinary curiosity, intensity, and imagination to everything she plays. For this recital, she joins acclaimed pianist Andrius Zlabys, a dynamic musical partner whose artistry and sensitivity make for an exciting collaboration.

December 13: Jeff Beal and The Overlook Quartet – New York Études

Five-time Emmy Award–winning composer Jeff Beal is a rare musical chameleon, equally at home in jazz, classical music, and the world of film and television. Best known for the haunting, atmospheric music of House of Cards, as well as scores for Monk, Rome, and Carnivàle, Beal brings the same rhythmic energy and cinematic imagination to his concert music. In this special performance, he joins GatherNYC regulars The Overlook Quartet for New York Études – a vivid, genre-crossing portrait of the city, where piano and strings meet in music shaped by jazz, improvisation, and the sounds of New York.

December 20: Timo Andres and Friends – Andres and Bacewicz

Internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Timo Andres brings his distinctive musical voice to the stage in an intimate program of his own solo piano works, followed by a performance of Grażyna Bacewicz’s first piano quintet. He is joined by violinist Mari Lee, violist Celia Hatton, and cellist Laura Metcalf for this thrilling, under-the-radar masterpiece: a fiercely energetic, emotionally charged work that moves from driving rhythms and brilliant virtuosity to moments of startling beauty. This riveting and affecting piece is one that deserves to be heard live.

January 3, 2027: Duo Étrange

Duo Étrange – soprano Vanessa Croome and cellist Sahara von Hattenberger – creates an intimate, adventurous sound world where voice and cello meet in unexpected ways. Their programs embrace the experimental and the deeply expressive, bringing contemporary music to life with a spirit of curiosity and discovery. Featuring works by Kebra-Seyoun Charles and David T. Little alongside other surprises, this is a chance to hear two remarkable artists exploring just how much sound, color, and emotion can come from only two performers.

January 10: Edmar Castañeda

Harpist and composer Edmar Castañeda brings his one-of-a-kind sound to GatherNYC. A Colombian-born virtuoso who has collaborated with artists ranging from Wynton Marsalis and Béla Fleck to Sting and Hiromi, Castañeda has transformed the harp into a dazzling vehicle for jazz, Colombian folk traditions, and improvisation. A Latin GRAMMY nominee and performer and musical consultant for Disney’s Encanto, he is known for playing bass, harmony, and melody simultaneously – a virtuosic approach that makes the harp sound like an entire ensemble.

January 17: Kittel & Co.

Led by GRAMMY-nominated violinist and composer Jeremy Kittel, Kittel & Co. brings together virtuosic string playing and a wildly imaginative blend of Celtic, bluegrass, folk, jazz, and classical music. Their debut album Whorls reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Classical chart and #1 on the Bluegrass chart, while Kittel’s composition Chrysalis earned a 2019 GRAMMY nomination for Best Instrumental Composition. Kittel & Co. turn intricate arrangements, dazzling improvisation, and traditional string-band energy into something completely their own. As The Times (UK) put it, they bring “rarefied levels of collective virtuosity” and sound “thrillingly spontaneous.”

January 24: The Rhythm Method

Fierce, fearless, and virtuosic, The Rhythm Method is redefining what a string quartet can be. Praised by The New Yorker as “trailblazing” and by NewMusicBox for their “unapologetically stylistically omnivorous” artistry, this NYC-based ensemble blends composition, improvisation, vocalization, and theatricality into performances that are as adventurous as they are compelling. They have appeared at the Met Museum, Joe’s Pub, Roulette, The Stone, and the Noguchi Museum, and performed internationally at the Lucerne Festival Forward. Much of their repertoire is composed by the quartet members themselves, in which tightly composed passages give way to spontaneous improvisation and all manner of extended string techniques.

January 31: Sterling Elliott, cello and Elliot Wuu, piano

Cellist Sterling Elliott brings to the stage a rare combination of extraordinary virtuosity, depth of expression, and joyous musicianship. A winner of the Sphinx Competition and recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Elliott has quickly established himself as one of the most compelling young artists of his generation. His playing is distinguished by its richness of sound, emotional immediacy, and remarkable technical command. For this recital, Elliott is joined by pianist Elliot Wuu, an award-winning young artist.

February 7: The Overlook Quartet Album Release – Say It

The paradigm-shifting string quartet returns to GatherNYC to celebrate the release of their debut album, Say It, which features world-premiere recordings of works by Shelley Washington, Trevor Weston, Leila Adu, Carlos Simon and more. Known for their captivating performances that shine a spotlight on voices beyond the “standard” classical repertoire, The Overlook takes the audience on a journey through unexpected, surprising and beautiful musical terrain.

February 14: String Noise Duo + Nathan Schram, viola & composer

Composed of Conrad Harris and Pauline Kim Harris, two violinists who are integral to the New York contemporary music landscape, String Noise gives the world premiere of a set of violin duos written for them by multi-GRAMMY-winning violist and composer Nathan Schram, who will also share a solo performance on this concert.

February 21: PUBLIQuartet

The New York–based, GRAMMY-nominated PUBLIQuartet fuses classical strings with jazz, improvisation, hip-hop, rock, and global sounds – and has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to the Newport and Detroit Jazz Festivals. They won Chamber Music America’s prestigious 2019 Visionary Award, their album What Is American earned a 2023 GRAMMY nomination, and their wildly inventive appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – improvising a live soundtrack to a presidential debate – racked up more than a million views. This is the group’s first appearance on the GatherNYC series in five years.

February 28: Rebekah Heller, bassoon – Righteous Rage

Rebekah Heller’s Righteous Rage turns the bassoon into an entire world of sound. Playing every bassoon herself through intricate multitracking, Heller creates a thrilling bassoon choir that ranges from Julius Eastman’s ecstatic The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc and Steve Reich’s hypnotic Grand Street Counterpoint – co-produced with Reich – to three newly commissioned works by Jessie Cox, Fay Victor, and Brittany J. Green. Fierce, immersive, and unexpectedly visceral, Righteous Rage is a love letter to an instrument never heard quite like this before.

March 7: Palaver Strings with Vuyo Sotashe & Chris Pattishall

GRAMMY-nominated Palaver Strings returns once again to the GatherNYC stage, this time joining forces with acclaimed South African jazz vocalist Vuyo Sotashe and GRAMMY-nominated pianist and composer Chris Pattishall for Incwadi – a vibrant musical portrait of South Africa. Traditional songs in Zulu, Sepedi, and Xhosa meet South African choral and jazz repertoire and Sotashe’s own music, all freshly arranged by Pattishall for voice, piano, and strings. The result is an exhilarating conversation between South African traditions, American jazz, and the intimacy of chamber music – music rich in memory, rhythm, and joy.

March 14: Merz Trio

Winner of the Naumburg, Fischoff, Concert Artists Guild, and Chesapeake competitions, Merz Trio has become known for turning chamber music into a fully immersive artistic experience. Their programs connect great works with poetry, theater, dance, and unexpected musical discoveries, while their own arrangements bring overlooked voices – from Lili Boulanger to Joséphine Baker – to the foreground.

March 21: Bergamot Quartet, Hardanger fiddles + James Moore, guitar

Bergamot Quartet brings the hypnotic sound of Norwegian Hardanger fiddles to GatherNYC, joined by James Moore on resonator guitar. Expect ringing overtones, earthy grooves, and virtuosic interplay as Scandinavian folk traditions meet the raw, resonant sound of American roots music. Music by Bach, Moore, and more.

March 28: Mikael Darmanie, piano

A prizewinner in multiple national and international competitions, pianist Mikael Darmanie brings extraordinary range and restless curiosity to the keyboard. Darmanie has performed at Carnegie Hall, Moscow Conservatory’s Rachmaninov Hall, Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center, and many more. He is also a composer, conductor, DJ, and keyboardist for the genre-defying Warp Trio, moving fluidly among classical music, jazz, hip-hop, rock, and electronic music. His concert for GatherNYC will meld his signature “Lisztian pyrotechnics” (New York Classical Review) with creative, adventurous programming.

April 4: Devony Smith, mezzo-soprano + Danny Zelibor, piano – Yonder

Following their 2025 GRAMMY nomination for their debut album In This Short Life, Smith and Zelibor share their newest program Yonder, featuring the world premiere of a folk-inspired song cycle written for them by NYC-based composer Shanan Estreicher.

April 11: Karen Ouzounian + Lembit Beecher – Mayrig

Mayrig – “mother” in Armenian – is an intimate, immersive journey through memory, family, and the Armenian diaspora. Cellist and vocalist Karen Ouzounian and composer Lembit Beecher weave recordings of Ouzounian’s mother and grandmother together with Armenian songs from her family’s ancestral home in Anatolia, music from post-genocide Lebanon, Charles Aznavour, and vivid new works by Beecher, Layale Chaker, Nathalie Joachim, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, and Ouzounian herself. Blending cello, voice, piano, electronics, stories, and soundscapes, Mayrig transforms one family’s history of migration and survival into a profoundly moving and universal musical experience.

April 18: WindSync

Founded at Rice University in 2009, WindSync launched their international career by winning both the Concert Artists Guild and Fischoff National Chamber Music competitions. They have since performed at Carnegie Hall, the Met, the Library of Congress, and Ravinia – and their 2024 album, recorded at Abbey Road Studios, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Classical chart. But WindSync is anything but conventional: they perform frequently from memory, commission and arrange much of their own repertoire, and bring a charismatic, personal stage presence that breaks down the distance between performers and audience and revolutionizes the art of the woodwind quintet.

April 25: Zodiac Trio

The Zodiac Trio – clarinet, violin, and piano – brings a rare combination to the concert stage, pairing virtuosic performances with adventurous programming that moves from beloved masterpieces to hidden gems, new commissions, and unexpected arrangements. The ensemble became the first North American group – and the first ensemble with a wind instrument – to enter the Ysaÿe Quartet’s celebrated chamber music program at the Paris Conservatory. Nearly two decades later, their performances continue to combine dazzling technique, infectious energy, and the thrill of hearing familiar chamber music in an entirely new color palette.

May 2: Mike Block + Yacouba Sissoko

Cellist Mike Block, a GatherNYC fan favorite, returns to the series with an exciting new collaboration. Block will be joined by Malian kora player Yacouba Sissoko, known for mastering and modernizing the instrument, collaborating with the likes of Paul Simon, Lauryn Hill, and Harry Belafonte. The duo will perform music written by both of them, combining classical training with a global, genre-expansive sensibility.

May 9: Audrey Wright, violin – Luminous Being

What if you could see music? In Luminous Being, New York Philharmonic violinist Audrey Wright transforms the traditional solo recital into an immersive journey of sound and light. Performing music spanning the 12th through 21st centuries – including her own original works and arrangements – Wright wears a bespoke, sound-responsive light garment created by artist and technologist Geoff Robertson, transforming her playing into shifting colors, shapes, and patterns. Part recital, part installation, and part theater, Luminous Being is an intimate, mesmerizing experience that invites you to hear – and see – music in an entirely new way.

May 16: Terra String Quartet

The Terra String Quartet burst onto the scene by winning the 2022 Fischoff Grand Prize and Gold Medal, and has since taken top prizes at the Melbourne and Osaka International Chamber Music Competitions and the 2025 Bordeaux and Wigmore Hall International Quartet Competitions. The 2025 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition winners, Terra brings together four musicians from across the globe – graduates of Juilliard, Curtis, Harvard, and New England Conservatory – whose performances combine precision with passion, spontaneity, and humor. Their concerts are as much about storytelling and human connection as they are about extraordinary string playing.

May 23: The Overlook and Yoonah Kim, clarinet – Cookbook

The Overlook joins acclaimed clarinetist Yoonah Kim for Kenji Bunch’s Cookbook – a vivid, genre-bending and whimsical work that draws on the rhythms, colors, and flavors of contemporary American life. The Overlook’s 2026 recording is the world-premiere recording of the piece, making this a special opportunity to hear the work live. Kim, hailed by The New York Times for her “inexhaustible virtuosity,” was the first solo clarinetist in nearly 30 years to win the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and the first woman to win the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition.

May 30: Boyd Meets Girl – Present Tense Album Release

GatherNYC’s Artistic Directors, cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, close out the season with a celebration of their third album, Present Tense. The album, which contains 14 works that have been written or arranged for or by the duo by composers including Caroline Shaw, Reinaldo Moya, Sergio Assad, Radiohead, Stevie Wonder and more, will be released in 2027 and is produced by the seven-time GRAMMY-winning producer Elaine Martone. Expect a festive concert featuring the duo’s signature eclecticism, as well as a few surprises.

For tickets and information, visit www.gathernyc.org.

Christina Jensen 4/10/26 Christina Jensen 4/10/26

GatherNYC Presents Sunday Concerts at 11AM - Up Next: Cellist Thomas Mesa, JP Jofre Bandoneon; Violinist Curtis Stewart; Catalyst Quartet; Aeolus Quartet; NY Phil Musicians with Boyd Meets Girl

(clockwise) Catalyst Quartet, Curtis Stewart, Thomas Mesa, Aeolus Quartet, JP Jofre, Boyd Meets Girl

GatherNYC Continues Expanded 2025-2026 Season in NYC at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle

31 Concerts – Now Held Weekly, Every Sunday Morning at 11AM through May 31, 2026

Up Next:
May 3: Thomas Mesa, JP Jofre (Cello, Bandoneon)
May 10: Curtis Stewart (Violin, Composer)
May 17: Catalyst Quartet (String Quartet)
May 24: Aeolus Quartet (String Quartet)
May 31: Season Finale – Musicians from the New York Philharmonic with Boyd Meets Girl

“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee – The New Yorker

“A sweet chamber music series” – The New York Times

“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine

Museum of Arts and Design | The Theater at MAD | 2 Columbus Circle | NYC

Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org

New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, continues its expanded 2025-2026 season at the series’ home venue, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle). For the first time, GatherNYC is offering weekly concerts, held every Sunday morning at 11am, in The Theater at MAD. Coffee and pastries are served before each performance at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free. The series presents an astonishing thirty-one concerts between October 2025 and May 2026.

Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.

Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of whom are winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”

Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be offering 31 concerts throughout our expanded 2025-2026 season, by far our largest lineup yet. In these challenging times, we feel it’s essential to provide our community with a gathering place each week where we can enjoy world-class artists together in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment. We look forward to welcoming new and old friends week after week.”

Up Next – All Concerts Take Place on Sundays at 11AM:

May 3: Thomas Mesa, cello + JP Jofre, bandoneon
Two of the most exciting soloists working today, Mesa and Jofre come together for a morning of tango and tango-inspired works that spotlight the unusual combination of their instruments, cello and bandoneon, while allowing each performer to shine.

May 10: Curtis Stewart, violin + composer
GatherNYC favorite, Curtis Stewart, returns to the stage with a preview of his much-anticipated project “24 American Caprices.” The 24 American Caprices are inspired by a kaleidoscope of recorded American music, with some honorary American additions...musical aspects of each inspiration are abstracted and imbued with challenging violin techniques emulating the sounds and styles of their origin. In the full meaning of caprice, these violin fragments dance and sing lightly from inspiration to ornamentation, both with flights of fantasy and fastidious settings of referenced material, creating playful musical dialogue around American lineage and individual perspective in Classical music.

May 17: Catalyst Quartet
The GRAMMY-winning Catalyst Quartet, known for their masterful, comprehensive recordings of music by Black composers throughout history, bring their signature polish and style back to GatherNYC for the second time.

May 24: Aeolus Quartet
The acclaimed Aeolus Quartet presents a touching and thoughtful program for their first performance at GatherNYC. From a Bach chorale composed to unite the voices of church congregations to the expansive Overture and Chorale by Andrea Casarrubios inspired by it; from the textural celebration of Montgomery's Strum to the bubbling virtuosity of Bacewicz’s Quartet No. 3 composed in the new world that arose from the ashes of WWII. In this program, storytelling and silence give way to the tender slow movement of Price’s G Major Quartet rooted in the tradition of Black spirituals.

May 31: Season Finale – Musicians from the NY Phil with Boyd Meets Girl
GatherNYC artistic directors Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd once again team up with members of the New York Philharmonic, including returning violist Leah Ferguson, violinist Alina Kobialka and more, to craft an exhilarating program centered around Aaron Jay Kernis’ tour de force for guitar and string quartet, “100 Greatest Dance Hits.” Dance into the summer and celebrate the conclusion of another wonderful season of GatherNYC!

For tickets and information, visit www.gathernyc.org.

Christina Jensen 3/13/26 Christina Jensen 3/13/26

GatherNYC Presents Sunday Concerts Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong & Harpsichordist David Belkovski; Boyd Meets Girl & Friends; Bassist & Composer Kebra-Seyoun Charles; Poiesis Quartet

GatherNYC Presents Sunday Concerts at 11AM - Up Next: Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong & Harpsichordist David Belkovski; Boyd Meets Girl & Friends; Bassist & Composer Kebra-Seyoun Charles; Poiesis Quartet

L-R: Osvaldo Golijov, Poiesis Quartet, Boyd Meets Girl, En-Chi Cheng, Kebra-Seyoun Charles, Jennifer Choi, David Felberg, Clarice Assad, Rachell Ellen Wong & David Belkovski

GatherNYC Continues Expanded 2025-2026 Season in NYC
at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle

31 Concerts – Now Held Weekly, Every Sunday Morning at 11AM through May 31, 2026

Up Next:
April 5: Rachell Ellen Wong and David Belkovski (Violin, Harpsichord)
April 12: Boyd Meets Girl and Friends (Flute, Guitar and Strings)
April 19: Kebra-Seyoun Charles (Bass, Composer)
April 26: Poiesis Quartet (String Quartet)

“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee – The New Yorker

“A sweet chamber music series” – The New York Times

“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine

Museum of Arts and Design | The Theater at MAD | 2 Columbus Circle | NYC

Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org

New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, continues its expanded 2025-2026 season at the series’ home venue, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle). For the first time, GatherNYC is offering weekly concerts, held every Sunday morning at 11am, in The Theater at MAD. Coffee and pastries are served before each performance at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free. The series presents an astonishing thirty-one concerts between October 2025 and May 2026.

Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.

Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of whom are winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”

Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be offering 31 concerts throughout our expanded 2025-2026 season, by far our largest lineup yet. In these challenging times, we feel it’s essential to provide our community with a gathering place each week where we can enjoy world-class artists together in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment. We look forward to welcoming new and old friends week after week.”

Up Next – All Concerts Take Place on Sundays at 11AM:

April 5: Rachell Ellen Wong, violin + David Belkovski, harpsichord
Following their much-loved performance at GatherNYC in 2023 as part of the early music collective Twelfth Night, Wong and Belkovski return to the stage for a charming and intimate recital featuring impeccably performed Baroque gems.

April 12: Boyd Meets Girl and Friends play Clarice Assad & Osvoldo Golijov
This exciting program for flute, guitar and string quartet pair works by two superstar Latin-American composers whose styles contrast and compliment each other. Golijov’s achingly beautiful Tenebrae is juxtaposed with Clarice Assad’s exhilarating Sephardic Suite. Boyd Meets Girl is joined by violinists David Felberg and Jennifer Choi and violist En-Chi Cheng.

April 19: Kebra-Seyoun Charles, bass + composer
Kebra-Seyoun Charles is a distinguished double bass soloist and composer lauded for their counter-classical musical language and their ability to aptly communicate complex ideas and emotions to audiences. For their GatherNYC debut, they will perform a new work entitled “Shango” for bass and percussion duo, interspersed with virtuosic double bass solos.

April 26: Poeisis Quartet
Fresh off their win at the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition (arguably the most important competition of its kind in the world), this fast-rising young string quartet will treat audiences to its vital and energetic approach to music-making and programming.

Says Poeisis of their program: “In collaboration with five emerging QTPOC (Queer/Trans People of Color) composers from our alma mater, Oberlin College & Conservatory, the Oberlin Commission Project expands the string quartet canon with approaches to music-making that are too often unheard. This initiative brings underrepresented voices, genres, and influences to the forefront, and also serves as an act of resistance and perseverance. Composer Zola Saadi-Klein's composition is rooted in the Persian Dastgāh music tradition, and through their work they are "acknowledging our queer and ancestral identities can freely coexist beyond the binaries of classical music and societal expectations." As queer musicians and as Oberlin graduates, this project serves as our way of giving back to the communities who raised us and brought us together.”

2026 GatherNYC Schedule:

May 3: Thomas Mesa, cello + JP Jofre, bandoneon
Two of the most exciting soloists working today, Mesa and Jofre come together for a morning of tango and tango-inspired works that spotlight the unusual combination of their instruments, cello and bandoneon, while allowing each performer to shine.

May 10: Curtis Stewart, violin + composer
GatherNYC favorite, Curtis Stewart, returns to the stage with a preview of his much-anticipated project “24 American Caprices.” The 24 American Caprices are inspired by a kaleidoscope of recorded American music, with some honorary American additions...musical aspects of each inspiration are abstracted and imbued with challenging violin techniques emulating the sounds and styles of their origin. In the full meaning of caprice, these violin fragments dance and sing lightly from inspiration to ornamentation, both with flights of fantasy and fastidious settings of referenced material, creating playful musical dialogue around American lineage and individual perspective in Classical music.

May 17: Catalyst Quartet
The GRAMMY-winning Catalyst Quartet, known for their masterful, comprehensive recordings of music by Black composers throughout history, bring their signature polish and style back to GatherNYC for the second time.

May 24: Aeolus Quartet
The acclaimed Aeolus Quartet presents a touching and thoughtful program for their first performance at GatherNYC. From a Bach chorale composed to unite the voices of church congregations to the expansive Overture and Chorale by Andrea Casarrubios inspired by it; from the textural celebration of Montgomery's Strum to the bubbling virtuosity of Bacewicz’s Quartet No. 3 composed in the new world that arose from the ashes of WWII. In this program, storytelling and silence give way to the tender slow movement of Price’s G Major Quartet rooted in the tradition of Black spirituals.

May 31: Season Finale – Musicians from the NY Phil with Boyd Meets Girl
GatherNYC artistic directors Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd once again team up with members of the New York Philharmonic, including returning violist Leah Ferguson, violinist Alina Kobialka and more, to craft an exhilarating program centered around Aaron Jay Kernis’ tour de force for guitar and string quartet, “100 Greatest Dance Hits.” Dance into the summer and celebrate the conclusion of another wonderful season of GatherNYC!

For tickets and information, visit www.gathernyc.org.

Christina Jensen 2/20/26 Christina Jensen 2/20/26

GatherNYC Presents Sunday Concerts at 11AM - Up Next: Exponential Ensemble, Cellist Inbal Segev, Palaver Strings, The Knights, and String Trios with Miranda Cuckson, Jessica Meyer, Laura Metcalf

Collage of Artists (Clockwise): Jessica Meyer, Inbal Segev, The Knights, Miranda Cuckson, Palaver Strings, Laura Metcalf, Exponential Ensemble — Clockwise: Jessica Meyer, Inbal Segev, The Knights, Miranda Cuckson, Palaver Strings, Laura Metcalf, Exponential Ensemble

GatherNYC Continues Expanded 2025-2026 Season in NYC
at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle

31 Concerts – Now Held Weekly, Every Sunday Morning at 11AM through May 31, 2026

Up Next:
March 1: Exponential Ensemble (Mixed Chamber Ensemble)
March 8: Inbal Segev (Cello)
March 15: Palaver Strings (String Ensemble)
March 22: The Knights – An Interactive Family Concert (String Orchestra)
March 29: Miranda Cuckson, Jessica Meyer, Laura Metcalf (Violin, Viola, Cello)

“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee – The New Yorker

“A sweet chamber music series” – The New York Times

“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine

Museum of Arts and Design | The Theater at MAD | 2 Columbus Circle | NYC

Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org

New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, continues its expanded 2025-2026 season at the series’ home venue, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle). For the first time, GatherNYC is offering weekly concerts, held every Sunday morning at 11am, in The Theater at MAD. Coffee and pastries are served before each performance at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free. The series will present an astonishing thirty-one concerts between October 2025 and May 2026.

Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.

Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of whom are winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”

Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be offering 31 concerts throughout our expanded 2025-2026 season, by far our largest lineup yet. In these challenging times, we feel it’s essential to provide our community with a gathering place each week where we can enjoy world-class artists together in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment. We look forward to welcoming new and old friends week after week.”

Up Next – All Concerts Take Place on Sundays at 11AM:

March 1: Exponential Ensemble
Exponential Ensemble, led by clarinetist Pascal Archer, is one of the most innovative ensembles on the NYC music scene. Exponential Ensemble’s mission includes commissioning and premiering works by living composers that are inspired by math, science and literacy, and their GatherNYC debut showcases the woodwind players from the Ensemble performing works by French and American composers, including “Wild Birds” by Brad Balliett inspired by wild birds living in New York City’s Central Park!

March 8: Inbal Segev, cello
Inbal Segev, a formidable cello soloist who stands out not only for her captivating sound and stage presence, but also for her curiosity and creativity. She has commissioned and premiered numerous concertos for cello and orchestra, and for this intimate solo performance she invites us into her compelling sound world, playing both her own compositions and music of Anna Clyne, Missy Mazzolli and more.

March 15: Palaver Strings
GatherNYC is proud to present this masterful and creative Portland, ME- based string chamber orchestra. Their program “The Apple of Their Eyes” explores the African-American experience in classical music, through the eyes of Black composers. It begins with William Grant Still’s lush and lyrical Mother and Child, and continues with Perry’s understated Prelude for Piano, arranged for strings. At the heart of the program is Edmund Thornton Jenkins Romance and Reverie Phantasy for Violin and String Orchestra, restored, edited, and arranged by Tuffus Zimbabwe, featuring Palaver violinist Maïthéna Girault. The Apple of their Eyes encapsulates the African-American experience, and celebrates the richness and depth of Black classical music.

March 22: The Knights – An Interactive Family Concert
Following their wildly successful family concert in November 2024, The Knights return to GatherNYC with a new program, also designed for the whole family. “Toy Bricks” is an interactive family concert that highlights playful interactions between stringed instruments, both large and small! Musical games and friendly competition bring friends together in a range of repertoire, culminating in a performance of Paul Wiancko’s Toy Bricks for violin, two cellos, and bass. This program is created and hosted by Knights cellist Caitlin Sullivan.

March 29: String Trios – Miranda Cuckson, violin + Jessica Meyer, viola + Laura Metcalf, cello
This program brings together four electrifying contemporary string trios by living female composers: Jessica Meyer, Missy Mazzolli, Nina C. Young, and Dobrinka Tabakova. These powerful works push the boundaries of what is possible on three stringed instruments.

2026 GatherNYC Schedule:

April 5: Rachell Ellen Wong, violin + David Belkovski, harpsichord
Following their much-loved performance at GatherNYC in 2023 as part of the early music collective Twelfth Night, Wong and Belkovski return to the stage for a charming and intimate recital featuring impeccably performed Baroque gems.

April 12: Boyd Meets Girl and Friends play Clarice Assad & Osvoldo Golijov
This exciting program for flute, guitar and string quartet pair works by two superstar Latin-American composers whose styles contrast and compliment each other. Golijov’s achingly beautiful Tenebrae is juxtaposed with Clarice Assad’s exhilarating Sephardic Suite. Boyd Meets Girl is joined by violinists David Felberg and Jennifer Choi and violist En-Chi Cheng.

April 19: Kebra-Seyoun Charles, bass + composer
Kebra-Seyoun Charles is a distinguished double bass soloist and composer lauded for their counter-classical musical language and their ability to aptly communicate complex ideas and emotions to audiences. For their GatherNYC debut, they will perform a new work entitled “Shango” for bass and percussion duo, interspersed with virtuosic double bass solos.

April 26: Poeisis Quartet
Fresh off their win at the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition (arguably the most important competition of its kind in the world), this fast-rising young string quartet will treat audiences to its vital and energetic approach to music-making and programming.

Says Poeisis of their program: “In collaboration with five emerging QTPOC (Queer/Trans People of Color) composers from our alma mater, Oberlin College & Conservatory, the Oberlin Commission Project expands the string quartet canon with approaches to music-making that are too often unheard. This initiative brings underrepresented voices, genres, and influences to the forefront, and also serves as an act of resistance and perseverance. Composer Zola Saadi-Klein's composition is rooted in the Persian Dastgāh music tradition, and through their work they are "acknowledging our queer and ancestral identities can freely coexist beyond the binaries of classical music and societal expectations." As queer musicians and as Oberlin graduates, this project serves as our way of giving back to the communities who raised us and brought us together.”

May 3: Thomas Mesa, cello + JP Jofre, bandoneon
Two of the most exciting soloists working today, Mesa and Jofre come together for a morning of tango and tango-inspired works that spotlight the unusual combination of their instruments, cello and bandoneon, while allowing each performer to shine.

May 10: Curtis Stewart, violin + composer
GatherNYC favorite, Curtis Stewart, returns to the stage with a preview of his much-anticipated project “24 American Caprices.” The 24 American Caprices are inspired by a kaleidoscope of recorded American music, with some honorary American additions...musical aspects of each inspiration are abstracted and imbued with challenging violin techniques emulating the sounds and styles of their origin. In the full meaning of caprice, these violin fragments dance and sing lightly from inspiration to ornamentation, both with flights of fantasy and fastidious settings of referenced material, creating playful musical dialogue around American lineage and individual perspective in Classical music.

May 17: Catalyst Quartet
The GRAMMY-winning Catalyst Quartet, known for their masterful, comprehensive recordings of music by Black composers throughout history, bring their signature polish and style back to GatherNYC for the second time.

May 24: Aeolus Quartet
The acclaimed Aeolus Quartet presents a touching and thoughtful program for their first performance at GatherNYC. From a Bach chorale composed to unite the voices of church congregations to the expansive Overture and Chorale by Andrea Casarrubios inspired by it; from the textural celebration of Montgomery's Strum to the bubbling virtuosity of Bacewicz’s Quartet No. 3 composed in the new world that arose from the ashes of WWII. In this program, storytelling and silence give way to the tender slow movement of Price’s G Major Quartet rooted in the tradition of Black spirituals.

May 31: Season Finale – Musicians from the NY Phil with Boyd Meets Girl
GatherNYC artistic directors Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd once again team up with members of the New York Philharmonic, including returning violist Leah Ferguson, violinist Alina Kobialka and more, to craft an exhilarating program centered around Aaron Jay Kernis’ tour de force for guitar and string quartet, “100 Greatest Dance Hits.” Dance into the summer and celebrate the conclusion of another wonderful season of GatherNYC!

For tickets and information, visit www.gathernyc.org.

Christina Jensen 1/16/26 Christina Jensen 1/16/26

GatherNYC Presents Sunday Concerts at 11AM - Up Next: Empire Wild, Renaissance Ensemble Sonnambula, Viola Duo Tallā Rouge, and Boyd Meets Girl (Featuring Several World Premieres)

GatherNYC Presents Sunday Concerts - Up Next: Empire Wild, Renaissance Ensemble Sonnambula, Viola Duo Tallā Rouge, and Boyd Meets Girl (Featuring Several World Premieres)

Clockwise: Sonnambula, Empire Wild, Boyd Meets Girl, Tallā Rouge

GatherNYC Continues Expanded 2025-2026 Season in NYC
at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle

31 Concerts – Now Held Weekly, Every Sunday Morning at 11AM through May 31, 2026

Up Next:
February 1: Empire Wild (Cello + Piano)
February 8: Sonnambula (Renaissance Instruments)
February 15: Tallā Rouge (Viola Duo)
February 22: Boyd Meets Girl (Guitar + Cello)

“thoughtful, intimate events curated with refreshing eclecticism by its founders, the cellist Laura Metcalf and the guitarist Rupert Boyd, complete with pastries and coffee – The New Yorker

“A sweet chamber music series” – The New York Times

“Impressive Aussie/American led concert series proves music can be a religion.”
– Limelight Magazine

Museum of Arts and Design | The Theater at MAD | 2 Columbus Circle | NYC

Tickets & Information: www.gathernyc.org

New York, NY – GatherNYC, a revolutionary concert experience founded in 2018 by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, continues its expanded 2025-2026 season at the series’ home venue, Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) (2 Columbus Circle). For the first time, GatherNYC is offering weekly concerts, held every Sunday morning at 11am, in The Theater at MAD. Coffee and pastries are served before each performance at 10:30am. Admission for children under 12 is free. The series presents an astonishing thirty-one concerts between October 2025 and May 2026.

Guests at GatherNYC are served exquisite live classical music performed by New York’s immensely talented artists, artisanal coffee and pastries, a taste of the spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service – but the religion is music, and all are welcome.

Spoken word artists perform briefly at the midpoint of each concert, many of whom are winners of The Moth StorySLAM events. “It’s an interesting moment of something completely different from the music, and it often connects with the audience,” Metcalf told Strings magazine in a feature about the series. “Then we have a two-minute celebration of silence when we turn the lights down, centering ourselves in the center of the city. Then the lights come back on, and the music starts again out of the silence. We find that the listening and the feeling in the room changes after that.”

Metcalf and Boyd say, “We are thrilled to be offering 31 concerts throughout our expanded 2025-2026 season, by far our largest lineup yet. In these challenging times, we feel it’s essential to provide our community with a gathering place each week where we can enjoy world-class artists together in an intimate, unique setting – complete with spoken word, silence, coffee and a communal, welcoming environment. We look forward to welcoming new and old friends week after week.”

Up Next – All Concerts Take Place on Sundays at 11AM:

February 1: Empire Wild
Empire Wild, founded by Juilliard-trained cellists Mitchell Lyon and Ken Kubota, joins forces with acclaimed jazz pianist Addison Frei for a genre-bending program that fuses pop, folk, jazz, and classical traditions into an electrifying, original sound. Honored with the Concert Artists Guild Ambassador Prize, the ensemble captivates audiences with inventive compositions, reimagined classics, and the limitless possibilities of cross-genre collaboration.

February 8: Sonnambula
Praised as “remarkable” and “superb” by the New Yorker, Sonnambula is a historically-informed ensemble that brings to light unknown music for various combinations of early instruments with the lush sound of the viol at the core. The ensemble is currently the 2025-26 ensemble in residence at The Frick Collection, and will share music from their recently-released and critically-acclaimed album Passing Fancy: Beauty in a Moment of Chaos. Do not miss the chance to hear these rare and beautiful instruments up close!

February 15: Tallā Rouge
Tallā Rouge's brings selections from their debut album, Shapes in Collective Space, to GatherNYC, weaving together a narrative of love, loss, childlike glee, and reflection. Featuring diverse and genre-defying compositions by inti figgis-vizueta, Kian Ravaei, Karl Mitze, and Leilehua Lanzilotti, Tallā Rouge sonically explores the raw emotions that shape our collective humanity — beckoning us to embrace and cherish the impermanence of life.

February 22: Boyd Meets Girl
GatherNYC’s own artistic directors, cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, take the stage to share several world premieres for the unique combination of cello and guitar by Stephen Goss, Reinaldo Moya and more, as well as works from their upcoming third album release.

2026 GatherNYC Schedule:March 1: Exponential Ensemble
Exponential Ensemble, led by clarinetist Pascal Archer, is one of the most innovative ensembles on the NYC music scene. Exponential Ensemble’s mission includes commissioning and premiering works by living composers that are inspired by math, science and literacy, and their GatherNYC debut showcases the woodwind players from the Ensemble performing works by French and American composers, including “Wild Birds” by Brad Balliett inspired by wild birds living in New York City’s Central Park!

March 8: Inbal Segev, cello
Inbal Segev, a formidable cello soloist who stands out not only for her captivating sound and stage presence, but also for her curiosity and creativity. She has commissioned and premiered numerous concertos for cello and orchestra, and for this intimate solo performance she invites us into her compelling sound world, playing both her own compositions and music of Anna Clyne, Missy Mazzolli and more.

March 15: Palaver Strings
GatherNYC is proud to present this masterful and creative Portland, ME- based string chamber orchestra. Their program “The Apple of Their Eyes” explores the African-American experience in classical music, through the eyes of Black composers. It begins with William Grant Still’s lush and lyrical Mother and Child, and continues with Perry’s understated Prelude for Piano, arranged for strings. At the heart of the program is Edmund Thornton Jenkins Romance and Reverie Phantasy for Violin and String Orchestra, restored, edited, and arranged by Tuffus Zimbabwe, featuring Palaver violinist Maïthéna Girault. The Apple of their Eyes encapsulates the African-American experience, and celebrates the richness and depth of Black classical music.

March 22: The Knights – An Interactive Family Concert
Following their wildly successful family concert in November 2024, The Knights return to GatherNYC with a new program, also designed for the whole family. “Toy Bricks” is an interactive family concert that highlights playful interactions between stringed instruments, both large and small! Musical games and friendly competition bring friends together in a range of repertoire, culminating in a performance of Paul Wiancko’s Toy Bricks for violin, two cellos, and bass. This program is created and hosted by Knights cellist Caitlin Sullivan.

March 29: String Trios – Miranda Cuckson, violin + Jessica Meyer, viola + Laura Metcalf, cello
This program brings together four electrifying contemporary string trios by living female composers: Jessica Meyer, Missy Mazzolli, Nina C. Young, and Dobrinka Tabakova. These powerful works push the boundaries of what is possible on three stringed instruments.