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K.J. McDonald, violin Yu-Heng Wang, viola Jonah Kernis, cello Peter Yide Shi, piano Inspired by the evocative charm of Appalachian folk music, Oh Appalachia is a musical journey through mountain landscapes and the refreshing simplicity of nature's open air. This piano quartet captures the rustic beauty and the soulful echoes of the Appalachian mountains, blending traditional folk motifs with vivid impressions of expansive views and crisp, invigorating breezes.

The Boston-based Kroma Quartet hails from the New England Conservatory and is composed of violinists Clayton Hancock and Arun Asthagiri, violist Nathan Emans, and cellist Sophia Knappe. Together, the four have embarked on a pursuit to realize timeless music with creativity, candor, curiosity, risk-taking, and humor. Clay takes the stage across the United States and internationally, performing as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician, and he looks at music from new perspectives, reimagining classical beauty. For Arun, music is a form of self-expression that provokes. While being recognized for his chamber and solo performing, he combines his art with a passion for science and technology. Nathan has pursued chamber music intensively with mentorship from the Verona, Borromeo, Omer, and Parker string quartets and attended Tanglewood last summer. Sophia has been praised for her outstanding musicianship, working closely with members of the Borromeo Quartet and performing in Carnegie Hall as a member of the Tre Voce Piano Trio. The Kroma Quartet won NEC’s Honors Ensemble competition in the fall of 2023, which opened the door to many exciting professional and community engagements on their horizons. Notably, they have a residency with the Virginia Arts Festival this April. The month after, their work over the past year will culminate in a recital in Boston’s Jordan Hall featuring a unique program that traverses groundbreaking music from Haydn, Beethoven, and Schnittke. Outside of performing and rehearsing, the Kroma Quartet enjoys making ice cream floats, playing Nintendo Switch, and laughing with one another.

For string quartet and choreography Music by Yangfan Xu Choreography by Aaron Choate Dancers: Abby Castora Lindsay Phillips Raven Joseph Matthew Spangler Musicians:

Alto Saxophone: Juchen Wang Piano: Ziang Yin "Turn Me Into Ocean" was commissioned by Kenneth Radnofsky and draws inspiration from a poem written by the composer about a nocturnal journey through a cityscape leading to a personal transformation and a discovery of solitude.

KJ McDonald, violin Jonah Kernis, cello Bairun Liu, piano Commissioned by the Impulse New Music Festival, Xu's piano trio Uplifting Melodies of the Summer Wind (2023) got its second performance at the New England Conservatory of Music at Brown Hall.

Cole Turkel, clarinet K. J. McDonald, violin Sophia Knappe, cello Shaylen Joos, harp Danial Kukuk, percussion Jungle Sway (2023) was from the Ballet "Now Listen," commissioned by the New York Choreographic Institute affiliated with the New York City Ballet, in collaboration with choreographer Shane Urton. Program Notes by the composer: (A dream on Oct. 3, 2022): I was exploring the border between grassland and jungle. The humid and sultry atmosphere of a summer night is mixed with the fragrance of nature, and the night has blurred the borderline between the grassland and the jungle that was already hazy. I saw brilliant shooting stars. Some colorful bright spots suddenly appeared on the horizon, as if the starry sky had been printed on the ground. The bright spots continued to twinkle, with shooting stars and fireworks in between. When I was fascinated, an elephant and two baby elephants suddenly pushed me to run. I didn't know what was going on, so I began running. I couldn't tell whether it was the jungle trees or the tall grass pushed away by the elephant and the baby elephants in front of me. After a while, I found a mudslide behind us. The elephants assisted me in safely reaching a small rocky mound. The elephants became exhausted. They lay down and rolled around. I thanked them for saving me by touching their heads and noses. I went to the nearby tropical rainforest to pick some leaves and dew to feed the elephants, and then I used the rest of the leaves as a quilt to cover and sleep. The jungle hotel where I used to stay, as well as the entire jungle town, had been completely destroyed, and the night had suddenly become so peaceful and quiet. I had since become a jungle wanderer. A week later, on another summer night, I was kidnapped by a group of men dressed as future cops. They put me on a cyberpunk train, and I didn’t know where we were about to go. – Yangfan Xu

To see the whole show, please visit: https://timucua.stellartickets.com/events/camp-and-the-rhythm-method/occurrences/c2b9e1fd-d5d3-43e6-893e-d8d261a42853?aff=bg Thea Lobo, mezzo-soprano Katherine Weintraub, saxophones Eunmi Ko, piano Kevin von Kampen, percussion Art by Janas Smith Durkee

Soberless Dance (in the Mountains) for solo guitar (2021) Composer: Yangfan Xu Performer: Ziggy Johnston