Lenox — Castle of Our Skins (COS) will make its second appearance at Tanglewood’s Linde Center on Friday, September 27, presenting a program of works celebrating 20th-century American composer Julia Perry’s 100th birth anniversary. The tribute concert will feature newly published works by Perry and the women who inspired her. The lineup on Friday will be violist Ashleigh Gordon, violinist Matthew Vera, violinist Annie Rabbat, and cellist Lev Mamuya.
Born in Lexington, Ky., in 1924, Perry wrote music that blended elements of European classical traditions with African American spirituals and contemporary influences, including neoclassicism, jazz, and atonality. Despite being Black and female, Perry received critical recognition for her work from the white men who dominated the classical music world throughout her lifetime. She attended the Juilliard School and studied in Europe with legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger.
Violist Ashleigh Gordon, named one of WBUR’s “ARTery 25,” is the co-founder and artistic/executive director of Castle of our Skins. She has a passion for new music, having earned a master of contemporary music degree from the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA) at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt. There, she studied contemporary music performance and played viola with members of Ensemble Modern. She also earned degrees in viola performance from the New England Conservatory and Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. She has appeared at festivals in Germany, Austria, France, England, and North America, including the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme.
Violinist Matthew Vera joined the Boston Philharmonic’s first violin section in 2010 and has serves as its concertmaster on occasion. He has received extravagant praise from the Boston Musical Intelligencer: “Matthew Vera projected non-stop, drop-dead gorgeous tone, alternately flippant and ravishing, as directed. A virtual golden spotlight enwreathed him in laurels.” Vera has performed with such orchestras as the Boston Philharmonic, Albany and Portland symphonies, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Teatro Nuovo, Eureka Ensemble, and the New Bedford Symphony.
Violinist Annie Rabbat was recently appointed concertmaster of Boston Lyric Opera. She has performed with such ensembles as the Orpheus, St. Paul, and East Coast Chamber Orchestras, and also with the Arcturus Ensemble, Walden Chamber Players, and North Country Chamber Players. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the New England Conservatory, Ms. Rabbat has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Juilliard, Mendelssohn, Takacs, and Orion quartets, as well as the Florestan, Peabody, and Beaux Arts trios.
Cellist Lev Mamuya made his orchestral debut with the Cape Cod Symphony at the age of eight. Since winning the Sphinx Competition, he has appeared as a soloist with the Florida and Cleveland orchestras, the South Bend and Ann Arbor symphonies, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Brevard Concert Orchestra. An experienced soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, Mamuya recently performed the first Shostakovich cello concerto with the New Philharmonia Orchestra and has appeared with the Boston-based string orchestra A Far Cry. His composed works have been performed at the Rockport Music Festival, the New England Conservatory, and elsewhere in the Boston area. Mamuya received a bachelor of arts in history and literature from Harvard in 2018 and completed his master of music degree in cello performance at New England Conservatory last spring.
Castle of Our Skins is a Black arts institution based in Boston that has been curating events centered on Black arts, culture, and history for the last 11 years. Called “champions of Black artistry” by The Strad, the group celebrates Black musical artistry by building collaborations and promoting under-celebrated narratives in classrooms and concert halls.
Hear Castle of our Skins’ violist Matthew Vera, violinist Annie Rabbat, violist Ashleigh Gordon, and cellist Lev Mamuya at Tanglewood’s Linde Center on Friday, September 27, at 7 p.m. Purchase tickets here.
