Genre-bending artists take the stage for four nights of contemporary musical exploration—multi-instrumentalist Courtney Swain, Owls quartet, cellist and vocalist Seth Parker Woods, and The Westerlies brass quartet
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(For Immediate Release, January 13, 2025, Boston) Celebrity Series of Boston’s Stave Sessions returns to the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville’s Davis Square for its 10th anniversary of electrifying musical innovation. Founded in 2015, this annual celebration of contemporary music spans four unforgettable nights, showcasing an array of genre-defying performances from February 11-14, 2025.
For the past decade since its beginning, each night of Stave Sessions has always offered something new: premieres, debuts, electronics, effects, and sampled sound sit side by side with in-the-moment virtuosity. Notable past performances have included Brooklyn Rider, Sō Percussion with Buke and Gase, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Claire Chase and My Brightest Diamond, Sybarite5 with special guest Ehsan Matoori, Yasmin Williams, and many more. View all of the past performances here.
This February, vocals and electronics swirl and mix when Courtney Swain returns. Owls reinvents the string quartet (and shakes up the idea of a string quartet program). Seth Parker Woods tells a powerful story with cello and vocals. The Westerlies blend anything-goes joy and verve with precise and virtuosic brass ensemble playing.
Performances are set in a fun and casual atmosphere, complete with a full-service bar and cocktail lounge offering an extensive selection of cocktails, beer, wine, mocktails, and more.
Don't miss this opportunity to experience the forefront of contemporary music. Join us for a memorable journey through sound and creativity at this year's Stave Sessions concerts.
Tickets are $34 for general admission. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.celebrityseries.org/live-performances/stave-sessions/
Audience members new to Celebrity Series of Boston may be eligible for $20 tickets—learn more: https://www.celebrityseries.org/live-performances/ticket-information/welcome-to-celebrity-series/
Stave Sessions is generously supported by Susan & Michael Thonis.
These performances are made possible in part by support from Celebrity Series' LIVE PERFORMANCE! Arts for All Innovation Funds.
Courtney Swain
Tue. February 11, 7:30 PM | Crystal Ballroom Somerville
https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/courtney-swain
Courtney Swain, heard with Bent Knee at a Stave Sessions show in 2018, makes her debut as a headliner. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, vocalist, songwriter, and sound artist, Swain is artistically fearless, conjuring soundscapes that surround audiences with murmuring, echoing electronics, providing a canvas for her vocals, live instruments, and witty, insightful songwriting.
Owls
Wed. February 12, 7:30 PM | Crystal Ballroom Somerville https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/owls/
Called “a dream group” by the New York Times, Owls’ two-cello sound and eclectic programming – their arrangements of music from the 1600s to the present – make them a must-hear group for adventurous music lovers. Count on fantastically diverse programming – recent programs have included works by Chick Corea, eighteenth-century composer François Couperin, and Owls’ own cellist/composer Paul Wiancko – beautiful and unique sound worlds, and an exhilarating performance without limits.
Alexi Kenney, violin
Ayane Kosaza, viola
Gabriel Cabezas, cello
Paul Wiancko, cello
Seth Parker Woods, cello and voice: Thus Spoke Their Verse
Thu. February 13, 7:30 PM | Crystal Ballroom Somerville
https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/seth-parker-woods/
Hailed by The Guardian as “a cellist of power and grace” who possesses “mature artistry and willingness to go to the brink,” three-time Grammy-nominated cellist Seth Parker Woods is a versatile artist and innovator across multiple genres.
For his Celebrity Series debut, Woods brings his program Thus Spoke Their Verse, pairing three Sarabande movements from Bach’s unaccompanied cello suites with 20th- and 21st-century works. From Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's Lamentations, “Black Folk/Song Suite” to Fredrick Gifford’s Difficult Grace for speaking cellist and electronics, Woods has assembled a program he calls an "ode to self and my love letter to the cello and the works and stories I’ve been able to share for the past 30 years."
This performance is generously supported by Yukiko Ueno & Eran Egozy.
The Westerlies
Fri. February 14, 7:30 PM | Crystal Ballroom Somerville
https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/the-westerlies/
The Westerlies are a New York-based brass quartet comprised of Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet and Andy Clausen and Addison Maye-Saxon on trombone. From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, The Westerlies navigate a wide array of venues and projects with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along.
ABOUT CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON
Celebrity Series of Boston was founded in 1938 by pianist and impresario Aaron Richmond. Celebrity Series has been bringing the very best performers—from orchestras and chamber ensembles, vocal and piano music, to dance companies, jazz, and more—to Boston’s major concert halls for 86 years. The Celebrity Series of Boston believes in the power of excellence and innovation in the performing arts to enrich life experiences, transform lives, and build better communities.Through its education initiatives, the Celebrity Series seeks to build a community of Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, shared experience—on stages, on streets, in neighborhoods—everywhere.
Celebrity Series of Boston is grateful to our 2024/25 Season Sponsors Crescendo Donor Advised Fund and Susan & Michael Thonis, and to the many individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose support helps fulfill our mission to present performing artists who inspire and enrich our community.
Individual and institutional supporters include Jill & David Altshuler, Leslie & Howard Appleby, the Barr Foundation through its ArtsAmplified initiative, Amy & Joshua Boger, the Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, Stephanie L. Brown, Julia Byers & Steven Holtzman, Michael & Adrianne Canning, Deloitte, Yvette & Lawrence Hochberg, Klarman Family Foundation, George & Lizbeth Krupp, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Eleanor & Frank Pao, Stephen C. Perry & Oliver Radford, The Rabb Family Foundations, Reuben Reynolds, Mabel Louise Riley Foundation, Royal Little Family Foundation, Sally S. Seaver, PhD, Schrafft Charitable Trust, Jeremy Silverman & Mary Sutherland, Stifler Family Foundation, Belinda Termeer, Susan & Michael Thonis, Dorothy Altman Weber, in memory of Stephen Weber, Anonymous (4), and many others.
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