Background
Founded in 2007 by seventeen progressive, young professional musicians, A Far Cry is an amazing ensemble of talented string performers. They are the orchestra in residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and collaborate with local elementary, middle, and high school students through a partnership with the New England Conservatory. Programs blend both canonical classical works and world-wide premieres of new composers, and there's a dreaminess and good humored whimsy to their curation. They practice in a store-front space in JP, but what makes them really unique is their genuine commitment to opening up the experience of concert-going to as many young people as possible and to making concert-going more interactive and engaging. You might find them performing pond-side as part of a summer concert series, or in pop-up spaces around the city. Their new mentoring partnership with ProjectSTEP seeks to expand opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities in classical music.

Afternoon Concerts at St. John's Church in Jamaica Plain
I discovered the concert series at St. John's Church when I was pregnant, and we took our daughter to her first concert there when she was about a year and a half old. While you might want to bring a seat cushion for the pews, the informal smaller setting and great acoustics make for a much more laid back experience than a large concert hall. (And, the church has a small play area outside, which was helpful when our daughter needed a break from the music). I loved the age diversity of the crowd, and the fact that A Far Cry encouraged audience participation, and sort of expected it, asking the audience to move to the music if inclined. I never felt like baby babbling or squawking was a problem. And, though we didn't stay long, there was something so satisfying in listening to masterful musicians at work, and in sharing that with our child. I'm looking forward to this season's new programs at St. John's Church and across this city: