MUSIC

The critically acclaimed Radius Ensemble kicks off its twelfth season on October 2 & 3 with concerts at MIT’s Killian Hall in Cambridge and the Rivers School Conservatory in Weston, respectively. The Ensemble will continue its residencies at both institutions. As always, Radius’s program spans centuries and traditions. The concert opens with a Mozart adagio for English horn and strings, with Radius Ensemble’s artistic director Jennifer Montbach as soloist. Next, the wind quintet sparkles with Carl Nielsen’s neo-classical wind quintet. Guest artist, harpist Ina Zdorovetchi, joins the Ensemble for Toru Takemitsu’s moving “And then I knew ’twas wind,” based on an Emily Dickinson poem, and the program closes with Paul Schoenfield’s delightful and over-the-top piano trio, Café Music. Now in its twelfth season, Radius Ensemble has earned rave reviews and a dedicated following by reinvigorating classical music for a new generation. A chamber music ensemble of winds, strings, and piano, Radius performs music from the classical period to the modern era, from beloved masterpieces to undiscovered gems. Its musicians are outstanding professionals inspired by tradition, willing to take risks, and committed to connecting with a diverse group of listeners. Founded in 1999 by oboist and impresario Jennifer Montbach, Radius’s season includes a four-concert series of Saturday evening performances at MIT’s Killian Hall in Cambridge, where the group is alumni ensemble in residence (the group’s clarinetist is Eran Egozy, MIT ’95); as well as four matinees at the Rivers School Conservatory in Weston, where the group is also ensemble in residence. Radius has also appeared on concert series throughout New England, including the Rockport Chamber Music Festival and New York’s Music in Chelsea. Radius has commissioned and premiered numerous works by Boston-area composers and has won several Meet the Composer grants from the National Endowment for the Arts/New England Foundation for the Arts. Committed to community outreach, Radius presents a free Saturday-morning family concert in Harvard Square, and a distributes free tickets to disadvantaged children and their parents or mentors through local community service agencies.