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    Organization

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    Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston


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    Now entering its second decade of programming, the Chameleon Arts Ensemble has distinguished itself as one of the finest. most versatile chamber ensembles in Boston. Over the past ten years, Chameleon has produced more than 60 concerts, with 218 different works by 126 different composers. The Ensemble performs to capacity audiences and has received unanimous critical acclaim for its innovative concert programming and artistic philosophy: dynamic musical dialogues, integrating old and new repertoire into unexpected chamber music programs that are themselves works of art. In addition to its annual series at the Goethe-Institut Boston, the Ensemble presents a series of family and educational concerts for students in the Boston Public Schools in collaboration with the Forest Hills Educational Trust. The Ensemble is also receiving national attention, and was recently honored with a 2009 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming.

     

    • At-a-
      Glance

      • Contact Info

        Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston

        6 Rocky Nook Terrace
        Boston, MA 02130

        Phone: 617-427-8200   |   Email   |   Official Website

        • Current Events

          There are no current events available for this organization at this time.

        • Upcoming Events
          06/02/12  Free Family Concert: Tunes, Tales and Tricksters

    • Current &
      Upcoming Events

      • Current Events

        There are no current events available for this organization at this time.

      • Upcoming Events
        06/02/12  Free Family Concert: Tunes, Tales and Tricksters

    • Past
      Events

    • Media
      Reviews

      • Media Reviews

        • Event Name:
          Article: Chameleon Arts Ensemble stirs a young audience ready to play
          The Boston Globe - Jun 06, 2011
          By David Perkins

          We don’t need neurologist Oliver Sacks to convince us that classical music is one of the deepest human experiences. All you have to do is look at children. When they are exposed to it — serious, complex, soul-stirring music, I mean — their bodies sha… Expand

          We don’t need neurologist Oliver Sacks to convince us that classical music is one of the deepest human experiences. All you have to do is look at children. When they are exposed to it — serious, complex, soul-stirring music, I mean — their bodies shake, and they become alert and focused, taking it in. Ask them to volunteer to try instruments they have never played before, hands shoot up.

          All this was to be seen at the Chameleon Arts Ensemble’s annual children’s concert Saturday afternoon, given this year at the Boston Public Library’s Hyde Park Branch. Collapse

        • Event Name: from wild spring air
          Article: Boston Baroque's Rameau, Opera Boston's Donizetti, BSO's Berlioz, the Met's new Walküre
          The Boston Phoenix - May 25, 2011
          By Lloyd Schwartz

          And speaking of superlatives, at the Goethe-Institut, pianist Sergey Schepkin, one of the founding members of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble (and an artist who should be a lot better known than most of the current crop of celebrity pianists), has return… Expand

          And speaking of superlatives, at the Goethe-Institut, pianist Sergey Schepkin, one of the founding members of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble (and an artist who should be a lot better known than most of the current crop of celebrity pianists), has returned to Boston from a stint in Pittsburgh, and joined another co-founder, violinist Joanna Kurkowicz (maybe best known here as concertmaster of the Boston Philharmonic), in a thrilling — full-bodied, warm-blooded, rhythmically slippery (a friend called it “devilish”) — Beethoven A-minor Violin Sonata (a scintillating precursor of the later and more famous Kreutzer Sonata). These old musical partners seemed to be breathing the same air, reading each other’s minds. I didn’t want it to end. Collapse

        • Event Name: from wild spring air
          Article: Chameleon Arts Ensemble delivers chordal majesty
          The Boston Globe - May 23, 2011
          By Jeffrey Gantz

          “From wild spring air’’ was the title of the fifth and final concert of Chameleon Arts Ensemble’s 13th season, but on Saturday night, the playing at a packed Goethe-Institut matched the weather outside: warm and pungent, with a more than a hint of ra… Expand

          “From wild spring air’’ was the title of the fifth and final concert of Chameleon Arts Ensemble’s 13th season, but on Saturday night, the playing at a packed Goethe-Institut matched the weather outside: warm and pungent, with a more than a hint of rainy sorrow. The program from this all-star lineup of chamber musicians was typically imaginative and eclectic, a gathering of B’s not Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms, but Samuel Barber, Derek Bermel, Beethoven, and Ernest Bloch. Collapse

        • Event Name: of melody yet unknown
          Article: Schoenberg resonates through Chameleon Arts Ensemble
          The Boston Globe - Mar 29, 2010
          By Matthew Guerrieri

          On paper, Saturday’s concert by the Chameleon Arts Ensemble looked downright Hegelian in its forward-directed music history, just under two centuries’ worth of posited progress leading up to and growing out of the program’s formidable focal point, Ar… Expand

          On paper, Saturday’s concert by the Chameleon Arts Ensemble looked downright Hegelian in its forward-directed music history, just under two centuries’ worth of posited progress leading up to and growing out of the program’s formidable focal point, Arnold Schoenberg. But in practice, the performance proved marvelously multidirectional. Collapse

        • Event Name: for that transforming touch
          Article: Music: The Week Ahead
          Boston Globe - Feb 04, 2010
          By Jeremy Eichler

          The enterprising chamber troupe offers a typically wide-ranging program, including music by a Spanish violin virtuoso (Pablo de Sarasate) and a high priest of musical modernism (Pierre Boulez) alongside a popular cornerstone of the Romantic chamber l… Expand

          The enterprising chamber troupe offers a typically wide-ranging program, including music by a Spanish violin virtuoso (Pablo de Sarasate) and a high priest of musical modernism (Pierre Boulez) alongside a popular cornerstone of the Romantic chamber literature (Brahms’s Piano Quintet). Feb. 6 and 7, $18-$38, Goethe-Institut, 170 Beacon St, 617-427-8200. www.chameleonarts.org Collapse

        • Event Name:
          Article: A Smart Eclectic Closer for Chameleon
          Boston Globe - May 18, 2009
          By David Weininger

          To close out its 11th season, Chameleon Arts Ensemble assembled the kind of adventurous program with which it's built its reputation: smart and eclectic, stretching from the 19th century to a world premiere. All five works were loosely linked by the… Expand

          To close out its 11th season, Chameleon Arts Ensemble assembled the kind of adventurous program with which it's built its reputation: smart and eclectic, stretching from the 19th century to a world premiere. All five works were loosely linked by the theme of ecstasy, but this seemed less important than the permutation of styles, as well as tight and committed performances. Collapse

        • Event Name:
          Article: Standing Stillness, Smashing Success
          The Boston Musical Intelligencer - May 18, 2009
          By David Patterson

          The Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston wrapped up their 2008-09 season series with a program of spirits voices ecstatic at the Goethe-Institut Boston on Sunday, May 17. Adding still more personalities to the already changeable ensemble were invited gu… Expand

          The Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston wrapped up their 2008-09 season series with a program of spirits voices ecstatic at the Goethe-Institut Boston on Sunday, May 17. Adding still more personalities to the already changeable ensemble were invited guest artists Elizabeth Keusch, soprano, and Aditya Kalyanpur, tabla. Composer Shirish Korde, who teaches at the College of the Holy Cross, was on hand to provide insider information. Collapse

        • Event Name:
          Article: Chameleon Turns in a Fresh Playful Program
          Boston Globe - Feb 18, 2009
          By David Perkins

          There are moments in music when you know the composer is as surprised as you are at what's just occurred. In Chen Yi's "Qi," a Chinese gong is struck and the note seems to reach out until it is answered, almost sympathetically, by the flute… Expand

          There are moments in music when you know the composer is as surprised as you are at what's just occurred. In Chen Yi's "Qi," a Chinese gong is struck and the note seems to reach out until it is answered, almost sympathetically, by the flute and the piano: three instruments fusing into one. In Bedrich Smetana's Piano Trio in G minor, after a lot of romantic bluster, the piano settles into a reverie, rippling out a series of arpeggios that sound as if they are played on bells. We sometimes forget that composers are playful creatures, as fascinated by sound as a child is by mud and streams. Collapse

        • Event Name:
          Article: Diversity shapes Chameleon ensemble's sound
          Boston Globe - Feb 13, 2009
          By David Weininger

          Putting together a satisfying concert is an unheralded craft, one largely invisible to the audience members who fill the seats. It requires familiarity with music across centuries, an ear for unusual juxtapositions, and ambitious, creative vision. Expand

          Putting together a satisfying concert is an unheralded craft, one largely invisible to the audience members who fill the seats. It requires familiarity with music across centuries, an ear for unusual juxtapositions, and ambitious, creative vision. Collapse

    • Member
      Reviews