In the past two years, the already rich autumnal classical season in town has been amended by a new kid in town, as the traditionally summer-owning Music Academy of the West (MAW) branched out into the Mariposa series of chamber concerts. Many of the concerts in the series showcased MAW alums, a vast and sometimes storied pool of past Academy “fellows” who once roamed the hallowed halls and have gone on to lofty careers.
This year, the Mariposa Concert Series grows up and outward, with its strongest program yet, a diverse four-concert roster starting on Saturday, October 5, and continuing into the spring. This season, each one of the carefully curated events qualifies as a calendar marker for local “serious music” aficionados, with a notable emphasis on contemporary musical impulses.
The slow-release Mariposa schedule begins at Hahn Hall, with acclaimed soprano Karen Slack’s special art song project African Queens, then continues on December 7 with the premiere contemporary-minded JACK Quartet (which has been in residence in the summer MAW program in the past). The Academy’s ongoing partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) — MAX (Music Academy Exchange) — folds into the series purview at Hahn Hall on Monday, February 7, of next year, as musicians from LSO perform with alums, and the vibrant youth-geared chamber group yMusic shows up on March 10, with a program including a premiere by the fascinating emerging, category-busting composer Gabriela Smith.