|
3:00 PM
And every hour will tell its own tale...
New Music Concert|Works composed by Kareem Roustom (2025)
-
170 Beacon Street, Boston, MA
- Price Admission is free
Performers
Demarre McGill, flute
Danny Kim, viola
Emily Levin, harp
Program
Density 21.5
Edward Varese (1883-1965)
Garden of Joy and Sorrow (Garten Von Freuden Und Traurigkeiten)
Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025)
Amulet
Liza Lim (b 1966)
“…and every hour will tell its own tale” *
Kareem Roustom (b. 1971)
*world premiere
Canto XXI
Samuel Adler (b. 1928)
Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp
Claude Debussy
Syrian-American-Canadian Kareem Roustom is a composer and performer (on the oud) of emotionally rich, rhythmically intricate music for chamber, orchestral, choral ensembles, dance and chamber opera. Blending Middle Eastern traditions with contemporary colors, Roustom’s genre crossing collaborations include music commissioned by conductor Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, arrangements for pop icons Shakira and Tina Turner, as well as a recent collaboration with acclaimed British choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh. Roustom has been composer-in-residence at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming, and with the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen in Germany and the Mannheim Philharmonic. A musically bi-lingual composer, Roustom is rooted in the music of the Arab near-east but his music often expresses beyond the confines of tradition. The themes of a number of his works often touch issues of those affected by war and instability, as well as themes of spirituality.
Roustom’s music has been performed by ensembles that include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Osaka Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Württembergische Philharmonie-Reutlingen, Pittsburgh Symphony, Boulez Ensemble, Oregon Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, A Far Cry, and by acclaimed choral groups such as Coro Allegro, Lorelei Ensemble, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and The Crossing choir. Roustom’s music has also been performed at renowned festivals and halls such as the BBC Proms, the Salzburg Festival, the Lucerne Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Verbier Festival, the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and others. Roustom has been composer-in-residence with the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Grant Park Music Festival, the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, and the Mannheim Philharmonic.
Short-biography
-
Violist Danny Kim joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the start of the 2016-2017 season and was appointed third chair of the viola section during the 2017-18 season. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Kim completed his undergraduate degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied with Sally Chisholm and graduated with a B.A. in viola performance and a certificate in East Asian Studies. He earned his Master of Music in viola performance from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Samuel Rhodes. Prior to winning a position with the Boston Symphony, Kim was a member of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. An alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center, where he won the Maurice Schwartz Prize, he has participated in such festivals as the Marlboro Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, Lucerne, Aspen, and has toured with Musicians from Marlboro. As an avid chamber musician, he has performed with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Ensemble Connect, Chamber Music Society of Minnesota, Concordia Chamber Players, and has collaborated with artists including Joseph Silverstein, Peter Wiley, Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tree, Marcy Rosen, Richard O’Neill among others. Kim is also a chamber music coach and teacher and serves on faculty at Boston University and the Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute in Minnesota. He previously completed a chamber music residency with El Sistema in Caracas, Venezuela. As a judge and jury member for music competitions and auditions, he has sat on panels with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and New England Conservatory. Committed to education and community engagement, Kim has performed on Sesame Street and participates in the BSO’s many community engagement performances and educational activities. He served as a tenured member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra while earning his undergraduate degree. Kim was also one of the first musicians to participate in the Boston Symphony-Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra musician exchange, joining the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, Germany during the 2018-19 season.
-
Internationally recognized flutist Demarre McGill is celebrated for his lyrical expressiveness and commanding technique. Winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, he has appeared as soloist with leading orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Seattle Symphony, where he currently serves as Principal Flute.
McGill’s previous positions include principal flute roles with the Dallas and San Diego Symphonies and acting principal with the Metropolitan Opera and Pittsburgh Symphony. In the 2025–26 season, he performs with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chamber Music San Francisco, Music of the Baroque, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, as well as with several symphonies across the U.S.
A passionate educator, McGill has taught worldwide and served on the faculties of the Aspen Music Festival, Curtis Institute’s Summerfest, Sarasota Music Festival, and Stellenbosch Festival. He was Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for seven years.
McGill is a founding member of the Myriad Trio and co-founder of both Art of Élan and the McGill/McHale Trio, whose recordings Portraits and Winged Creatures have been widely praised. He promotes inclusion and representation in classical music and has appeared on Live from Lincoln Center, The Today Show, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. A Chicago native, McGill studied at Curtis and Juilliard and is a Yamaha Performing Artist. -
Praised for her “technical wizardry and artistic intuition” (Herald Times), harpist Emily Levin has forged a multifaceted career as a soloist, artistic creator, educator, and advocate for new music. The only American to receive top prizes at the most prestigious international harp competitions, Levin won the 2013 Bronze Medal at the 9th USA International Harp Competition, and at just 18 years old, was named a finalist and Renié Prizewinner at the 2009 International Harp Contest in Israel.
Levin joined the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as principal harp in 2016. She has also been guest principal harp with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Houston Symphony. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia, including Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, the Ojai Music Festival, Bravo! Vail, Newport Classical, and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
In 2021, she founded GroundWork(s), an initiative commissioning 52 American composers from each state,Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, to write new works centered on the harp.
Recent and upcoming commissions include Reena Esmail, Michael Ippolito, Aaron Holloway Nahum, Angélica Negrón and Kareem Roustom.
2025-2026 brings the release of a new album, Birds of Paradise, which features trios for harp, violin, and cello with Julia Choi and Christine Lamprea, and Levin’s revolutionary solo project Experiments in Play. An immersive, interactive narrative recital, Experiments in Play invites the audience to solve puzzles, interact with the plot, and influence the path of the music itself.
A committed educator, Levin is currently harp faculty at Southern Methodist University, and the Aspen Music Festival. She received degrees from the Juilliard School and Indiana University, where her honors history thesis discussed the impact of war songs on the French Revolution.
