Mission
A Far Cry’s mission is to ignite a love for music and utilize its power to bring people together locally and across the globe. The ensemble delivers riveting performances with daring energy and commitment through our unique model of collective leadership, bringing music to life in innovative ways. Sharing this experience of unconventional music-making is our way of inspiring the world to listen.
Vision
A Far Cry’s vision is a world that listens.
About A Far Cry
Described as “a refreshing corrective to classical music’s rigid hierarchies” by WBUR, A Far Cry was recently praised for delivering “top-notch, finely crafted, precisely delivered, performances while retaining and exhibiting a robust communal expressiveness” (Boston Arts Diary). Like the name of the group implies, the ensemble strives to help create a world that listens. Boston Arts Diary went on to say that “It’s not only a wonderful example of how to run a chamber orchestra, but how to run a society.” Commitment to this core idea can be heard in all nine new programs in the group’s nineteenth season.
The orchestra’s subscription series includes five full-ensemble concerts at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, and four chamber music concerts at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain. The group also performs in Cambridge at First Church, and at the Somerville Armory. Themes range from migration to memory and the passage of time. The group will explore themes of love on Valentine’s Day, collaborate with cellist and singer-songwriter Yeemz, and perform with tenor Karim Sulayman and pira (double reed Korean oboe) player Gamin.
Things kicks off on September 20 with “Then Is Now.” The program explores the unpredictability of memory with works by Caroline Shaw, Osvaldo Golijov, Benjamin Britten, and Armenian folk songs collected by Komitas. On October 25 & 26, the group spotlights Korean culture and music, through a celebration cultural exchange in its many forms. Works by living, Korean-born, Boston-based composers Eun Young Lee and Binna Kim explore identity and connection. AFC is joined by Gamin, master of traditional Korean wind instruments, who performs both her own The Stars and Lee’s evocative trio for piri/saenghwang, violin, and cello. Together, these works form a cross-cultural portrait of belonging, migration, and musical exchange. Other season highlights include a program with tenor Karim Sulayman on May 9, an intimate holiday-time performance of Schubert’s Octet, and an extensive spring tour of New England performing Appalachian Spring.
Continuing in 2025-26, A Far Cry will host Listening Labs during the fall and spring in conjunction with select full-ensemble concerts. Audiences will have the opportunity to experience and participate in the many musical choices involved in preparing a program. Also this season, A Far Cry will offer family-friendly concerts for “Little Criers” and their grownups select Thursday evenings throughout the season.
A Far Cry was founded on the belief that every voice deserves to be heard; so instead of one artistic director, the collective of musicians (“Criers”) curate and submit program ideas inspired by individual curiosities, the greater musical community, and what is happening in the world at large. The result is a dynamic representation of music and collaborators across genres and backgrounds. The Criers believe it’s this core value and sense of curiosity and mission that led the Boston Globe to say that “even though A Far Cry has decisively established itself as a mainstay of the Boston musical community, something about it feels perpetually fresh with every performance.”
