Thirty-Nine cellists, members of BoCoCelli and the Chappaquoit Cellists, will come together on Friday, November 2, at 7 PM for a grand performance of classical, folk, and contemporary works at Woods Hole Community Hall. An ensemble of eight graduate cello students, and one alumnus, from Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, BoCoCelli is coached by Rhonda Rider, Head of Strings at the Conservatory. Andrew Mark, who teaches several of the graduate students at Boston Conservatory, will also attend. The Chappaquoit Cellists are Nikki Patton and 27 of her students at her Chappaquoit Cello Studio.
BoCoCelli will perform a new piece by Brazilian composer Dimitri Cervo and works by Bach, Elgar, and Piazzolla. The Chappaquoit Cellists will join them for three pieces: a new arrangement of Jay Unger’s “Ashokan Farewell” by BoCoCelli alumnus Javier Caballero; “Cape,” a piece written by BoBoCelli member Ben Baker especially for the collaboration between Boston Conservatory at Berklee and the Chappaquoit Cello Studio, and “French Folk Song,” one of the first pieces in the Suzuki cello literature.
This concert marks the 15th anniversary of the collaboration between Rhonda Rider’s cellists and Nikki Patton’s cello students. “The first time I heard Rhonda Rider play, many years ago,” said Ms. Patton, “I was struck not only by the beauty of her sound, but by the honesty of her musical interpretation. I immediately asked if she would take me on as a student, and she did.”
Their friendship grew over the two years that Ms. Patton studied with Ms. Rider, and beyond. “She is an amazing guide,” said Ms. Patton of Ms. Rider. “She has taught me more about how to practice than any other teacher. She made me inquire, to look for answers myself. She is a wonderful cellist, and she enjoys it so much. You can see it in her face and hear it in her sound, the love she has for expressing her music.”
BoCoCelli members are Ben Baker, Monica Grady, Nicholas Johnson, Margaret Madsen, Jose Quezada Márquez, Hannah Soren, Brianna Tagliaferro, and Jeremiah Barcus, and Ms. Rider. Javier Caballero, a former member of the group, will join BocoCelli for this performance.
Ben Baker, a native of Boston, Ben tours throughout New England performing folk and contemporary music. Last summer, he toured Australia with his cello and electronics duo We Are Breathing.
Monica Grady began playing the cello at age nine in Ashville, North Carolina, She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry.
Nicholas Johnson, from Florida, plays in a range of musical styles. His current focus is chamber music; he is a member of a piano trio, a string trio, and a marimba and cello duo, as well as BoCoCelli.
Margaret Madsen is from St. Louis, Missouri. Her favorite composers are Johannes Brahms and P.D.Q. Bach. Outside of school, Ms. Madsen teaches privately and performs with the Boston Chamber Symphony and the Berklee Motion Picture Orchestra.
Jose Quezada Márquez plays cello with the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru. He is a founding member of the Lima Triumphante instrumental ensemble, which is dedicated to the rescue and dissemination of previously lost Peruvian Baroque music from the colonial era. In 2015 he recorded an album of world fusion music that combines cello with traditional Peruvian rhythms.
Hannah Soren has premiered works by composers at Boston Conservatory at Berklee; she is also a member of the Louisville-based, indie rock band, Babs.
Brianna Tagliaferro is from Plainsboro, New Jersey. She performs with Split the Lark New Music Ensemble.
Jeremiah Barcus plays cello in the Videri String Quartet, which specializes in string quartet video game music, in the Barcus-Urayama Duo, a cello-piano duo that performs classical music, and in Down By Law, an indie string quartet that plays arrangements of popular songs.
Javier Caballero was born in Puerto Rico and is a versatile performer, educator and arts administrator based in Boston. He has performed in China, Palestine, and Israel as part of the Al Kamandjati Music School. He is the former artistic director of Project STEP at Symphony Hall and is currently the scholarship & recruitment manager at From the Top, the NPR show that celebrates the stories, talents and character of young classically trained musicians.
Nikki Patton’s students range in age from 8 to 80 and have been studying with her for two months to 12 years. Some are sibling groups, some live in Falmouth and the Upper Cape, while others travel from as far away as Brewster and Truro for their weekly lessons. While the younger and newer students will not be performing the more demanding pieces, all 38 cellists will participate in “French Folk Song.”
“The music we will be playing is challenging,” said Ms. Patton. “Ben Baker’s piece, ‘Cape,’ is the first contemporary piece that my students have studied. They are learning so much from it, and we are so grateful to the generosity of Javier Caballero and Ben Baker for making this collaboration so exciting. It is thrilling for my students to be able to sit alongside these cellists as part of a cello orchestra and to feel the full power of their sound.”
Chappaquoit Cellists participating in the concert are Annabel Battin, Tuli Bossi, Nell Bowen, Marilyn Brice, Grace Cushing, Meredith Cutler, Angela Diana, Luke Dinicola, Sara Fisichella, Brad Hagopian, Josh Hagopian, Ursula Junker, Erin Lark-Furey, Josie Leveque, Maria MacDonald, Beatrice Mattison, Alexia Morton, Shu-ton Murray, Celeste Newman, Eric Preisig, Kaden Rogers, Alex Tang, Maki Tani, Shusei Tani, Ava Warner, Sherri Williams, Taylor Willman, and Ms. Patton.
Tickets are $15 (cash only) at the door. For more information, contact Nikki Patton at 508-457-4564.
Notes on The Arts 