Kaleidoscope

10/17/2026

10/08/2026

Tallahassee friends! 🎶 Join us TONIGHT at 7:30 pm for a FREE concert at Florida State University’s Opperman Music Hall!

We’ve had a wonderful few days in residence at FSU and have been incredibly impressed and inspired by the talented students and faculty. It’s been such a pleasure making music together!

Tonight’s concert features an exciting and eclectic programme of music by Rebecca Clarke, Gareth Farr, Charles Ives, Unsuk Chin, Kaija Saariaho, and Emma O’Halloran.

We’d love to see you there! 🎵

10/03/2026

Did you know an average adult takes roughly 17,000–25,000 breaths per day?

Breathers by Irish composer Alex Dowling is a collection of pieces that guide your breath. Written for string quartet, the contours of the sound bring you through a range of breathwork meditation techniques that each have a different effect on the mind and body.

Each piece begins with the inhale. Try closing your eyes and let the music guide your breath in and out. It shouldn’t feel forced.

Listen via the link in the comments or on your favorite streaming platform!

07/20/2026

Thanks again to everyone who attended our concerts this past weekend! We have more concerts this Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the 2026 Santa Monica Music Festival. More details and tickets via our website (link in bio) 🎶

Tickets are also available in person at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401

To start your Monday off, here’s an excerpt from J.S. Bach’s Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother, BWV 992, being performed by Andrew Zhou to open our Saturday program.

07/18/2026

Don’t miss the start of the 2026 Santa Monica Music Festival, tonight at 7:30 pm, with Luke Hsu performing all 24 of Niccolò Paganini’s Caprices for solo violin!

If you haven’t already purchased tickets, you can save 10% on a festival pass with the promo code SMMF10, good for admission to all performances, July 18th-26th! More details and tickets via our website (link in bio) 🎶

Tickets are also available in person at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401

The rest of the festival features lots more music by Antonio Vivaldi, Arvo Pärt, Benjamin Webster, Bobby Ge, Caroline Shaw, Christopher Thompson, Dai Wei, Eleanor Alberga, Errollyn Wallen, George Enescu, Hannah Kendall, Hildegard von Bingen, Hiromi Uehara, J.S. Bach, Jennifer Higdon, Jessie Montgomery, Johannes Brahms, Maurice Ravel, Michael Jackson, Olivier Messiaen, Osvaldo Golijov, Rebecca Clarke, Samuel Barber, W.A. Mozart, and Zoltan Kodály.

07/18/2026

Here’s an excerpt from Piotr Szewczyk’s Dopamine Rush, from last summer’s Santa Monica Music Festival 🎶

If you don’t already have tickets to the 2026 Santa Monica Music Festival, use the promo code SMMF10 to save 10% on a Festival Pass, good for admission to all programs July 18th-26th! Ticket link and more info in our bio.

07/14/2026

Here’s an excerpt from Paquito D’Rivera’s Aires Tropicales, from last summer’s Santa Monica Music Festival. Watch the full performance on our YouTube channel (link in bio). 🎶

If you don’t already have tickets to the 2026 Santa Monica Music Festival, use the promo code SMMF10 to save 10% on a Festival Pass, good for admission to all programs July 18th-26th!

06/30/2026

By the time Schubert wrote his Octet in 1824, the minuet was already something of a musical throwback.

Originally a graceful French court dance of the 17th century, the minuet had been a staple of works by Haydn and Mozart. Beethoven largely replaced it with the faster, more energetic scherzo—but Schubert chose to bring it back.

His fifth movement, Menuetto, pays homage to an older tradition while unmistakably speaking in Schubert’s own voice: elegant, lyrical, and full of subtle surprises.

Watch the full performance on our YouTube channel (link in our bio)!

06/29/2026

20 DAYS LEFT: Brutally punishing to play, the opening of Paganini Caprice No. 9 is one of the most difficult moments in all the caprices. If done right, nobody notices how difficult it really is, but if anything falters just a little bit, then everyone knows, because it would sound absolutely dreadful! This passage requires constant work.

Part of the difficulty lies in Paganini’s intent in imitating the flute with his marking, sulla tastiera, meaning to play on the fingerboard. This makes the intonation and bow control a lot harder than if played normally. Between the fifths, the fickleness of the E-string, the uncomfortable hand positions, the fast shifting, and a clarity without heaviness from the bow, this opening is a handful. On top of that, you must bring out the elegance and the phrasing of the contours. Good luck!