Hi! We're Sound Energy, a Boston-based string trio dedicated to exploring the energy of sound.  We perform existing contemporary works for string trio, and we also add to the music already out there by commissioning living composers to write new pieces for our trio. We're comprised of Micah Brightwell (violin), Ashe Gordon (viola), and Ben Swartz (cello).

Next concert season, we're taking on an ambitious project: we've commissioned four composers to write us four brand-new compositions for a world premiere performance.  Our major unveiling will be a concert on Friday November 4th at Old South Church in our hometown of Boston, MA, with continuing premiere performances throughout the 2016-17 concert season.  We're asking for your support to raise the necessary $5,000 for this project.

"OK, I'll bite," you may say. "So who are these four composers, anyway?"  Well, we've asked two composers from our home base in Boston - Tamar Diesendruck and Daniel T. Lewis – and two from farther afield – Noam Faingold in Tulsa, OK, and Evan Kassof in Gainsville, FL.  The unique voices of our composers are as diverse as the distinctive sound worlds they create.  They draw from spectral overtone sampling, and evolutionary biology, and use electronics and funky old instruments in their work.  These are highly skilled artists of unlimited potential, and we're honored that they've each accepted to write us an 8-12 minute piece.  Some of these new pieces may include auxiliary instruments beyond the traditional string trio – Ben, our cellist, also plays both viola da gamba and erhu, and Ashe also plays viola d'amore.  We can’t wait to transform those black dots on the page into a concert experience for you to hear & enjoy!

“But wait a minute!” you may ask. “How can this cost $5,000?”  Well, unlike dead composers, living composers need to eat (discounting, for the time being, undead composers). So, these composers need money. That's another way of saying that they ought to be compensated for their work – and hey, so do we, for that matter.  Not only that, there's also the venue rental fee to consider, along with marketing costs – that’s flyers, ads, tickets, programs, social media – and, importantly, video documentation.

To give these pieces life beyond the concert hall – and with the knowledge that not all of you beautiful people will be able to attend our Boston concert in November – we’re aiming to make video recordings of all four works. These videos will be shot by resident Sound Energy videographer, Scott Quade, and these video documents will be similar to Scott's previous work on our YouTube page. Check out our “perks” section for a signed DVD of the performance, as well as other cool incentives to help us our achieve our goal of raising $5,000 within 30 days.

Thanks very much for your contributions and for your support of the music of our time. We hope to see you at one of our shows next season!