New Thread Quartet

New Thread Quartet of New York City makes its Cleveland debut performing Salvatore Sciarrino’s monumental 1997 work, La Bocca, i Piedi, il Suono—which translates as “the mouth, the feet, the sound.” This rarely heard tour de force features the quartet with 100 roaming saxophonists, filling the CMA atrium with mesmerizing sounds in celebration of the piece’s 30th birthday.

One of the leading contemporary voices of our time, Sciarrino explores the virtuosity of unifying many voices into one, bringing the listener into the sound of the saxophone. He describes his approach as turning the music inside out and revealing new dimensions of the instrument. Each musician plays a small and vital role in provoking this revelation.

New Thread Quartet is also premiering Perseus, a companion piece composed for the occasion by the group’s founder, tenor saxophonist, and composer, Erin Rogers. Mapping the sound of Perseus, a 13-billion-year-old galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center, saxophonists spread across the atrium to gather and reproduce small sounds, building waves with existent reflective objects and each other. 

This event is generously supported and copresented by No Exit New Music Ensemble.

Are you a saxophonist interested in joining us on stage? Check back in September for more information and a registration link.

New Thread Quartet

New Thread Quartet was formed with the mission to develop impactful new music for the saxophone and to provide high-level ensemble playing featuring today’s compositional voices. In its 15 seasons, the quartet has commissioned and premiered over 150 new works and performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Roulette, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Merkin Hall, the Morgan Library & Museum, Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival Benefit, and the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews, Scotland. New Thread presents annual programs entitled “Explorations” and “Electric Sax” in Manhattan at the DiMenna Center, MISE-EN_PLACE, and the Cell Theatre and, more recently, at University Lutheran in West Philadelphia as part of Bowerbird’s series. New Thread’s Saxifraga, featuring commissioned works by Amy Beth Kirsten, Scott Wollschleger, and Victoria Cheah, was released on New Focus Recordings in late 2024.

Based in New York City, New Thread is regularly invited to college campuses to work with student saxophonists and composers in master classes and student reading sessions. The group has been a guest at several schools, such as the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Virginia, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the University of California, Los Angeles, Amherst College, and New York University. The quartet has recorded on New World Records, Innova Recordings, and New Focus Recordings and is a presenting partner of Composers Now.

The ensemble’s members are Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, Noa Even, Erin Rogers, and Zach Herchen.

The views expressed by performers during this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Museum of Art.