Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
As part of “United in Sound: America at 250,” the ensemble’s performance highlighted distinctive voices and influences that have shaped the American chamber music repertoire.
Beach composed “Pastorale for Woodwind Quintet” during her time at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire. At a moment when many American composers still looked to European models, she helped lead the way toward a distinctly American voice. “We must look to our own folk music for our musical development,” Beach wrote, championing a sound shaped by Indigenous, Irish, Scottish, and African musical traditions.
As part of “United in Sound: America at 250,” the ensemble’s performance highlighted distinctive voices and influences that have shaped the American chamber music repertoire.
Beach composed “Pastorale for Woodwind Quintet” during her time at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire. At a moment when many American composers still looked to European models, she helped lead the way toward a distinctly American voice. “We must look to our own folk music for our musical development,” Beach wrote, championing a sound shaped by Indigenous, Irish, Scottish, and African musical traditions.
