New ensemble presents rarely performed music

Ensemble Secundum Silentium, composed of alumni and students at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University, made its debut last February. The group, which is “dedicated to programming music that is both rarely performed and embraces devotional qualities,” celebrates its first anniversary with what it calls a “musical journey through eclectic compositions.”

Its upcoming concerts - Friday, Feb. 5, at First Church of Oberlin United Church of Christ, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 14, at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, at 7 p.m. - will include "The Last Sleep of the Virgin," for string quartet and suspended handbells, written by John Tavener in 1991. As a curious bridge of time, ESS will perform a short work by the 16th century composer John Taverner. The centerpiece of the program will be selections from Tavener’s 2003 "Schuon Lieder" cycle, for soprano, string quartet, piano and Tibetan temple gongs.

For more information, contact Zahari Metchkov at zmetchkov@yahoo.com or 214-394-9336.

Zahari Metchkov is a pianist, organist and faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Music.