Sarasa

CONTACT:

14 High St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-492-4758
www.sarasamusic.org

Timothy Merton, Director

DESCRIPTION:

In 1997 a deeply moving chamber music concert in, oddly, Sing Sing Correctional Facility (NY), raised a question: if this appeals so much to people so distant from it culturally, isn’t that a sign and a vocation? Thus was born Sarasa: a traditional ensemble, created to bring the universal values and appeal of early-Baroque-to-Romantic classical music to non-traditional audiences—prisoners, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, non-Westerners, and especially children and youths. The name is derived from Sanskrit aesthetics: “rasa,” or savor, is the principal emotional response to an artistic work; “Sarasa” occurs when the work is especially well conceived and performed—a “tasteful performance” producing a sense of peace and insight. The group includes 40 professional musicians from leading ensembles in the United States and Europe. Sarasa is supported by grants and earned-income from three concert series, in Cambridge, Concord, and Brattleboro (VT). It has toured throughout New England, in Cuba, Ireland, and India. Its concerts have tripled, from 10 to 31, but the economic downturn forced it to cut back, hence this special appeal: Catalogue readers, “Sarasa” can be yours!

(2003: CULTURE: Arts: Performing: Music and Dance)