Carrots and Counterpoint

Join the Benicia Chamber Players as we kick off our 2025–2026 season with a playful, thought-provoking program that asks: how do composers stay rooted in tradition while creating something entirely new?

In Carrots and Counterpoint, three composers from different eras explore that question in bold, unexpected ways through the string quartet. Florence Price blends American folksongs and African spirituals with classical technique in her Five Folksongs in Counterpoint. Schubert’s Rosamunde Quartet fuses his love of song and chamber music, reworking melodies from earlier vocal pieces, including music from the play Rosamunde. Inspired by Cézanne’s quote, “The day will come when a single, freshly observed carrot will start a revolution,” Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution reimagines the string quartet with wild textures and fresh perspective.

Come for the counterpoint, stay for the carrots.

Free for students (with ID)

Program:

Florence Price - Five Folksongs in Counterpoint

Franz Schubert - String Quartet No. 13 in a minor, Op. 29, No. 1, D. 804, "Rosamunde"

Gabriella Smith - Carrot Revolution

Performers:

Alicia Choi, violin

Patrick Galvin, violin

Luis Eduardo Bellorín, viola

Brady Anderson, cello

Host or Publisher Benicia Chamber Players