Concerts in the Chapel

ORSEL presents concerts each month, holding space in the Chapel for stillness and reflection. Drop in anytime and enjoy tasty mORSELs after each concert!

UPCOMING:

November 4: NAMI, featuring Christine Southworth

NAMI is an ever-evolving, modular audiovisual collaboration between composer/guitarist Christine Southworth ('02) and artist/photographer Jun Hoshino, in which they transform the gently chaotic wave patterns of moving water into layered sonic and visual environments. Hoshino’s unfiltered iPhone framings of the spontaneous luminosity of New England ponds and streams are literally made into sound by Southworth’s data sonifications, then layered into electric guitar textures that produce a distinct soundscape for each video.

December 2: Evan Ziporyn

Program info coming soon. Featuring Evan Ziporyn, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT & Faculty Director of MIT CAST

PAST:

October 7: Andy Wilds, saxophone and Eileen Huang, piano

Saxophonist Andy Wilds (Program Manager in Music, MIT Music and Theater Arts) and pianist Eileen Huang (’05, Chemistry and MIT Affiliated Artist) perform lyrical and expressive works for saxophone and piano by Rachmaninoff, Creston, Bozza, and others in the resonant space of the MIT Chapel.

May 6: Skandaprasad Rao (G), Indian classical flute and voice

Indian classical flutist and vocalist Skandaprasad Rao presents songs and improvisations for reflection and contemplation.

// SPECIAL CONCERT! Thursday, April 9 @ 10:15am //

The MIT Chamber Chorus performs a capella works from their upcoming concert "Out of Time." Composers include Sarah Quartel, Stephen Paulus, Ivo Antognini and Palestrina.

April 1: Aurora Zhang (G), Piano

Pianist Aurora Zhang, part of ORSEL's Addir Fellows Interfaith Dialogue Program, presents an interfaith program of contemplative music from different traditions.

Killian Glass Howey (G), Percussion (March 4)

Percussionist Killian Glass Howey presents Roger Zare’s Bioluminescence and additional vibraphone works, creating a sonic space where listeners can sink into layered vibrations and allow their thoughts to wander.

Christine Southworth ('02): Snowflake Sonifications (NEW DATE: February 4)

Christine Southworth’s Snowflake Sonifications transforms microscopic images of melting snowflakes into evolving sound and visual environments that respond in real time. Its organic structures—delicate, unpredictable, and constantly shifting—intertwine with improvisations by Southworth (electric guitar) and Evan Ziporyn (electronic wind instrument), creating a dialogue with the generative sounds and imagery that blurs the line between nature’s patterns and human expression.

Evan Ziporyn: More Sonic Holograms (October 1)

Evan Ziporyn, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT & Faculty Director of MIT CAST, weaves live clarinet, bass clarinet, wind synth, effects boxes and loop pedals into a multidimensional, immersive and meditative auditory journey.

Valerie K Chen, cello: Midday Contemplation (Nov 5)

Join EECS PhD student Valerie K. Chen for a midday contemplation of resilience, reconciliation, and compassion through the voice of the solo cello.