MUSIC
Cassia Streb / Sandstone Quartet
Music as Architecture
Saturday, December 5, 2026 | 7:30pm
Performance to be followed by a reception with the artists.
Lorraine Boccardo Theater
What do music and architecture have in common? Both are built on proportion, balance, rhythm, and imagination. Both transform simple elements into something extraordinary. Music as Architecture invites audiences on a journey through centuries of music, exploring the surprising connections between the structures we build, the landscapes we inhabit, and the sounds that move us.
From a Renaissance masterpiece inspired by Florence’s magnificent cathedral to the intricate interplay of a classical string quartet, this program reveals how composers have used music to explore space, form, and design. Works by Guillaume du Fay, Maddalena Laura Sirmen, and Joseph Haydn trace the evolution of musical structure, while contemporary composer Caroline Shaw draws inspiration from the gardens and architecture of Dumbarton Oaks.
The evening culminates in Orbital Inclination (2026), a new multimedia work by Jennifer Bewerse and Cassia Streb that brings these ideas into the natural world. Featuring film of the Cold Moon rising over Joshua Tree, accompanied by strings and environmental recordings captured here in Kayenta Art Village, the piece connects the rhythms of the cosmos to the landscape of Southern Utah.
Spanning nearly 600 years of musical creativity, Music as Architecture offers a fresh perspective on how we experience music and the world around us. Discover how sound can create a sense of place, how musical ideas take shape, and how the beauty of structure can be heard as well as seen.
Program
- Nuper rosarum flores; Guillaume du Fay; 1436 arranged by Richard An
- Quartetto No. 3, Maddalena Laura Sirmen, 1769 her works were admired by Mozart and her string quartets were published before Haydn’s
- String Quartet #55 in D Major, Op. 71, no. 2, Joseph Haydn, 1793
INTERMISSION
- Plan & Elevation: The Grounds of Dumbarton Oaks, by Caroline Shaw, 2015
- Orbital Inclination by Cassia Streb and Jennifer Bewerse, 2026
Performers
Myra Hinrichs and Ilana Waniuk, violins
Cassia Streb, viola
Jennifer Bewerse, cello
Curated by Cassia Streb
Los Angeles–based violist, composer, and curator Cassia Streb brings her spirit of exploration to Kayenta in this new chamber music series. Trained in the classical tradition and deeply inspired by the natural world, Streb’s curatorial approach bridges past and present, honoring tradition while seeking new ways to listen.
