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.