Upward Hartford is proud of its recent renovations. It has more space now. So it’s hosting an avalanche.
On Nov. 8, an ensemble of musicians from Hartford Symphony Orchestra will perform Missy Mazzoli’s 2008 composition “Still Life With Avalanche,” live in the mezzanine area of Upward Hartford, the membership-based “shared workspace” at 20 Church St.
It’s the first show in the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 2018 intimate Intermix series, which holds small concerts away from its home base, The Bushnell. The shows often offer more modern and experimental pieces, spotlight offbeat locations, bring in audiences that wouldn’t usually attend classical music concerts and highlight performers who may get overlooked at the full-force 86-member HSO MasterWorks concerts.
The series, which advertises itself as “intimate, inviting, innovative, and interactive,” seems like a natural fit for Upward Hartford, which promotes collaborative work, networking opportunities and new workspace models.
The HSO ensemble will also play Aaron Copland’s famous “Appalachian Spring Suite” while an equally famous dance created by choreographer Martha Graham for the suite plays on a wall of video monitors at Upward Hartford. The “Appalachian Avalanche” concert also includes a bassoon quartet by Bernard Garfield and a tribute to Hartt School professor of composition and music theory David McBride, who died last month at the age of 66.
Jess Morin, Upward Hartford’s marketing manager, says “the symphony had reached out in terms of looking for a performance space, and it seemed like a perfect partnership for us. It’s all about connections.”
“In September of last year, we unveiled our new mezzanine space,” which can seat 150 people on folding chairs, Morin says. “That’s where the concert will be. It’s mostly used for co-working.”
A concert on this scale is a new development for Upward Hartford, but the organization has hosted music and dance performances and networking and corporate events. It has an art gallery and holds a monthly open-mic talent show.
“The HSO has spearheaded this. We are providing the physical space, the atmosphere. This is an openly collaborative environment.”
Colette Hall, HSO operations manager, helps program the concerts along with the orchestra’s Music Director Carolyn Kuan. Musicians also offer input. Hall says that the suggestion for the Bernard Garfield piece came from the bassoonist which the orchestra had already been planning to feature in the concert.
Colette says the concerts are distinctive because “it’s chamber music, more virtuosic in the individual parts. Carolyn keeps a list of chamber works that don’t get to be performed live. This series is also more contemporary. It’s an opportunity to do works by living composers, female composers and composers of color. Another goal is to be more intimate, to have the audience closer to the musicians.”
The Intermix series is now in its third season. Venues have ranged from Hog River Brewing Co. to Real Art Ways. The largest number of musicians at an Intermix show so far has been 33; the smallest has been five.
The other two concerts in the 2018-19 series are “Dance Card,” (featuring a piece by that name from composer Jennifer Higdon, plus works by Samuel Barber and others, led by Kuan) on Feb. 28 at Real Art Ways; and a performance by the Philadelphia-rooted string trio Time for Three on May 1 at Spectra Wired Cafe in Constitution Plaza.
“The response has been really great,” Hall says. “There have been several sold-out performances. The audiences love having a different experience.
“We’ve been building this entirely from scratch. We learned a lot in the first year, just getting away from The Bushnell.”
The HSO-INTERMIX CONCERTS are “Appalachian Avalanche” at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 at Upward Hartford, 20 Church St., Hartford; “Dance Card” on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at Real Art Ways; and “Time for Three” May 1 at 7 p.m. at Spectra Wired Cafe in Constitution Plaza. Tickets are $25, $15 for students, $20 for HSO subscribers. 860-987-5900, hartfordsymphony.org.
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