April 2025
Dear friends, fans, and supporters,
Earlier this month, Blue Heron’s 26th Season Finale wove together powerful, underperformed early music works highlighting texts from the Song of Songs, secular love songs, and poetry in Spanish and Hebrew, along with English translations. Our roster of world-class singers was joined by a cantor and a pair of young, talented actors, whose unique skills brought depth and breadth to the program in a way seldom experienced in concert. As summarized in a rave review in the Boston Musical Intelligencer:
The performance was a tour-de-force, and a testament to Blue Heron’s mission. In a season that began with Peterhouse favorites and bold new works infused with Turkish and Western early music techniques to a celebration of Christmas in France and Burgundy (including a new CD of the program), Regis’s transcendent polyphony in his Armed Archangel and a multifaceted exploration of the late 14th-centuty Ars subtilior, Song of Songs / Songs of love capped off a memorable season of music that would otherwise not be heard in Boston, or almost anywhere else.
Unfortunately, it has also been a challenging year for Blue Heron, and for so many small, dedicated 501(c)(3) arts non-profits like ours. Inflation continues to squeeze our budgets, and the uncertainty of the current climate has made funding less predictable. We are ready to keep bringing more incredible programs that entertain, educate and inspire to life next season and beyond, but we need your support to make it happen.
Next year’s lineup includes more madrigals, more Okeghem, a weekend-long celebration of Machaut, a 16th-century Spanish Christmas and a visit from our friends at Piffaro, The Renaissance Band. Looking further ahead, Blue Heron Artistic Director Scott Metcalfe has plans that extend to our 30th Anniversary and beyond. This music is timeless, challenging and beautiful. And performances of it will endure, with your help.
Please consider a gift to our Spring Appeal today, to keep Blue Heron singing now and for years to come. To give, you can click on the button below, or all us at (617) 960-7956. However you give and however much you give, your gift will make a difference. Giving now will help us end this season on a high note and lay a foundation for the years ahead.
On behalf of Scott, our musicians, our board and all of us Blue Heron, thank you being a vital part of our ensemble, and our unique exploration of medieval and Renaissance music.
p.s. — Support takes many forms! Donations are tax-deductible. We are happy to help facilitate gifts of stock or from donor-advised funds. And we are grateful to everyone who comes to our concerts, or volunteers, or shares the joy of our music with family, colleagues and friends. For all the ways you support us, thank you!
