Cherry Street Music is a music program with a simple mission: to create a space to meet new people, develop friendships, and find togetherness, passion and hope through evenings of music. Our "classical with a twist" concerts are less formal with conversation between artists, special guests, and audience members. Attendees will also have an opportunity to experience the visionary educational history and beauty of the 1840 Nathaniel Allen Homestead, now The Allen Center, as our artistic home!
The Allen Center's Artist-in-Residence, cellist Allison Eldredge is Founder and Artistic Director of Cherry Street Music.
Season Overview
Cherry Street Music, the resident music program at Newton’s Allen Center, has announced the first five concerts of their 2024-25 season. Artistic Director Allison Eldredge has planned an intimate cross-cultural performance series featuring classical, jazz, folk, and more.
Upcoming Event
Classical with a Twist: Musical Kaleidoscope, Saturday, March 8th, 7:30 pm
Get ready for an unforgettable evening of electrifying music! Cherry Street Music’s Artistic Director /international solo cellist, Allison Eldredge, returns to The Allen Center stage with Classical with a Twist: Musical Kaleidoscope. Joining Allison on stage will be the mesmerizing violinist Markus Däunert and the brilliant young pianist Yutong Sun in music of Dvorak. In addition to his trio performance Daunert will also be featured in the "Twist" which this time is an alluring collaboration with the award-winning Boston String Academy featuring explosive performances of Mahler, Shostakovich, and Piazzolla.This concert promises to ignite the senses, bringing together a distinguished ensemble of magnetic musicians in the intimate atmosphere of The Allen Center. Don’t miss out—grab your tickets now for this dazzling kaleidoscope of sound and passion!
Past Events:
9.30.24 Oded Tzúr
10.6.24 Classical with a Twist: Champions for Change
10.26.24 440- The Gypsy Jazz Quartet: Toe-Tapping Snappy Hot Jazz
11.17.24 Classical with a Twist: West Newton Pops
12.15.24 Classical with a Twist: I’ve Got Rhythm
2.2.25 Classical with a Twist- Love Is All Around
Meet The Artists
Allison-Yoshie Eldredge, Artistic Director, cello
Cellist Allison Eldredge, a recipient of the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant and Musical America’s “Young Artist of the Year”, has enjoyed performing nationally and internationally, from London to Moscow to China to Berlin. She has been called “a cellist afraid of nothing” (Chicago Times) with “virtuosity wholly at the service of the music” (American Fanfare – American Record Guide). She gained international attention when Daniel Barenboim invited her to give the first performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto, which he conducted years after the death of his wife, the celebrated cellist Jacqueline Du Pre.
Allison has appeared as cello soloist with 30 major American orchestras and innumerable major international orchestras. She has been invited by the premiere Music Directors of the world from Scotland to Italy to Canada to the Netherlands and the United States receiving critical acclaim such that “She belongs to “the crème de la crème” of cello talents” (Het Noord Hollands Dagblad Amsterdam).
Allison has loved teaching the next generation for the past 30 years. She has taught cellists at New England Conservatory since 2000 and at Harvard University from 2008-2011. Allison also maintains a private teaching studio in Massachusetts and Connecticut. She has given masterclasses at numerous universities and schools and has visited more than 100 schools in support of music education in communities with greater needs. She teaches chamber music at Young Talent Chamber Music, a two-week Pro-Am intensive summer camp in Connecticut, where she has been Artistic Director since 2014.
Her cello teachers have included Harvey Shapiro, Yo-Yo Ma, Eleonore Schoenfeld, Joan Lunde, Mstislav Rostropovich, Ardyth Alton and Channing Robbins. Allison studied at the Pre-College and College of The Juilliard School.
Instagram @allison.eldredge.1740
Facebook @allisoneldredgecellist
https://allisoneldredge.com/
Markus Däunert, Conductor, violin
Markus Däunert is highly regarded as a director, guest leader, soloist and chamber musician. From 1997–2005 he co-led the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with which he also appeared as soloist, under conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Harding, Iván Fischer, Kurt Masur, Bernhard Haitink, Trevor Pinnock and Philippe Herreweghe. He has been guest leader with orchestras such as Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Ensemble Modern.
Däunert is a frequent guest with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Däunert is founding member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Aldeburgh Strings. As a chamber musician, soloist and teacher he has been regularly invited to Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, Aldeburgh Music, Dartington Summer School, Cappenberg Festival, Hellens Festival, Mantua Festival, Festival Domain Forget, New England Conservatory, Manhatten School of Music and several ‘Sistema’ such as Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil.
He is a lecturer at the Hochschule für Musikund Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg.
He has appeared as a soloistand chamber musician with pianists such as Alexander Lonquich, Gianluca Cascioli, Christian Zacharias, Martha Argerich, Steven Kovachevich, Daniel Adni, MichaelaUrsuleasa, Benjamin Frith, Herbert Schuch, Christian Blackshaw, Ricardo Castro andother musicians such as Nicolas Altstaedt, Máte Szücs, Danusha Waskiewicz andBruno Delepelaire. Recently he made the world premiere recording of several solo pieces by Giacinto Scelsi for the label Stradivarius.
Mariesther Alvarez, Co-Director, Boston String Academy
Violinist Mariesther Alvarez is a founder and co-director of the Boston String Academy, an El Sistema- inspired program which hosts an outstanding children’s string orchestra curriculum. She holds a Master of Music Degree and a Graduate Performance Diploma from The Boston Conservatory, where she was a student of Professor Rictor Noren. Previous violin instructors include Sophie Vilker, Francisco Diaz, and Jose Francisco Del Castillo. A native of Venezuela, Mariesther is a graduate of ”El Sistema”, the National System of Youth and Children Orchestras. In Venezuela, she was a member of the Lara Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. She also performed as a soloist and chamber musician at several festivals organized by the Latin American Violin Academy.
Mariesther has attended a number of international festivals including the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, and the Liminka International Music Course in Finland; Prelude Music Academy in Wisconsin and Argentina; the summer violin courses provided by the Latin American Violin Academy in Venezuela. She has had the privilege of working with numerous internationally acclaimed artists, such as Gustavo Dudamel, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Pamela Frank, Joseph Silverstein, Mela Tenenbaum, and the Berlin Philharmonic String Quartet. Mariesther applies a unique pedagogical approach combining different methods and techniques from her own training at El Sistema in Venezuela, studies with Rictor Noren at the Boston Conservatory, the period of study with Mimi Zweig at the String Academy of Indiana University, and with the founder of the Colourstrings method, Geza Szilvay in Hungary and Finland. In the Spring of 2016, she was chosen among the 100 most influential people for the Hispanic community in Massachusetts. This is an outstanding recognition from El Planeta’s Powermeter event.
Ms. Alvarez is currently faculty Longy School of Music of Bard College and its Sistema Side by Side Series. She collaborates regularly with El Sistema in Venezuela teaching at the different nucleos and Summer Festivals. She also has collaborated with el Sistema inspired programs in Mexico and the U.S. such as Play on Philly!, Atlanta Music Project, Miami Music Project, Bravo Youth Orchestras in Portland, OR, Youth Orchestra of Losa Angeles, and Kids 4 Harmony in Pittsfield, MA. She has been invited for two consecutive years by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as violin faculty for their “National Take a Stand Festival”, the first national youth orchestra of El Sistema-inspired programs in the United States.
Yutong Sun, piano
’19, ’21 MM, ’22 GD, ’25 AD, Piano
Studio faculty: Alexander Korsantia, Dang Thai Son
Upcoming Recital: October 8, 2024
Photo Credit: Jingyan Gao
Yutong Sun has gained international recognition through his success in prestigious competitions worldwide. Notably, he garnered the second prize at the 19th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain. Additionally, he won third prize at the 62nd Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona (2016) and first prize at the 54th Jaén International Piano Competition (2012). He has also been honored in competitions such as the New Orleans International Piano Competition, the Horowitz Competition, and the Bösendorfer Competition.
Sun has performed at renowned venues including Salle Cortot in Paris, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Jordan Hall in Boston, The Bolshoi Hall in Saint Petersburg, Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, National Centre for the Performing Arts in China and Shanghai Grand Theatre. His performances have been broadcast by major networks such as Bavarian Broadcasting, Polish Radio, and Spanish Radio and Television Corporation.
As a soloist, Sun has collaborated with numerous esteemed orchestras, including the Symphony Orchestra of Galicia, the City of Granada Orchestra, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Spain, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Santander Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, and the China NCPA Orchestra. He has worked with distinguished conductors such as Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Paul Mann, Earl Lee, Nicholas McGegan, Matthew Kasper, Lio Kuokman, Yifan Sun, Maciej Tworek, José Trigueros, and José Molina. Sun has also appeared at prominent music festivals, including the Beethoven Easter Festival, Kissinger Sommer, and the International Holland Music Sessions.
A native of China, born in 1995, Yutong Sun is currently pursuing the prestigious Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Professors Alexander Korsantia and Dang Thai Son. He previously studied at the Music School attached to the Central Conservatory in Beijing with Professor Hua Chang. His first piano recital CD was recorded by Naxos in 2012 and released worldwide in 2013 as part of their Laureate Series.
Boston String Academy
Boston String Academy is a non-profit organization, inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema model which believes in musical excellence as a vehicle for social change. We provide rigorous string instrument instruction to children in under-served communities, laying a solid musical foundation and creating a path for young people to become sensitive, responsible, and creative human beings. Our program makes mastery of a string instrument reachable by eliminating obstacles that stand in an inner-city family’s way.
Boston String Academy was founded in 2012 by violinists Marielisa and Mariesther Alvarez, graduates from The Boston Conservatory, and of El Sistema program in their home country of Venezuela, and have modeled Boston String Aacademy on that experience. The Academy offers three programs in the Chinatown and Allston neighborhoods, serving more than 120 students. The Academy has collaborated with renowned artists including Midori, Gustavo Dudamel and Sir Simon Rattle.
Our students have performed out of state and internationally and have been selected to participate in festivals such as the Dudamel Foundation’s “Encounters/Encuentros” in Mexico City, Orquestra Geraçao in Lisbon, Portugal, Festival Groba in Galicia, Spain, Sistema World Orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela, Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra in Pesaro, Italy, National Seminario Ravinia, LA Phil’s YOLA National Festival in Los Angeles, Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, Sphinx Performance Academy, Greenwood Music Camp, Dudamel’s residency at Princeton University, among others.
In 2016, Marielisa and Mariesther Alvarez were chosen among the 100 most influential people for the Hispanic community in Massachusetts. Boston String Aacademy won Mass Cultural Council’s 2019 Commonwealth Awards, which honors exceptional achievement in the arts, humanities, and sciences in the state of Massachusetts. In 2021, our Youth Ensemble was selected by Midori’s Orchestra Residency Program to premiere “Spring Cadenzas” for violin and strings, performed by Midori herself. In 2023, Boston String Aacademy received recognition from the Boston City Council for its contributions dedicated to supporting and promoting Venezuelan culture in the City of Boston and in the Commonwealth. In 2024, Boston String Aacademy’s Youth Ensemble debuted in Carnegie Hall.
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