Juventas New Music Ensemble
The Juventas New Music Ensemble is an instrumental ensemble located in Boston, Massachusetts devoted to performing musical works by composers under the age of 35. Their programming focuses on composers who actively blur the boundaries between popular musical genres and traditional art music. Since its inception, Juventas has received favorable reviews from several Boston publications. History. Juventas was founded in 2005 by Erin Huelskamp, Julia Scott Carey and Mark David Buckles. The three musicians decided to create the ensemble after realizing the difficulties young, unknown composers face in securing performance venues for their works. Huelskamp stated , "We felt young and underrepresented in a musical world that highly values the wisdom and experience that comes with age...the lack of professional opportunities for young composers and musicians is a real problem to which Juventas hopes to provide some solution." The Latin word "juventas" (meaning youth), was chosen to reflect the ensemble's mission. Since 2005, Juventas has regularly performed concerts of new works, including many premieres. The ensemble has also collaborated with other Boston music groups and organizations. In December 2009, Juventas collaborated with the Lorelei Ensemble on a holiday concert entitled "One Light," which featured seven  new works by young composers. The works spanned a variety of subjects including Christmas, Hanukkah, the winter solstice, and Nietzschean philosophy. In September 2010, Juventas performed a concert entitled "The Exquisite Corpse" which utilized dancers from the Boston Conservatory to supplement and accentuate the musical works. The choreography and relevance of the dance to the music received mixed reviews, though on the whole the concert was deemed a success. On this particular program, the oldest composition dated from 2005. Juventas is currently an Ensemble-in-Residence at Boston Conservatory and a visiting Ensemble-in-Residence at Middlebury College. Core members . Juventas consists of ten "core members" who perform in each concert. Other guest artists participate if required for a particular work. The current core members are Oliver Caplan (Artistic Director), Nicholas Southwick (Flute), Wolcott Humphrey (Clarinet), Julia Scott Carey (Piano), Olga Patramanska-Bell (Violin), Thomas Schmidt (Percussion), Ryan Shannon (Violin), Lu Yu (Viola), Minjin Chung (Cello), Kelley Hollis (Soprano), and Anne Howarth (French Horn). Administrative Staff. Board of Directors John Carey, President Leslie Jacobson Kaye Cashman Kerr Prince, Treasurer Alvin Carter III Carson Cooman Leslie Jacobson Kaye Rachel M. Rivkind Karen Ruymann Oliver Caplan, ex officio Juventas New Music Ensemble