Far Cry, A

The Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry has sought to redefine orchestral music for the contemporary scene. The group has no permanent conductor and avoids hierarchical organization. Consisting of 18 musicians who call themselves "Criers," A Far Cry was founded in 2007 by a group of Boston musicians. The group's membership has ranged in age from about 25 to 36 and has consisted mostly of American conservatory and music school graduates. A Far Cry has no permanent conductor and no hierarchy among the musicians; when a conductor is needed, the members take turns leading the group and rotate as section leaders in rehearsal. It rehearses in a storefront in the Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain. In 2009, the group began a residency at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; it has also toured the U.S., playing in such venues as Columbia University's Miller Theatre and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York, Washington Performing Arts, and Toronto's Royal Conservatory. The year 2009 also saw A Far Cry release its debut album, Debut, on its own A Far Cry label. The group has performed with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, among other soloists, toured Europe in 2012 and performed in unconventional venues such as Boston's Royale Nightclub. Its programming is innovative and often combines established repertory with new music, such as the Piano Concerto No. 3 of Philip Glass, which the orchestra commissioned. A Far Cry has issued recordings devoted to Piazzolla (on Azica Records) and Mozart (with pianist Markus Schirmer on Paladino Music) before founding its own label, Crier, in 2014. Its first release for that label, Dreams & Prayers, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2015 for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance; it featured music concerned with Christian, Jewish, and Islamic spirituality. A Far Cry and pianist Simone Dinnerstein issued Circles, combining the Glass Piano Concerto No. 3 with Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 7, BWV 1058, in 2018. That year, the group also released the album Visions & Variations on the Crier label. A Far Cry joined the chamber ensemble Shara Nova for the 2022 Nonesuch release The Blue Hour and returned the following year on the New Amsterdam label, backing keyboardist Awadagin Pratt on the album Stillpoint.
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