Described as “classical turned loose in the toy store,” “top-flight,” and “imaginative,” fivebyfive is an award-winning, artist-led ensemble known for its impeccable musicianship and adventurous spirit that permeates innovative, cross-genre programming and community engagement.
fivebyfive’s mission is to engage and inspire audiences in the collaborative spirit
and creativity of today’s chamber music.
To realize its mission, fivebyfive performs music by the most exciting living composers with unforgettable musical experiences, advocating for creators who are underrepresented in the field and collaborating with partners across a wide array of disciplines.
fivebyfive’s 2023-2024 season, “Dichotomies” began with its program Old & New: Sephardic Reflections in collaboration with Pegasus Early Music and artist Lynne Feldman. Sephardic music has its roots in the musical traditions of the Jewish communities in medieval Spain and medieval Portugal. Programs will be presented at Temple Beth El in Rochester, with other performances in the Western NY/Finger Lakes region. Music includes a new arrangement of Brazilian composer Clarice Assad’s Sephardic Suite, and a new setting of three Sephardic songs by Eastman graduate Keane Southard. The two ensembles, fivebyfive and Pegasus Early Music, will treat audiences to “old” and “new” versions of the sephardic tunes featured in the concert, with artist Lynne Feldman’s original tapestries celebrating Jewish life shared as part of the performance.
In October, 2023, the group released their third album, breath & fire, with eight new pieces for the ensemble. Music by Evan Williams, Marc Mellits, Brittany J. Green, Kari Telstad Sundet, Miguel del Aguila, Marc Mellits, and Sarah Kirkland Snider explore pieces inspired by breath (ones that have a sense of expansion and contraction and a connection to and awareness of the current moment) and by fire (ones that have
energetic movement, intensity, heat.)
“Dichotomies” continued with a celebration of the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse. With its Light & Dark: Eclipse Music program, fivebyfive continues its mission to create new creative and collaborative experiences for its audiences. fivebyfive presented its eclipse-inspired program Light & Dark: Eclipse Music in Rochester at the Rochester Museum and Science Center’s Planetarium and other communities within the path of totality.
fivebyfive was awarded funding from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) including a three-year organization award and an artist support awards for new works by composers Jessica Meyer, Emily Princeton, and Roberto Sierra. In 2021 the group was chosen as a New Music USA Organizational Development Fund Recipient and that same year received the Chamber Music America Commissioning Grant Award with composer/harpist Amy Nam. In 2023, fivebyfive appeared at The DROM in NYC to present a showcase performance as part of the national conference of Chamber Music America. fivebyfive is supported in the Rochester region with support from Rochester Community Foundation, Farash Foundation, and Genesee Valley Council on the Arts.
fivebyfive has appeared on WXXI Classical 91.5’s programs Backstage Pass and Live from Hochstein, was featured on Performance Rochester and Performance Upstate, and has also appeared nationally on American Public Media’s Performance Today with host Fred Child.
fivebyfive became a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization in 2017, and has released three albums, breath & fire (2023), Of and Between (2021) and The Play Album (2023).
fivebyfive
Laura Lentz (Artistic Director, flute)
Marcy Bacon (clarinet)
Ken Luk (electric guitar)
Eric J. Polenik (bass)
Haeyeun Jeun (piano)
Marc Webster (Executive Director, audio and video artist)
Board
Marcy Bacon (Secretary)
Joëlla Becker
Epongue Ekille
Emma Gierzsal (President)
Laura Lentz
Eric J. Polenik (Treasurer)
Will Pyle
Marc Webster
Advisory Board
Larry Francer (Co-Chair)
Laura Lentz (Co-Chair)
Armand Hall
Debora McDell-Hernandez
Petar Kodzas
Evan Meccarrello
Melissa Moody
Jean Pedersen
Jon Russell
Mona Seghatoleslami
Photo credit:
Robert Cooper