Owls: 'Rare Birds'

Following his March 2 performance of Shifting Ground, violinist Alexi Kenney joins his ensemble Owls, a “dream group” (The New York Times) — founded by Kenney, Ayane Kozasa, Paul Wiancko, and Gabriel Cabezas — for a performance of music from their 2025 album Rare Birds. With its “inverted quartet” configuration (two cellos, violin, viola), the lack of prewritten music turned out to be liberating. Guided by the simple maxim that “all four of us must completely love everything we play,” these friends and highly in-demand collaborators present a program of minimalism, folk music, contemporary, and baroque music, plus compositions by ensemble member (and Kronos Quartet cellist) Wiancko, borne from an unspoken ease of communication, trust, and a joyful, raucous abandon in their music-making. 

This performance will include a piece titled Aegolius by Gabriella Smith, commissioned by Nova Linea Musica and Yale Schwarzman Center.

Following the performance, please join us for a post-concert talk with Owls, moderated by Yale School of Music faculty Katherine Balch.