The program includes world premieres from three composers. Alaina Ferris — described by The New York Times as "arrestingly lovely" and "haunting" — is an interdisciplinary composer, poet, and Celtic harpist whose work spans opera, choral music, and contemporary theater. Samn Johnson, whose 2024 album 'Consolation' on Innova Recordings was praised by Under The Radar, writes for chamber ensembles using historical tuning systems and ancient languages. Cindy Lan, violist and Queens Art Fund grantee, explores voice, strings, and electronics through her project 'Breath & Bow Meditations'.

The Ondine Quartet — violinists Ariana Cappon and Chloe Kim, violist Cindy Lan, and cellist Sara Song — performs with Berí and premieres all three composers' new works. A New York ensemble celebrated for programs spanning Beethoven to Gabriella Smith, they are a 2024 Chamber Music America Ensemble Forward grantee and made their Downtown Music debut in 2023.

This is a seated performance. If you require accessibility accommodations, please email boxoffice@nationalsawdust.org.

ABOUT LOREN BERÍ

Loren Berí’s album release performance will feature new songs from his upcoming album ‘Stagehand’, performed with string ensemble Ondine Quartet. The album will be released alongside a book of accompanying poems. Berí is a New York‐based singer‐songwriter whose work blends lush chamber textures with catchy indie; his songs like “My Brooklyn (Is Better Than Yours)” have been praised for their inventive storytelling and charismatic performance style. FLOOD Magazine called his breakout single a “wildly magnetic—and hilarious—homage to NYC,” highlighting its bubbly synths and clever lyricism. His music has also been featured in Earmilk, 1883 Magazine, TMRW Magazine, and Tonitruale. Recent collaborations include the song “Al Pacino” with Glassio; contributions from Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms For Peace, Dirty Projectors) throughout ‘Alby’s Ghost’; and his song “Greta’s Inn” from Alby’s Ghost, featuring Kishi Bashi, which was included in Fortnite. In addition to his music career, Berí has directed episodes for television on BRIC TV, and holds a degree in Playwriting.

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ABOUT ALAINA FERRIS

Alaina Ferris is an interdisciplinary composer, poet, and performer working in opera, choral music, and contemporary theater. Described by The New York Times as “arrestingly lovely” and

“haunting,” her music explores empathy, memory, resilience, and the impact of violence against women. A vocalist, pianist, and Celtic harpist, she draws on experience as a music therapist and influences from Renaissance chorales, classical orchestrations, jazz, folk improvisation, and avant-garde poetics. 

She performs on harp with Night Heron Quintet and is one half of the folk duo Physical Kids. Her recent works include The Lydian Gale Parr (oratorio/incantation), Simone at the Museum (vampire opera in development), and collaborations on adaptations of The Blind and The Black Crook, among others. She has worked with Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Barnard College, César Alvarez, Coco Karol, Sxip Shirey, Anne Waldman, and William Burke.

Ferris has received fellowships and grants from Hermitage Artist Residency, NYC Women’s Fund, New Music USA, Cité Internationale des Arts, American Opera Project, and National Sawdust Summerlab. Born in Las Vegas and raised in Boulder County, Colorado, she holds a B.A. in Music and Creative Writing (University of Denver), an M.F.A. in Poetry (NYU), and an M.M. in Composition (Manhattan School of Music). She lives in New York.

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ABOUT SAMN JOHNSON

Samn Johnson (he/they, b. 1991) is a composer whose work merges arcane technical interests with a plainspoken emotional directness. Their music often explores memory and the reception of historical material, uniting premodern and contemporary musical languages in a surreal kaleidoscoping of time. Johnson’s work spans solo keyboard music, electronics, vocal music, chamber music, and orchestra.

Drawing on an abiding interest in historical linguistics, they frequently set texts in old languages including Latin, Old English, Hittite, and Gothic. Tuning and acoustics are another throughline, with many works involving historical temperaments and Just Intonation.

Collaborators include JACK Quartet, Righteous GIRLS, Chromic Duo, harpsichordist Nathan Mondry, and conductor Elim Chan. Their 2024 album Consolation, released on Innova Recordings, sets Latin texts from The Consolation of Philosophy for the non-binary vocalist Tis Kaoru Zamler-Carhart and electronics. Under The Radar described the work as “uniting seemingly divergent fields, crafting compositions that feel like equal parts academic works and complex experimentalist art pieces.” Earlier releases include Ageless Sea (2022), for chamber choir, chamber orchestra, electronics, and rock band, and First Book for Piano (2022), performing their own piano music. Johnson is also one half of the synth-pop duo Acraea.

Johnson holds an M.M. in Composition and Music Theory from NYU, a B.M.A. in Composition from the University of Michigan, and was a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival. They currently live and work in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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ABOUT CINDY LAN

Cindy Lan is a violist, composer, and songwriter from Queens, NY. Since 2019, she has explored her inner emotional world through the interplay of voice, strings, and electronics in her project ‘Breath & Bow Meditations’. She is a 2025 recipient of the Queens Art Fund New Work grant for the development of her interdisciplinary dance piece, “Sadness isn’t any louder than joy”. Cindy performs with Isogram and is a contributing performer for “Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia” by Sugar Vendil, which premiered at Pioneers Go East Collective’s Out-FRONT! Fest. in January 2026. Her string quartet, Ondine Quartet, was a 2024 Chamber Music America Ensemble Forward grantee, and she is a 2025 Marble House Project Artist-in-Residence. Since 2023, she has been the Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Orchestra, and holds an MM in Viola Performance from the Eastman School of Music. 

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ABOUT THE ONDINE QUARTET

The Ondine Quartet is comprised of violinists Ariana Cappon and Chloe Kim, violist Cindy Lan, and cellist Sara Song-a New York–based ensemble celebrated for its vibrant, wide-ranging programs spanning classical masterworks to contemporary music. Following their acclaimed 2023 Downtown Music debut, they continue to present dynamic performances featuring composers from Beethoven to Gabriella Smith. Each member brings a rich and diverse musical background, performing as soloists, chamber musicians, and collaborators across prestigious venues in New York, Europe, and beyond. Committed to both tradition and innovation, the quartet explores everything from Mozart to modernist works, championing new music while creating engaging experiences for audiences.