Ollie Becker, June Violet Aino, Edward Longo and The Bicentennial Memorial Accordion Choir
ollie becker, june violet aino, edward longo: suite for string quartet
the bicentennial memorial accordion choir
sunday, april 13, 2025, at 8pm
First Church in Jamaica Plain (Parish Hall)
6 Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain
Doors: 7:30pm, Music: 8pm
Admission: $15 general / $10 for members and students (No one turned away for lack of funds)
For information about accessibility call the church at 617-221-3059 or email susanna@nonevent.org.
Non-Event is pleased to present an evening of string quartets by Ollie Becker, June Violet Aino, and Edward Longo, plus a performance by New England’s only experimental accordion ensemble, The Bicentennial Memorial Accordion Choir.
About the program
The Bicentennial Memorial Accordion Choir honors the two centuries that have passed since the accordion's invention. In long-form pieces, they mix lush, percussive, and discordant instrumentation with traditional European-American melodies. The members of BMAC hail from the greater Boston and Providence areas.
A suite of music for string quartet by Ollie Becker (Rong, Obsolescence Technician) that includes two pieces written in collaboration with June Violet Aino (Space Camp) and Edward Longo (Skin Tension, Sunken Basilica). The string quartet features violinists Natalie Boberg and Caroline Jesalva, violist Julian Seney, and cellist Jason A. Coleman.
About the composers
Ollie Becker is a composer/improviser/guitarist/vocalist based out of Boston. Current projects include: solo guitar, noise rock band Rong, experimental grind band Obsolescence Technician, the ensemble Premium Velvet Headache Pillow, and composition for chamber groups. In 2024 they received a Mass Cultural Council Grant for Creative Individuals and attended residencies hosted by the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the Australian Art Orchestra, and the Prattsville Art Center. They are also a studio assistant at New Alliance Audio in Somerville.
June Violet Aino is a composer, performer, and educator based in Cummington, MA. After receiving her Masters of Music in Composition from the Hartt School in 2021, June returned to their undergraduate alma mater, Central Connecticut State University, as an Assistant Professor of Music. There they teach a variety of music technology and composition courses. Compositionally, June’s aesthetic focuses on visceral sonic events, exploring the latest music technologies, and pushing the bounds of traditional music notation.
Edward Longo is a multi-instrumentalist composer/improviser from Montana, currently based in Nashville. Current interests are exploring novel ways of combining raw black metal and noise with rigorous compositional techniques and harmonies as well as classical and jazz improv.
About the quartet
Violinist Natalie Boberg is a versatile soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. Her playing has been noted by Vijay Gupta of Street Symphony and the LA Philharmonic as, “beautifully personal, with instincts that are so on.” Natalie made her debut as a soloist with the Utah Symphony in 2018, performing Mark O’Connor’s Double Violin Concerto under Maestro Connor Covington. Natalie has also appeared as a soloist with the Colburn Chamber Orchestra alongside Anne Akiko Meyers, Lake Avenue Chamber Orchestra, and Gifted Music School Chamber Orchestra. In national chamber music competitions, Natalie placed second at University of Michigan’s MPrize Competition, and medaled bronze at Pasadena Conservatory of Music’s national competition. Her summer endeavors include time spent at the Music Academy of the West, Domaine Forget, Aspen Music Festival and School, Meadowmount School of Music, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Caroline Jesalva is a violinist, improviser, and curator based in Chicago, IL Caroline has held fellowships with YellowBarn Young Artists, Bang On A Can, Black House Collective, A Far Cry, and Quince Ensemble. As a soloist, she has performed in Jordan Hall (MA), Moeser Auditorium (NC), Purin Hall (WA), and Meymandi Hall (NC). Caroline actively collaborates as one-fifth of the improvising collective Banana Acid, Adiaphora Ensemble, and regularly performs in duos with cellist Katinka Kleijn, saxophonist Sarah Clausen, and Aaron Kaufman-Levine. She is the co-founder of Subject to Change, a national commissioning project to perform, record, and publish new works for two violins by women and gender diverse composers. She studied at the New England Conservatory, and is currently violinist of the Crossing Borders Quartet.
Violist Julian Seney performs classical music, contemporary music, and as an improviser. He enjoys collaborating with people in any context and learning new ways to communicate musically. He also loves teaching, and works as a teaching artist at the Coop High School in New Haven. He currently performs as a member of Trio Animoso and is finishing a Masters in music at the Yale School of Music.
Boston-based freelance cellist and composer Jason A. Coleman has degrees from Tufts University and the New England Conservatory. He takes part in numerous orchestral, chamber, and theatrical productions around Boston and New England. His own works, commissions, and arrangements have been performed throughout the United States.
