Nonprofit Spotlight: Horizon Ensemble

Horizon Ensemble is a Boston-based orchestra dedicated to performing orchestral and chamber music by young living composers alongside the diverse repertoire of history. Through concerts, collaborations and community events, it seeks to foster appreciation for classical music across the ages and to build community among artists and audiences in Boston and beyond.

What They Do

As part of its annual concert series, each Horizon Ensemble performance features at least one piece by a young living composer, often local to Boston, while also drawing on the rich repertoire of the past. Concerts often feature music by women and by composers of color, whose music the organization is committed to promoting.

An example is the ensemble’s upcoming May 31 performance “Bridge”, featuring a 1911 work by Frank Bridge, an English composer, violist and conductor, as well as recent works by Ruth Hertzman-Miller and the ensemble’s executive director Julian Gau, both inspired by the Harvard Bridge across the Charles River. Meanwhile, its February concert “Stronger Together” included the premiere of pieces by Boston-based composers Gaston Gosselin and Veronica Kao, as well as Southern Harmony by Black American composer Ulysses Kay, which previously had no publicly available recordings.

The ensemble strives to make music accessible to a wide audience. Its concerts are offered free of charge, both in-person and by livestream, and are physically accessible to guests with disabilities. Concert speeches and program notes describing each piece enable its performances to be enjoyed by both long-time classical music fans and newcomers to the genre.

Horizon Ensemble also collaborates with various arts organizations and community groups to advance their missions while bringing classical music to a wider audience. Recent examples include collaborations with the Trident Poetry Collective, the Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe, Boston Summer Opera, and the QT Library.

Their Impact

Since its founding in 2021, the ensemble has performed 20 concerts in the heart of Boston and participated in four opera productions. It has collaborated with 33 different composers to present new works, including 22 world premieres. Its first recorded album is set to release in March. By supporting the development of emerging composers, Horizon Ensemble is investing in the future of composition while building community in the music world.

Learn more about Horizon Ensemble at https://www.horizonensemble.org.

Horizon Ensemble is currently participating in Nonprofit Net's Leadership Acceleration Program, engaging in a year of leadership growth and strategic partnership.