About
FROM SEVENTEEN STRANDS OF PURE LIFE FORCE AND UNBRIDLED INVENTIVENESS, THE BRATTLE STREET CHAMBER PLAYERS WEAVE A SILKY FABRIC OF MUSICAL ECSTASY UNRIVALED IN THIS DIMENSION.
"An electrifying mixture of zaniness, bombast, and the finest individual musicianship that harvard has to offer." - the harvard crimson
When they are not saving the universe, the seventeen members of Brattle form one of Harvard College's most exciting musical ensembles. A conductorless string chamber orchestra, Brattle has brought an intimate and dynamic approach to a broad-ranging repertoire of standard, seldom performed, and newly composed music for strings since its founding in 1998.
The Brattle Street Chamber Players was founded to explore a string orchestra and chamber music repertoire largely inaccessible to more traditional Harvard orchestras. A seventeen-(originally thirteen)-member chamber group without conductor or music director, Brattle Street upholds the ideals of musical democracy. Their performances are infused with a fresh approach, reckless dedication to the purest ideals of music making, dashing good looks, and infectious charm. They have garnered rave reviews and a reputation for derring-do, premiering works by Harvard undergraduates and collaborating with ensembles including the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, the Harvard University Choir, and the Harlem Boys Choir.
In March 2006, Black Box Classics released a recording of Rorem's 'A Sermon in Miracles' featuring the Brattle Street Chamber Players in collaboration with the Harvard University Choir. Past programs have included works by Harvard undergraduates, Osvaldo Golijov, Jimi Hendrix, Handel, Mendelssohn, and Japanese anime composers. In the 2012-2013 season we featured the work of undergraduate composers Lydia Brindamour '13 and Phillip Golub '16. We look forward to continuing our tradition of bringing new and exciting music to the Harvard community, and we hope to see you at our performances!
BSCP Fall 2024 Audition info
Available Positions
Auditions are open to all Harvard undergraduates who play Violin (violin applications are now closed), Viola, Cello or Bass.
Audition Requirements
Application Requirements:
Soft deadline for application is September 9, 2024 @ 11:59 PM ET. Applications are open until the day of the audition, but applying after 9/9 will offer you less time to prepare for our chamber music excerpt.
Fill out this form for application: https://forms.gle/4r6ktAJBMu8RLVs4A
After filling out the above application form, sign up for an audition time: https://calendly.com/brattlest-chamberplayers/bscp-fall-2024-auditions
You can find this year’s chamber music excerpts here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UrQz_LDHkaqWPJ0Jz-s5Zpk6jq7flFNt?usp=sharing
**************************************************************************************************************
Information for the live audition:
Location: Holden Chapel
Date: September 15, Sunday from 3:30-6 pm (more time for more audition slots!)
Audition Requirements:
Play ~3 minute excerpt from a solo repertoire, preferably the beginning of the first or third movement of a concerto (or something of that nature) that would demonstrate your technical and musical ability. If we feel that the repertoire that you note in your application will not be demonstrative for the audition, we will contact you and will ask for another option.
Run a short (~10 min) chamber music rehearsal on the indicated chamber work with current BSCP members. Sheet music can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UrQz_LDHkaqWPJ0Jz-s5Zpk6jq7flFNt?usp=sharing
UPcoming | 2023-2024 SEASON
Wiancko, Barber, Tchaikovsky
04/14/24 at 5:30pm || Paine Hall, Harvard University
https://calendar.college.harvard.edu/event/brattle-street-chamber-players-spring-concert
Michi Wiancko -- "La Follia" Variations for String Orchestra (after Germiniani)
Samuel Barber -- Adagio for Strings
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky -- Serenade for Strings
Golijov, Schubert, Wijeratne, Piazzolla
12/10/23 at 4pm || Paine Hall, Harvard University
Osvaldo Golijov -- Tenebrae
Franz Schubert -- Death and the Maiden mvmt. 1
Dinuk Wijeratne -- Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems
Astor Piazzolla -- Fuga y Misterio
RECENT | 2022-2023 sEASON
Shostakovich, Price & Elgar
04/23/23 at 4pm || Paine Hall, Harvard University
25th Anniversary Concert — Spring Visitas 2023
The Brattle Street Chamber Players recently had our 25th Anniversary concert, welcoming back our alums and our founder, Jen Lee Koss, back on campus for a wonderful collaboration and celebration! After the current Brattlers performed Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 (i. Largo, ii. Allegro Molto) and Florence Price’s Andante Moderato from Mvmt. II of String Quartet No. 1, our wonderful alum performers joined us for Sir Edward Elgar’s Introduction and Allego, featuring alums Alex Fortes ‘07, Lily Tsai ‘17, Martine Thomas ‘18, Ethan Cobb ‘22 for soloists.
Take a look at our concert recordings!
the Players
Disclaimer: Many if not all of these bios have some little tidbit of information that may have been included solely for the purposes of entertainment, although many things are partially/completely true facts that are representative of how quirky and incredible the Brattle Street Chamber Players are!
Caleb Graupera ‘28 is a cellist in Thayer from Weston, MA, planing to concentrate in Government and History. He a big fan of the Steelers and Dvořák Czech Suite. His favorite fruit (and snack) is a banana.
Runa Matsushita ‘28 is a violinist in Wigglesworth from Baltimore, MD, planning to concentrate in Psychology. She loves eating toast with jam in the morning and is a fan of anything matcha. She also loves late Beethoven quartets (especially Op. 130)!
Lizzy Huang ‘27 is a violinist in Thayer from Cleveland, OH. She is considering concentrating in Psychology and Economics, and she loves the Schubert cello quintet!
Jack Damon ‘28 is a cellist in Matthews from New York, NY. He planning to study some combination of music, math, physics, or linguistics. He doesn’t have a favorite snack, but a really good bubble tea will make his day, and
Henry Jackson ‘27 is a violinist in Weld from Bloomfield Hills, MI thinking of studying Applied Math!! He loves the blue powerade from Annenberg and walking back to his dorm in the rain listening to the Social Network soundtrack :)
Michelle ("Oh no! the Titanic!") Stern ‘25 is a violinist in Mather House from Queens, NYC.
Hannah (“Antler”) Adler ‘25 is a violinist in Dunster House from Longmeadow, MA studying Environmental Science and Public Policy!! She loves Entr’acte by Caroline Shaw, chips and guac, and working with plants :) She also makes awesome posters and merch for Brattle (thnx Hannah!!)
Paloma So ‘27 is a violinist in Pfoho House from Vancouver and Hong Kong studying Economics. Her drinks of choice are watermelon juice in the summer and london fog lattes in the winter.
Ana Isabel Cardona Izquiel ‘28 is a violist in Matthews from Caracas, Venezuela, planning to study English. She loves Beethoven’s Cavatina, clementines, Tostitos Hint of Lime chips, and is addicted to Pure Leaf Tea Lemon.
Hana ("It's dark out. I need a") Lampson ‘25 is a violist in Lowell House from Philadelphia, PA.
Enako (“Enacho-taco-Mozzarella”) Matsumoto ‘25 is a violinist in Lowell House from Tokyo / New York City.
Matthew (“Santa”) Ho (Ho Ho!!) ‘25 is a violinist in Lowell House from Plano, TX.
Kobby Owusu ‘27 is a cellist in Strauss from Cleveland, Ohio. He is planning to concentrate in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and loves drinking IBC Root Beer and eating mango and cheetos.
Krystal Sun ‘28 is a violinist in Pennypacker from Closter, NJ. She is planning to concentrate in Neurobiology. She loves listening to Shoenfield’s Café Music and drinking Celsius or coffee.
Elizabeth Norris ‘27 is a cellist in Quincy House from Rochester, NY! She is considering concentrating in Computational Neuroscience and Music and loves green grapes and iced lattes.
Cal Alexander ‘27 is a violinist in Wigglesworth from Shreveport, LA!!! He is thinking of concentrating in History & Literature and Sociology. His favorite snack is milk and cookies, and he likes to read with a cup of tea in the morning :)
Brendon Lau ‘26 is a violist in Winthrop from Albertson, NY! He studies Music + Economics and loves to sight read chamber music :)
Chelsie (Chel"see Me Roll") Lim ‘26 is a cellist Thayer from Cresskill, NJ.
ALUMNI
Josh (“Sigma”) Cai ‘24 is a violist in Quincy House from Mt. Sinai, NY.
Isaiah (“Showed up") Kim '23 is a cellist in Quincy House from Wallingford, PA. He thinks the Brahms Violin Concerto is a phenomenal piece, and he's definitely right about that. He is actually willing to debate anyone who dare oppose him on the greatness of the Brahms Violin Concerto. His favorite late night activity is sleeping so he can wake up early to work out. And, he loves drinking water from HUDS after his workouts.
Sam Zacharia (Sam “Pistachio” Zachar-YEE-a ‘21) is a junior concentrating in economics. Despite living in the quad, he hates the shuttle and walks to every class while listening to Harry Potter with his purple BeatsTM headphones. In his free time, he enjoys mocking Will Yao, beating Nathan Le at pool, and complaining about Souvenir de Florence.
Anthony Choi ‘23 is a junior cellist residing in Hollis. At the moment, he's undecided about his concentration, but he's definitely not undecided that his favorite fruit is mango and his favorite beverage is Ramune. He is also a formidable volleyball player who loves listening to Mendelssohn's piano trio in C minor.
Diana Wang, (Dianasaurus Rex '20), is a proud Kirklander studying Neurobiology and Social Anthropology. Her true love is for her home state of Washington, where she enjoys sitting in hammocks, smelling pine trees, and drinking coffee. She would also like you to know that the only thing as strong as her hatred for popcorn is her LOVE for sheep and Rachmaninoff Piano Concert No. 2.
Angela Tang (Orangula Tang, '20) is a violinist in Leverett House concentrating in Applied Math. When she isn't perusing her Facebook feed, which consists entirely of corgi/samoyed/shib videos, she likes to do crossword puzzles with her roommate and cook dinner in her beautiful DeWolfe kitchen. Angela also likes live jazz and nighttime strolls by the river. Her spirit animal is a scallion.
Audrey Chen (Eight, Nine, Chen, Let's do it again! '18) was in Kirkland House studying Molecular and Cellular Biology. She is also in the five year Harvard/NEC joint degree program, where she studies cello with Laurence Lesser. Audrey enjoys telling anti-jokes, eating japanese food, and playing basketball at 4 am in the morning, where she possesses the uncanny skill of predicting which team will always lose in a pickup game.
Sofia Tong (Hot Cheetos '20) is a Currier Tree. Apart from putting her disproportionately long arms to use on the viola, Sofia really likes cooking and eating, lying on the ground, saving plants from negligent caregivers like John Lim, and carrying around boxes of cash. You can spot Sofia from far away because of her clashing neon orange backpack and bright red coat.
Nick Pelletier (NEC '19) is a senior studying viola performance at NEC. He enjoys eating donkatsu, drinking boba tea, and singing karaoke while running along the Charles. Like the Yaoster, he is quite the multitasker. He also loves molecular cellular biology and Nintendo.
Enchi Chang (Enchilada '17) was in Lowell House concentrating in neurobiology with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. A violinist in BSCP, Enchi loves karaoke, eating good food, travelling, doing yoga, and dancing. Her favorite food is eggs, and she will eat ANYTHING made out of eggs. Her favorite color is sky blue.
Sasha Scolnik Brower (Sooshasaurus Sash '17) was in Winthrop House and a cellist in BSCP. He was in the Harvard/NEC joint degree program and concentrated in English at Harvard College. Aside from being in BSCP, Sasha engaged in a wide variety of ensembles on campus, including serving as conductor of BachSoc and Harvard College Opera. Sasha loves his conducting just as much as he loves sugary cereals and writing poetry about being hungry.
Gordon “Truuuu” Ma , Class of 2019, violin, is from North Carolina and currently lives in Holworthy. He hopes to concentrate in Physics with a possible secondary in Economics. Gordon's favorite classical recording is Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations (1981) by J.S. Bach. Aside from classical music, he enjoys long walks, deep talks and biking in his free time. He also really likes people who give good hugs. Martine gives good hugs. Therefore, Gordon likes Martine.
Sumire Hirotsuru (Sumiley Cyrus '16), violin, concentrated in Music with a secondary in Global Health and was a beloved resident of Dunster House. Sumire was also President of the Brattle Street Chamber Players and the Harvard Early Music Society. She loves Japanese food, Broadway musicals, Japanese kabuki theater, and buying clothes.
Ryan Murphy (Ryanoceros, self-proclaimed manager of snacks '14), played the violin and was in the Harvard/NEC joint program. Ryan enjoyed riding the bus to NEC and he is often more spotted on the bus to and from NEC than in rehearsal.
Jeremiah Blacklow (No Nickname :( '19) was a violinist in Brattle. All he had to do for move-in day was walk – no joke—Jeremiah is actually from Harvard Square. He hopes to concentrate in either the earth sciences, Russian literature, or music. Aside from classical music, Jeremiah loves jazz, ultimate Frisbee, pool, and foosball. He is a huge patriots fan and he secretly wishes from time to time that he could be watching football instead of rehearsing on Sundays.
Mariel Werner (Werner - hardly even know her! '16), in Dunster House, played the cello in Brattle Street Chamber Players. She concentrated in applied math and loves Italian food, literature, and all things feline.
("Walt") Sidney(+) Lee ‘26 is a violist in Weld from Chicago, IL.
Sean (“Loves”) Yu ‘26 is a cellist in Hollis from Rye, NY.
Katherine ("Kat in the") Zhu '23 is a violinist in Quincy House from San Diego, CA, and a prospective Social Studies concentrator. Her favorite early morning activity is sleeping in late. This is probably because she can often be found up very late at night listening to Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 3 or Rhapsody in Blue while enjoying her favorite beverage, the Starbuck's Dragon Drink. She's a multitalented artist and is also involved in various theatre productions on campus.
Ethan Cobb (Do You Ethan Lift '22) is a cellist and senior. Things he likes: chicken fingers, the color sky blue, Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, basketball, and developing random passions. (That last one sounds like a great bullet point for a resume, Ethan.) He also comes from a family comprised completely of musicians.
William Yao (Yaoster '22) is a violinist and senior residing in Kirkland. Running, ping pong, and watching tennis are activities that he enjoys, always simultaneously. He loves the Mendelssohn string quartets but when he's trying to sound hip, he'll tell you his favorite composer is Schoenberg. And yes, Cecilia is his older (and superior) sibling.
James Hotchkiss (Hotchback of Notre Dame '18) was in Kirkland House concentrating in pure math. He was the sole bassist of BSCP - a very precious commodity. James loves drinking tea, going to bed early, and waking up at 4 am in the morning to begin his long day. James is also a big fan of the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Commons, and the Boston "Ride the Duck" Tours. James lives twenty minutes away from Boston.
Lucy Frucht (Flucy '22) is a senior violinist in Quincy studying History and Science. She loves the Schubert cello quintet and the Brahms quartets (she's basic). She really enjoys lime seltzer and iced lattes; maybe someday she will invent a beverage that is a combination of the two. Other pastimes include the NYT daily mini crossword, going to Trader Joes and listening to her favorite note: E flat.
John Lim (The JLimit does not exist '20), is a violist in Mather House concentrating in History and Literature. John has two favorite foods: edamame and french fries, and it may very well not be a coincidence that his favorite color is edamame green. John's other hobbies include watching the squirrels of Harvard Yard, dogspotting, and being cool but staying safe, as demonstrated in his picture.
Willie Swett ‘22 is a sophomore in Pfoho, and our fearless bassist. He maintains a deep respect for ethics, literature, and walrus fetuses. In high school, Willie was a pretty pro wrestler. Now he is in the Brattle Street Chamber Players. Willie’s main hobby is fight club.
Alyssa Kim ‘22 is a sophomore in Mather. Though she’s only been in Brattle a short time, she’s already realized that her least favorite person in Brattle is that Asian violinist. We definitely know who she's talking about. ;) When she isn’t playing the violin, she often can be found extracting other people’s blackheads or reminiscing on her past experiences as a pad thai eating competition champion.
Bobae Johnson (Bobacado '21) is a junior violinist living in Cabot, thinking about concentrating in physics. She enjoys running, all three of the Beethoven Op. 59 quartets, and studiously avoiding avocados. Here's a fun fact: she started on the viola and switched to the violin!
Jonathan Chu (Chu Chu Train '21) is a junior living in Weld. He hopes to concentrate in physics, economics, or computer science, and enjoys playing Tetris and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. His spirit animal is a rabbit, which means that he secretly hopes to join the best house: Leverett.
Emma Frucht (High Fructose '17) was in Winthrop House. Aside from being President of Brattle, where she plays violin, Emma is also a concentrator in History of Art and Architecture. Emma boasts a wide variety of accomplishments, including being one of a few people that you'll meet who has gone to Bhutan. Emma is also very experienced in the art of receiving packages from Amazon, where in a span of two weeks she has probably received more packages than anyone has received in their lives. Aside from loving Bhutan and Amazon Prime, Emma also loves dogs and Greek Mythology.
Cecilia Yao (Yao Ming '18) was a violinist in BSCP and a resident of Leverett House. Aside from pursuing music, she concentrated in East Asian Studies with a focus in modern China. Her spirit animal is the squash, because she aspires to be sustainable and nutritious, just like the winter gourd. She sometimes acknowledges the existence of her younger brother, William, who is also in the ensemble.
Harry Adams (Harry Adams '20) was a violist in BSCP and is a junior at Boston University. Harry enjoys spending time with his good friend Sasha (sashimi kebab) and eating good food.
Clare Criscione (Croissant Clare '19) is a resident of Mather House and was a violinist in BSCP. She is concentrating neurobiology and just when you thought she couldn't do more...she is doing everything she does while fitting in all those pre-med requirements. Clare also enjoys playing the guitar and the tambourine, singing, biking, and taking long walks on the beach. Her favorite color is blue, and her favorite foods are carrots and kale.
Catherine Deskur ‘24 is a double bassist in Quincy House from Vestal, NY.
Nathan Le (NathanCLe ‘21) is a senior in Currier House. He loves the cello section. Hmm. His main hobby is walking back to the quad to avoid his least favorite animals (mice that live in the river houses). He definitely did not watch and laugh as his friend ate an entire toothpaste Oreo because Nathan is an incredibly sweet friend!
Alex ("said he would") Koller (“but didn't”) ‘22 is a violist in Pforzheimer House from Orlando, FL.
Nate Steele (Man of Steel '22) is a senior cellist. His hobbies include coffee drinking, camping, running, attempting to play other instruments, and dogs. His spirit animal is the dog. Can you tell Nate is a fan of dogs? His favorite pieces include Beethoven Symphonies 3-9, Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5, and anything by the Rolling Stones. He's thinking about studying social studies or music.
Allison Pao (Kung Pao Chicken '21) is a violinist and a sophomore. She has lived in NYC, Nashville, and Switzerland, and she currently resides in Wigglesworth. She loves trying new food, collecting twisty puzzles, going on long walks with no destination, and watching sad rom coms. Her favorite color is olive green, and we agree.
Brian Zhao (Lebrian James '19) is a cellist in Cabot House concentrating in Economics. He is a third year in the Harvard/NEC joint degree program, and he loves playing basketball with his studiomates. Brian also enjoys running, watching chef videos on Youtube, reading articles on The Players' Tribune, chilling with friends, and eating. Brian will eat almost anything. Anything. But his favorite food is avocado toast with a sunny-side egg.
Andrew Lee ‘21 is a junior in Adams House. He says his favorite person in Brattle is Bobae, and we are 100% sure that he didn’t write this because he knew Bobae would be the one reading his responses. He really likes Takemitsu and mopping the Sigma Chi basement. Same, Andrew! Once, a rat ran over his foot at the Harvard T stop and he screamed like a child.
Sasha Yakub (Sashimi Kebab '20) is a violinist in BSCP. A resident of Currier House, Sasha is planning to concentrate in music. Aside from composing and playing lots of contemporary music, Sasha loves to forage for wild (but edible) mushrooms in random forests around the area, and he also loves to eat stroopwafels. One of his favorite classes this year is Russian 113: Advanced Readings in Russian Literature.
Lev Mamuya (Mamuyus '18) was a cellist in BSCP and was in Mather House. Lev is also in the Harvard/NEC joint program, studying with Paul Katz. Lev enjoys writing poetry, composing, and hanging out with good company. He also resonates deeply with the ocelot, his one true spirit animal that has defined him since freshman year.
Faith Pak (Ol' Faithful '19) is a violist in Pforzheimer House concentrating in comparative literature. She enjoys drinking tea, watching nature documentaries, doing yoga, and playing video games. Faith also loves to eat kimchi pancakes, and her favorite colors are mint green and navy blue. Faith is one of those people who Faithfully writes in her journal, and the pastime is so enjoyable for her that she often does it in class when the teacher is not looking.
Lily Tsai (Pyotr Ililych Tsaikovsky '17), a violinist in BSCP, was a CS major in Pforzheimer House and the webmaster for BSCP. In her free time, she enjoys readings anything from philosophy to sci-fi, hiking through mountains and forests, and arranging music for interesting instrumentations. Basically, Lily is good at everything, and there are hundreds of adoring CS50 students who line up at her dorm every day for autographs.
Andree Werner (Andrée the Giant '16), resident of Dunster House, played the cello in Brattle Street Chamber Players. She concentrated in applied math and loves Italian food, literature, surfing, and all things cereal.
Christine Hong, violin, Class of 2019, was born in Seoul, South Korea but moved to the cornfields of Omaha, Nebraska when she was six. She is now considered a native of Westwood, MA. Christine plans to concentrate in economics while staying on a premed track at Harvard. She loves cooking and exploring obscure hidden places. She is also an expert baker, although it is ironic that she has been unable to succeed in baking cornbread, despite having lived among corn since she was a little girl.
George Meyer (Curious George '15) played the viola in Brattle Street Chamber Players and was in Quincy House. He also plays the violin, writes music, and studies English. George enjoys scuba diving in Boston Harbor.
Stella Chen (Stella Artois), '15, is the best.
Martine Thomas (The Great Martini '18) is a resident of Kirkland House and a violist in BSCP. She is also a fourth year in the Harvard/NEC joint degree program, studying with Martha Katz, in addition to concentrating in English at Harvard. Martine loves to eat mint chocolate chip ice cream, fresh carrots, berries, and beans. She enjoys writing poetry, having picnics along the river, and eating avocados.
Carl Rogers (Mr.Rogers '16), a member of Dunster House, was a violinist in Brattle and a Linguistics concentrator with a related field in Chinese. He is also learning Taiwanese, and his pronunciation is incredibly good. Carl was also involved with many other extracurriculars on campus, including teaching ESL, drinking tea, and cats.
media
Contact Us for bookings and other inquiries through this form