About Music and Silk: An Ancient Animal and a Shorebird’s Survival
Join Arpeggione Ensemble and silk artist Susan Quateman for a lively evening of music, visual art, and conversation exploring the intertwined lives of the horseshoe crab, a “living fossil”, and the migratory red knot.
This behind-the-scenes program offers a closer look at the science, ecology, and human-created challenges shaping their survival. Through conversation, selected chamber works performed on historical instruments, and an exhibit of silk paintings inspired by these species, the artists share the creative process behind their developing interdisciplinary project.
Our program will illuminate both the ecological story at the heart of the work and the artistic choices that bring it to life. Arpeggione members Andrea LeBlanc, flute; Thomas Carroll, clarinet; and April Sun, piano will perform chamber music reflecting the ancient stillness of the horseshoe crab and the urgent migratory rhythm of the red knot. Susan Quateman’s silk paintings depict stories of loss that turn towards restoration and renewal.
Art in the Landscape Exhibition: If your schedule allows, we welcome you to arrive early and take a walk around the grounds of Castle Hill, where you can view our new Art in the Landscape Exhibition: The Land Tells our Stories. This sculpture created by Maine-based artist Posey Moulton, invites viewers to reflect on environmental impacts on The Great Marsh, and explore how reclaimed materials that wash up as marine debris can be repurposed into art. The sculpture will be on view from May through October 2026.
Accessibility:The event space is ADA accessible. For accessible parking/access, please contact the event coordinator in advance and accessible parking and arrival instructions will be provided.
Space is limited for this event and pre-registration is required.
All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Refunds/Exchanges: Refunds and/or Exchanges must be requested at least 7 days in advance. In the case of event cancellation, you will be notified via the email address used to register and fully refunded within 14 business days.
Membership: To locate information about your Membership, including Member ID, expiration date, and more, please visit https://tickets.thetrustees.org/membership.
Tickets: To look up your tickets or re-send an email confirmation, please visit: https://tickets.thetrustees.org/orders.
About the Artists:
With a sound described as “beautifully warm” (Herald Times) and “sweet and agile” (New York Times), clarinetist and instrument builder Thomas Carroll performs extensively throughout North America and Europe on historical instruments. He holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University, and The Royal Conservatoire of The Hague.
Andrea LeBlanc is a flutist and innovative arts leader. Praised for her “sensitive and beautiful playing, with crystalline tone and execution” (Early Music America) she has appeared with ensembles including Mercury Houston, Philharmonie Austin, Bach Collegium San Diego, Boston Early Music Festival, Aston Magna, Boston Baroque, Handel and Haydn Society, Blue Hill Bach Festival, and the Big Moose Bach Festival. She has worked with conductors such as Raphaël Pichon, Marin Alsop, Masaaki Suzuki, and Joshua Rifkin, and appears on recordings with Handel and Haydn, Boston Baroque, and Arpeggione Ensemble. As co-founder and co-director of Arpeggione, Andrea is passionate about creating accessible, immersive community experiences. Equally at home on the concert stage or in schools, libraries, and senior centers, her projects invite audiences to listen with all their senses and take part in the experience.
Boston-based pianist April Sun enjoys a multi-faceted artistic life as a performer, educator, and arts organizer who values curiosity, sincerity, and fun in her work/play. She relishes making music on keyboards of all kinds and has performed with a variety of groups including The Meadowlark Trio, Phoenix Chamber Orchestra, Arpeggione Ensemble, Newton Baroque, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, and A Far Cry. The constellation of April’s activities also includes teaching piano and coaching chamber music at Brookline Music School, accompanying at New England Conservatory and Boston University, and leading music at First Church Somerville. From 2020-2023, April co-directed Music for Food–a musician-led project to fight hunger in our home communities.
Gloucester-based and originally from the UK, Susan Quateman recently wrapped up a solo show ‘Silk Explorations of the Great Marsh’ at the St Botolph Club in Boston. Her work captures stories of climate change and resilience in the Great Marsh, including the story of the intertwined relationship and survival challenges of the horseshoe crab and red knot. Her silk paintings reveal the beauty of the marsh and its vulnerability. For over a decade she has been weaving art and science together, as an advocate and interpreter in silk. Susan’s goal is to help educate people understand the importance of salt marsh ecology in the hope that they will become both advocates and stewards.
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