The Boston Globe - 20.09.2019

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER20, 2019 The Boston Globe G3

By Zoë Madonna
GLOBESTAFF
“I usedto keep this sucha
secret,” says Mary Beth Alger,
the artistic director of Dor-
chester’s AshmontHill Cham-
ber Music. “I’m increasingly
honest, the older I get.”
Sitting at a tableat the Par-
ish of All Saints,the Episcopal
churchthat providesa home
for Ashmont Hill’s concerts, she
tells her story. She’s lovedclassi-
cal musicsinceshe was a kid.
But she grew up without money
for musiclessons, and her par-
ents weren’t musically inclined.
Instead, her introduction to
music came throughpromo-
tional LPs from the local gro-
cery store. They were full of ex-
cerptsfromfavoriteclassical
chestnuts and showpieces;
Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances,”
Mozart’s “Eine kleineNacht-
musik,” the overture to “Car-
men.” And, she says, she wore
thoserecords out.
“It wasn’t in the cards for me
to be a performer,” says Alger, a
Dorchester resident who previ-
ously founded and directed the
Chappaquiddick SummerMu-
sic Festival on Martha’s Vine-
yard.“AtleastIcanbeapre-
senter.”
The long-runningAshmont
Hill series has beenflourishing
and expandingunderAlger’s
leadership. During founding di-
rector Rachel Goodwin’s 30-
year tenure, the series primarily
presented a resident ensemble.
But Alger has adopted dual pri-
oritiesof putting localmusi-
cians in the spotlight and bring-
ing touring performersto the
neighborhood.Its season kick-
off concert on Sept. 22 balances
the best of both those worlds. In
the church’s ornate sanctuary,
performerswill include bass-
baritoneDashonBurton, local
baroqueviolinistJulia McKen-
zie, All Saints music director
and organist Andrew Sherani-
an, and treblesfromthe All
Saints Choir of Boysand Men,
which is based at the church.
Sunday’s concert is part of
the two-year-old Bach Project, a
collaboration between Alger
and Sheranian. A few yearsago,
the 1892 church underwent a
complete restoration, Sherani-
an says in a phone interview, in-
cluding the installation of a
small 1928 E.M. Skinner organ
builtin Dorchester — perfect to
accompany a chorus.
“I was looking around that
building thinking. ‘Wow, this
would be the perfect place to do
Bach,’ ” Sheraniansays. Rather
thanforminghis own compet-
ing series, he says, he and Alger
decided to experiment together.
The firsttwo concerts of the
project sold out. Now, Alger
says, they have two Bach con-
certs each year.
“I would love for All Saints
Ashmontto be a new centerfor

the exploration of Bach’s music.

Not just the sacredmusic,not

just the choral music that you

can hearevery Sunday at Em-

manuel Church... but the com-

plete spectrumof what Bach

wrote,” Sheranian says.

Lookingahead in the sea-

son, Alger’s stamp is all over the

programming. She’d like to

mountat least one worldmusic

concert per year and new music

is also a priority; over the past

few seasons, the series has de-

veloped a relationship with the

young Boston groupHub New

Music.

Alger says that artistic excel-

lence is the key factor in her

bookingfor AshmontHill, but

she deliberately seeks out per-

formers of color because “we

want our performers and our

audience to reflect the diversity

of our community,” and she’s

noticed a larger black audience

when black musicians perform.

At Burton’s recital last season,

she says, an older black man

broughthistwograndsonsaf-

ter seeing the bass-baritone’s

picturein theDorchesterRe-

porter.“‘The man said... Look,

this singer looks like us. We’re

gonna go and hearhim.’ ” The

series has also partneredwith

Boston City Singers and Project

STEP, and when they’ve done

thoseconcerts, says Alger, the

seats fill with kids.

“This program is exactly

what needsto be happening in

every community in the coun-

try,” says Burton over the

phone. “It is truly a training

ground. Not only just how to be

a musician, but howto be a

supportive community mem-

ber.” Whenhe was in town for

his recital last fall, Burton led a

workshopfor the boysin the

chorus,many of whomare

fromthe surrounding neigh-

borhoods — no religious affilia-

tion is required to join. Because

the boys were of different voice

parts and levels of experience,

he says, he chose to focus the

workshop on breathingso ev-

eryone could fully participate.

“It’s just part of the culture

there. They don’t wantpeople

to just comein, do a perfor-

mance,and then leave,” Burton

says. “And through having mu-

sicians go into places like

schools and churches with

thesekinds of programs:that is

how we’re able to truly say we’re

all welcome.To do whatever we

can to just removethis bound-

ary fromthe audience and the

stage. So that our young friends

can say, ‘That can be me some-

day.’ This is really one of my

life’s goals.”

With the vast majority of the

area’s classical music events

taking place in the Symphony

Hall/New EnglandConservato-

ry area, with some smaller clus-

ters near universities,Ashmont

Hill is a distinct geographic out-

lier. And Alger says she wants to

make concerts “as accessible as

possible,” especially for the

neighborhood’s historically un-

derserved communities that

might not otherwise think of at-

tendinga concert. Adult tickets

are $25, students $18. EBT card

holderscan get in for $3. And,

“if someone comes in and says,

‘Ireallywanttohearthecon-

cert, but I don’t have the mon-

ey,’ ” says Alger, they won’t be

turned away from the concert

and reception, where they can

mingle with the musicians.

This inclusive approachto

programmingand audiences

seems to be working. Since she

cameon board,Alger says the

organization has more than tri-

pled its budget thanks to new

fund-raising initiativesand

grants. But there’s no time to sit

back, she says. “I never say ‘Oh,

I can rest for a monthbecause

we’ve got.. .’ no. It’s constantly

on your mind.”

ZoëMadonna canbe reached

at [email protected].

Follow her on Twitter

@knitandlisten. Madonna’s

work is supported by theRubin

Institute forMusic Criticism,

SanFrancisco Conservatory

of Music,and Ann and Gordon

Getty Foundation.

to the kind of up-closeperfor-
mative immediacy for which
Bedlam is famed.But the per-
formances themselvesare a
mixed bag.
Ryan Quinn’s portrayal of
John Proctor, the would-be
voice of reasonin a world gone
mad,needs more modulation
and variety to fully engage the

Continuedfromprecedingpage audience in Proctor’s ethical
struggles and compromises. Su-
sannah Millonziexcels as Eliza-
beth Proctor, John’s wife,tra-
versing an intricate emotional
range as Elizabeth wrestles
with her feelings toward the
husband who strayed fromthe
marital bed with young Abigail
Williams(Truett Felt, capable
but not vivid).

(As at any productionof

“The Crucible,’’ while watching

John Proctor posture as the vic-

tim of scheming Abigailand

initiallyunforgivingElizabeth,

a present-day audience is likely

to find itselfpuzzling over the

line between the historically ac-

curate depiction of the double

standard facedby womenand

Miller’s own sexism.)

In his portrayal of Deputy

GovernorDanforth, whoim-

poses harsh “justice’’ with little

regard for the humanity of his

victims,JoshuaWolf Coleman

has chosen, or beendirected, to

conduct too much of his perfor-

manceat a shout — a particular

problembecauseDanforth is

such a dominant figure in the

second half of “The Crucible.’’

Caroline Grogan makes for a

compellinglyconflicted Mary

Warren,a servant who sets out

to dispel the “witch’’ hoax, only

to become a target herself. Able

supporting performances are

alsodeliveredby Randolph

Curtis Rand as the weaselly

ReverendSamuelParris, Day-

enne CB Walters as the compas-

sionate Tituba and doomedRe-

becca Nurse, and Tucker him-

self as Reverend Hale.

It is in Hale that perhaps the

play’s most intriguing evolution

occurs. Initiallya zealoteager

to enforce an absolutist view of

religion,he growsincreasingly

troubledas moreand morein-

nocent people face persecution

at the handsof Salem’s power-

madauthorities.Eventually

Hale confronts the obligation —

vital then and now — for honest

people to call a lie a lie.

DonAucoincan be reachedat

[email protected]. Follow him

on Twitter@GlobeAucoin

A chamber series to ‘reflect the diversity’ of Dorchester

ASHMONTHILL

CHAMBERMUSIC

All SaintsChurch. Sept.22,

4 p.m.617-827-7857,

http://www.ahchambermusic.org

PHOTOSBY CRAIG F. WALKER/GLOBE STAFF

Center:ShammuaPeter, 15, Roger Curley, 13, and Shawn Eddy, 10, sing in the choirstalls duringan AshmontHill

ChamberMusic rehearsalat All SaintsChurchin Boston. Below:ShainEddy, 9.

NILESCOTT STUDIOS

SusannahMillonzi

and Ryan Quinnin

“The Crucible.”

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