CRS presents the award-winning contemporary flute ensemble BETA Quartet, who will perform a program featuring the world premiere of "Where We Come From" by Detroit-based saxophonist/composer Marcus Elliot, a piece commissioned by BETA Quartet. "Where We Come From" is a 4-movement work that centers around the Divine Feminine theme and demonstrates the power, beauty, and grace that embodies female energy and Mother Nature.

Described as "chamber music at its finest" by Kenneth Tse and "unique and virtuosic" by Barbara Siesel, BETA Quartet is an award-winning ensemble comprised of flutists Eftihia Arkoudis, Tatiana Cassetta, Alyssa Schwartz, and Meg Brennan.

The concert will take place in the award-winning White Room at CRS. Please note that the venue is accessible only via a flight of stairs and is not wheelchair accessible. Proof of vaccination is not required but the wearing of masks is encouraged. If not sold out, tickets will also be available at the door for cash only.

Marcus Elliot is a saxophonist, composer, improviser, and educator based in Detroit, Michigan. Marcus is a 2020 Kresge Artist Fellow, awarded by Kresge Arts in Detroit. He is the current director of the University of Michigan's Creative Arts Orchestra. His compositions and improvisations have been described by the New York Times as "convincing and confident, evolved in touch and tone...", and the Detroit Free Press has said, "Marcus Elliot represents next generation of jazz". Elliot leads and co-leads many different Detroit based bands including the Marcus Elliot Quartet, Clockwork, Balance, Beyond Rebellious, and Lanula. Elliot performs in the Shigeto Live Ensemble. He is a Fellow of the Geri Allen Gathering Orchestra. He co-founded the nonprofit Polyfold Musical Arts Collective. Elliot is the director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Civic Jazz Ensembles. Elliot received his master's degree in improvisation from the University of Michigan.

https://www.marcuselliotmusic.com

CRS (CENTER FOR REMEMBERING & SHARING) is a spiritual healing and art center founded in 2004 by the writer/lecturer/spiritual counselor Yasuko Kasaki and artist Christopher Pelham. Our mission is guided by A Course in Miracles (ACIM). ACIM says that recognizing that you and your brother are actually one is the only way to experience peace. The mission of CRS is to promote the awareness that limitless creativity lives within each of us. We train minds to recognize the light in themselves and others and provide them opportunities to share their inner vision through the healing and creative arts. Since its founding CRS has provided numerous residencies and performance and exhibition opportunities to artists from all over the world. Currently, CRS is a multi-year sponsor of M³ (Mutual Mentorship for Musicians), a platform created to empower, elevate, normalize and give visibility to women, non-binary musicians and those of other historically underrepresented gender identities in intersection with race, sexuality, or ability across generations in the US and worldwide, through a radical model of mentorship and musical collaborative commissions.

https://crsny.org

During the 49th National Flute Association Convention - Variations on a Dream, BETA Quartet performs flute quintet “Flock” by Allison Loggins-Hull with flutist Emily Bedard Dierickx and the world premiere of the third movement of “Where We Come From…” by Marcus Elliot.

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"Flock" was inspired by minimalist composer Steve Reich's "Vermont Counterpoint", a tour de force for multiple flutes. The flutes in "Flock" represent the flight pattern of a flurry of birds who move in and out of chaos, harmony, and tight togetherness. The original version of "Flock" includes electronics and drums (performed by Joe Blaxx), and can be heard on Flutronix's sophomore album, "2.0". The sheet music for this acoustic version for four concert flutes and alto flute can be purchased through Carl Fischer.

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“Where We Come From…” is a 2019 commissioned work that due to COVID-19 has yet to receive its world premiere. This work is a meditation on the divine feminine in relation to the planet Earth and the human race. We have a lot of problems going on in our world today. These are truly troubling times. One thing that seems to happen is that people try to create a solution for the problem at hand, instead of sitting, listening, seeing and asking, ‘what exactly is the problem, how did come to be, and has it always been there? The first three movements attempt to explore the problem’. The last movement is not a solution or an idea, but a prayer to our mother, Earth. “We will sing this song to our mother, in her last days, in our last days, so that we can remember, together, Where We Come From”.

BETA Quartet performs virtually at the 2021 Southeast Michigan Flute Association Flute Ensemble Festival as a featured artist. The group will perform works featured in their sophomore album, such as “Umoja” by Valerie Coleman, “Flock” by Flutronix, “Little Suite of Mythological Beings” by Anze Rozman, “Payadora” by Julian Plaza, “Constellations” by Kurton Harrisson III, and a selection of works by Dr. Daniel Baldwin. Diretly to follow is a live Q&A session with members of the ensemble.