Almost Quintet Will Perform NYC Premiere of Dr. Edward W. Hardy’s BORN FREE
The program pairs Hardy's work with music by Dorothy Rudd Moore, Bright Sheng, and other composers.
Almost Quintet will present the New York City premiere of composer and violinist Dr. Edward W. Hardy's BORN FREE on Friday, August 14, 2026, at 7:30 PM. at Saint John's in the Village, 218 W 11th St, New York, NY. The performance is part of Almost Quintet's 2026 New York City concert tour, Love, Earth, Death, a series exploring the universal themes of love, earth, and mortality through the music of Black and Chinese composers.
The August 14 program, titled 'A Dialogue Between Black and Chinese Voices,' brings together works that reflect distinct cultural histories while exploring shared human experiences of love, struggle, resilience, loss, and hope.
Among the featured works is Hardy's BORN FREE, a song cycle commissioned by Wolf Trap Opera. The work received its world premiere in 2022 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., followed by its Colorado premiere during Hardy's 2023 season finale concert in Denver. In 2024, the work received another presentation at the University of Northern Colorado Commons after Hardy received Third Prize in the Angie Southard Music Competition.
'I'm thrilled that my song cycle BORN FREE will receive its New York City premiere with Almost Quintet as part of their Love, Earth, Death concert tour,' said Hardy. 'I'm honored that this talented ensemble chose to include my work in a program celebrating Black and Chinese composers and the ways music can connect us through shared human experiences.'
Hardy's BORN FREE will be presented alongside Dorothy Rudd Moore's Sonnets on Love, Rosebuds, and Death, creating a program that explores the depth and complexity of the Black experience through music and poetry. The works will be placed in conversation with music by Chinese composers Bright Sheng and Chen Gang and He Zhanhao, including selections from Sheng's Three Chinese Love Songs and the iconic Butterfly Lovers' Concerto.
The complete August 14 program will also feature Qingjia Lin's On One Side of River and Kui Dong's Until Now.
According to Almost Quintet, Love, Earth, Death explores how composers from two distinct cultural traditions can approach the same fundamental questions of human existence. The evening's music draws upon folk traditions, poetic texts, regional melodies, and contemporary classical language to create what the ensemble describes as a fusion of 'folk roots and modern sounds.'
Almost Quintet was founded in 2025 by pianist and organist Dr. Peiyao Yu, soprano Dr. Zhengyingue 'Elaine' Huang, and violinist and violist Dr. Xiaohui Yan. The ensemble is dedicated to championing composers whose voices have historically been underrepresented in classical music, with the broader goal of creating a future in which composers no longer need to be categorized as 'underrepresented.'
After dedicating its 2025 season to female living composers, Almost Quintet's 2026 programming turns its focus toward Black and Chinese voices. For its New York City tour, the ensemble is joined by guest violinist and violist Xenia Deviatkina-Loh.
'As an ensemble, Almost Quintet is united by a shared commitment to amplifying underrepresented composers and musicians,' the ensemble states. 'Advancing Asian voices in classical music, a mission deeply rooted in the foundational work of initiatives like the Asian Classical Music Initiative (ACMI), remains central to our journey. Through Love, Earth, Death, we invite you to look beyond the labels of 'underrepresented' and simply immerse yourself in the transcendent power of this music.'
The August 14 concert offers audiences an opportunity to hear Black and Chinese musical voices not as isolated traditions, but as part of a broader artistic conversation about universal human experiences.
Love, Earth, Death: A Dialogue Between Black and Chinese Voices. Friday, August 14, 2026 at 7:30 PM. Saint John's in the Village - 218 W 11th St., New York, NY
The program will feature works by Qingjia Lin, Edward W. Hardy, Bright Sheng, Chen Gang and He Zhanhao, Dorothy Rudd Moore, and Kui Dong.
