Kendall Square Orchestra to Perform EDGE OF DESTINY at Sanders Theater

Kendall Square Orchestra will present "Edge of Destiny" AT Sanders Theater on Friday, March 13, 2026. Led by Music Director Kristo Kondakçi, the 110-piece orchestra will perform Mahler's Symphony No. 6, whose subject is nothing less than the meaning of life in the face of implacable fate.

"Mahler was in one of the happiest times of his life when he began composing this music," said Kondakçi, "newly married and with two daughters. And yet, the music emerging from his pen echoed a distant thunder. This uncanny intertwining of joy and tragedy gives Edge of Destiny its poignancy: the sense that beneath life's brightest happiness runs a deep undercurrent of foreknowledge. And indeed, within a year of the symphony's premiere, Mahler's eldest daughter died at the age of four and he was diagnosed with the heart condition that would eventually kill him."

"Mahler portrays this saga with a wide palette of powerful music ranging from heroic and triumphant to sublime and tender, but always with the tension of destiny's advance," Kondakçi adds. "He even invented a new instrument - the Mahler box - struck with a giant hammer in the work's finale to signify the apocalyptic blows of fate."

Set within Cambridge's innovation district, the Kendall Square Orchestra blends musical excellence with the spirit of scientific curiosity and community connection. With Edge of Destiny, audiences will experience a kaleidoscopic musical journey of a lifetime.

Tickets cost $10 - $50 and are on sale now at the Sanders Theater Box Office: https://tickets.harvard.edu.

About Kendall Square Orchestra

The Kendall Square Orchestra (K2O) was founded in 2018 with the vision of harnessing the talents of classically-trained musicians in Cambridge's biotech/STEM industries to turn the concert hall into a space for connection, discovery, and purpose. The only compensation the musicians receive is the joy of performing their music for the community, which makes for uncommonly engaging performances.

With is mantra Orchestrate. Collaborate. Innovate., K2O has performed at biotech conferences, in Cambridge city parks, and at Boston's Symphony Hall. Its biennial Symphony for Science benefit brings together corporations, community partners, and audiences to raise awareness, funds, and hope for causes in healthcare, STEM education, and equity. Whether performing classical masterpieces or producing immersive, cause-driven events, K2O treats every performance as an experiment in connection - part art, part activism, all heart.

About Kristo Kondakçi, David and Janet McCue Music Director

Conductor Kristo Kondakçi is a visionary musical leader and civic innovator-praised by PBS, NPR, and The Boston Globe-for setting a new standard in orchestral leadership and public impact.

Born in Tirana, Albania, Kondakçi's artistic mission is shaped by his family's escape from Enver Hoxha's Communist regime. His grandfather was imprisoned for performing Western music, and his great-uncle, a virtuoso musician and physician, was executed. This legacy of courage and creativity fuels his conviction that music has the power to inspire resilience, unite communities, and speak across cultures.

He is co-founder of the Eureka Ensemble, which works with marginalized communities to address social issues through music, and also of the Women's Chorus at the Women's Lunch Place in Boston. During the COVID-19 crisis, Kondakçi co-launched Boston Hope Music with New England Conservatory and Massachusetts General Hospital, delivering therapeutic performances for patients and healthcare workers. He is a cover conductor of the Portland Symphony Orchestra and has collaborated with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Albanian National Orchestra, where his 2014 debut earned recognition as a cultural representative of the Albanian diaspora.