Taos Chamber Music Group is pleased to present the Montage Music Society on March 29 and 30, 2025 at the Harwood Museum in Taos, NM. Their program centers around Olivier Messiaen’s monumental chamber work, “Quartet for the End of Time.” Written and premiered in Stalag VIIIA in 1941, a German prisoner of war camp, this eight-movement work for violin, cello, clarinet, and piano is considered one of Messiaen’s most significant chamber music works. It will be performed last on the program.

The program begins with Messiaen’s Vocalise from Concert à Quatre (1991 arr. by Graeme Steele Johnson for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano).

Following this is Andrew List’s Noa Noa, A Gauguin Tableau, the first work commissioned by the Montage Music Society which focuses on compositions inspired by visual art. List was inspired by Paul Gauguin’s large mural, “Noa Noa” featured in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It was premiered in 2008 and written for violin, clarinet, and piano. The mural will be projected behind the musicians during the performance.

Before intermission, Pablo Casal’s composition Song of the Birds (El Cant dell Ocells) arranged for cello and piano will be performed. It draws attention to Messiaen’s use of bird song in virtually everything he wrote. It is a traditional Catalan Christmas song and lullaby.

The performers for this program are Stephanie Sant’ Ambrogio (violin), Walter Haman (cello), Graeme Steele Johnson (clarinet), and TCMG core member and Founder/Director of Montage Music Society Debra Ayers (piano).

Saturday, March 29 at 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 30 at 3:00 – 5:00pm

General Admission (ticket price plus $2 service fee) – $32.00
TCMG/Harwood/Tribal Member (ticket price plus $2 service fee) – $26.00