Pop-Up Concerts are provided completely free from CSEM to each community space we visit, and to all participants. Your support will help us continue and expand our Pop-Up programming to local communities in the Greater Boston Area.
CSEM Pop-Up Concerts
As a new branch of programming, CSEM has begun developing with local musicians a repertoire of interactive 'Pop-Up' Early Music programs for children’s centers, public libraries, schools, porchfests, farmers markets, and other non-conventional concert venues in Greater Boston. Together with local musicians, we want to find new ways to connect to younger audiences by showcasing unique instruments and playing techniques, bringing to life historical composers, exploring diverse cultures, and relating music history to modern day life.
Next up: 'Wild Things' with Emily Hale at Boston Public Library's Copley Square Branch, Saturday April 25 at 10am!
Wild Things
CSEM presents violinist Emily Hale and her program 'Wild Things' at several locations in Spring 2026: It's time for a wild rumpus! Join in a game of musical charades featuring quirky 17th century chamber music mimicking members of the animal kingdom and other zaniness. Sandra Boynton's simple yet poignant counting book Hippos Go Berserk and Maurice Sendak's timeless classic Where the Wild Things Are may leave you hungry for a bedtime snack! Music of Heinrich Biber and Nicola Matteis performed on violin and theorbo/baroque guitar.
Emily and Theorbo player Pablo Kennedy presented Wild Things live on air with Seacrest Studios, the closed-circuit channel for Boston Children's Hospital. The building was abuzz with curiosity about the theorbo in particular!
This special program includes a game of Musical Charades in which viewers could guess which animal Emily and Pablo were imitating in short excerpts from Heinrich Biber’s animal-themed Sonata Representativa. Emily then reads aloud the stories Hippos Go Berserk and Where the Wild Things Are while interspersing delightful excerpts from Heinrich Biber and Nicola Matteis.
Music Inside Out
Before presenting Baroque Connections: Friends and Rivals to CSEM audiences in Cambridge, Weston, and Beverly, the musicians of New England Baroque brought the music to the Lower Mills (Dorchester) and Charlestown branches of Boston Public Library. Through the lens of Disney’s film Inside Out, and the music of Handel, Telemann, and Porpora, musicians (Susanna Ogata, Ian Watson, Guy Fishman, and Renée Hemsing) encouraged kiddos to feel and express their emotions through music.
We met a wide range of ages, including babies and young parents, toddlers, and elementary schoolers. With each snippet of music, kids eagerly described how it made them feel and connected the music to experiences in their life. (Upon hearing some lively Porpora, one boy exclaimed that it reminded him of a fancy Italian restaurant!).
In a crowd-favorite portion of the program, the musicians solicited suggestions from the kids for 3 pitches, an emotion to portray, and an instrument to play on. Susanna, Renée, Guy, and Ian improvised on the spot to capture the right feeling! The kids loved challenging the musicians and discovering how just 3 notes can create a wide range of emotions.
Participate:
Interested in attending a Pop-Up Concert? Join our email list for announcements!
Propose:
Do you have an idea for a fun, interactive, and transportable Pop-Up program? Submit your proposal!
