Thursday, July 16, 2026

LA Ensemble Brightwork Invites Audiences to Steer the Music in Sierra Madre

[photo credit: Sierra Madre Playhouse]

The Los Angeles-based ensemble presents the concert under the Playhouse’s “Music @ the Playhouse” banner. Billed as an eclectic evening of game-inspired music, the program makes audience participation a central feature.

The works range from Cristina Lord’s choose-your-own-adventure piece based on Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” to Isaac Schankler’s polyrhythm game, “The Six-Body Problem.” Also featured are works by Los Angeles-based composers Siobhán Dougall and Richard An.

Listeners are folded into the performance rather than kept at a distance. “They can vote on an adventure during Lord’s work,” Artistic Director and pianist Aron Kallay said in the announcement. He added that audience members will also be able to interact in a game that includes a video element about surveillance, and that two people will be invited to compete in a different game live on stage.

The performance features Kallay on piano, joined by ensemble members Sara Andon on flute, Brian Walsh on clarinet, Shalini Vijayan on violin, Maggie Parkins on cello and Nick Terry on percussion.

Brightwork newmusic was formed in 2013 by Kallay and is built around a sextet instrumentation of piano, violin, cello, flute, clarinet and percussion. The ensemble focuses on presenting contemporary classical music and landmark works from the past hundred years. Its stated mission is to revitalize the art of new music by commissioning living composers, premiering their works and inviting listeners into the creative process.

The ensemble has drawn critical praise for that approach. The Los Angeles Times has described Brightwork as “dazzling,” and San Francisco Classical Voice has credited it with delivering “music that slips between multiple traditions, honoring each but beholden to none.”

The concert takes place at the intimate, 99-seat Sierra Madre Playhouse, at 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard in Sierra Madre. The building, which now houses the performing arts venue, first opened in 1910.

Tickets range from $12 to $35. Information is available by phone at (626) 355-4318 and online at www.sierramadreplayhouse.org.

Details for the concert were provided by Sierra Madre Playhouse and Brightwork new music in a press release.