Improbable Beasts is a Boston-based professional bass clarinet ensemble dedicated to bringing the deeply expressive power of multiple bass clarinets before a broad audience. Our repertoire ranges from Renaissance choral music to brand-new compositions to klezmer tunes and holiday songs. Our mission is to share the deep resonances, soaring lyricism, and propulsive grooves of bass clarinet ensemble music with as many people as we can. The members of Improbable Beasts are some of the most sought-after clarinetists in the Boston area, regularly appearing with groups such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and numerous regional orchestras, new music groups, and chamber ensembles.
Trio Montage is a unique ensemble comprised of baritone voice, clarinet and piano. Our members are clarinetist Marguerite Levin (Northeastern University, Boston Massachusetts), vocalist Phillip Collister (Towson University, Towson, Maryland) and pianist R. Timothy McReynolds (Mercer University, Macon Georgia). The group has made one of its missions to commission works for this distinctive combination. In addition, our vocalist has taken many of the standard works from the traditional vocal repertoire and created a third voice in the addition of clarinet and bass clarinet. Performances include venues in Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I., Assisi, Italy, Massachusetts, Maryland, Texas, Florida and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City. We are giving the international premiere at ClarinetFest®2024 of Marine and La Nuit from Quatre Croquis by Cruzan composer Valencio Jackson, Jr., poetry by Paul Verlaine and Erik Franklin’s The Tale of Maurice Connor, an Irish folk tale adapted by the composer.
