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I am not a visual artist. I would like to think I take a few good photos here and there, can match colors well enough for society, can privately doodle up a storm, and can draw some pretty decent stars (ask my young students!), but that might be as far as it goes.

The truth is, I thrive on colors, texture, physical space, and shapes. I love range, from detail to broad strokes, loud colors to muted, narrative to abstract passing moments. And all of these artistic concepts and passions grabbed me full force even before the first moment I hit my first note at the piano, and I knew the musician’s life is what I needed to lead.

So, why am I here, writing this blog post?

Please let me introduce you to the New Gallery Concert Series (NGCS).

The NGCS, about to embark on its third year under the Cambridge Art Association/New School of Music roof and its nineteenth season in total, is a coming together of music and art that celebrates the NOW. The series promotes musicians and visual artists who breathe the same air as you do, feel the same anguish and joy about our current events as you do, and who strive for success for freedom of expression and the ability to share it as you do.  As Founding Artistic Director, my focus is to continue our mission of creating a unique community that highlights dialogue between musicians, visual artists and members of the audience that make NGCS one of the most refreshing organizations of its kind. We are here to reflect our surroundings and to encourage our composers, our performers, our painters, sculptors, film makers, multi media artists (and more, more, more) to stay strong and pursue.

I started the NGCS in January 2000 to be surrounded by visual art, visual art of today, no less, because I love being submerged in such a world, while simultaneously giving myself and my musician colleagues opportunities of our own. With eighteen seasons complete, the NGCS is still committed to outstanding, talented, friendly, passionate and LIVING people.  With works that span the spectrum from classical-contemporary, improvisation, electronic music, jazz, folk, art song, DJing, opera, and the avant-garde to sculpture, painting, indoor installation, photography, graphic and children’s book illustrations, visual music, video art and film, NGCS’s programs are cohesive, diverse, exciting and intimate. Part of the creative glory of my job as director is to program without selling my soul to accessibility.  Instead, I create a safe space for all of us to expand our looking and listening comfort zones, for growing our eyes and ears, for making well thought opinions–whether we like all of the pieces or not–and getting something remarkable out of every experience.

Since the Fall of 2016, The NGCS has been whole heartedly welcomed by the Cambridge Art Association (CAA) and the New School of Music (NSM).  It is a privilege and honor to work with CAA Director Erin Becker and NSM Director Lauren Cook, who also feel passionately about giving a loud and clear voice to the arts of today. The partnership with NGCS, CAA, and NSM benefits all of our communities. It also furthers our core hopes: facilitating dialogue between artists and artist lovers, to sit with artwork for at least 90 minutes as opposed to walk throughs, to experience working with and being exposed to countless new artistic colleagues, to engage with a broader base of patrons, to create a joint effort to seize, reflect, and discuss the new.

We want you there, Cambridge Art Association community members, whether it be in the audience, as a participant, or both!  Most, if not all, of our featured composers and visual artists are present at each event to speak, meet, mingle, and enjoy themselves which only heightens the experience of audience, creators and performers working together as a unit.  An individual living creator’s “words” might be different from another’s, but their languages’ common denominator of NOW stays the same.

I love music. I love visual art. I love that one does not need the other but am so very moved at how they can resound in so many unexpected ways when side by side! I love sharing and I love people. We have found something so wonderful in the now. Let’s relish in the vast and full artistic range around us, enjoy how we all fit in and how we can still have these moments of “aha!” together.  Our commitment to giving strength through the living arts is not taken lightly and the NGCS strives to make every event an unforgettable one.

~ Sarah Bob