Saturday • April 18th, 2026 • 7:30pm

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For Arlington's 9th Street Quartet, their program "Sounds of Home at 250" explores the idea of belonging through music, highlighting some of the diverse voices and histories that shape current American life. The program features works by Jessie Montgomery, Kevin Puts, Steven Snowden, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, Stephen Gorbos, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Reena Esmail—composers whose musical voices represent a broad spectrum of American experience. The venue for the performance is extremely meaningful in this sense: The Falls Church Episcopal has been a community focal point since 1723. In the colonial era, it included prominent Virginians like George Washington and George Mason as Vestrymen, was a recruiting station for the local Fairfax Militia during the Revolutionary War, and was a site from which the Declaration of Independence was read to the local population during the summer of 1776. In our city, the church continues to be a beacon for belonging, welcoming its first gay rector in 2022, after a protracted legal battle over the space that split the congregation with the election of the first gay Episcopal bishop in 2004. Thinking of the spirit of 1776, with its sentiments of individual liberty and a more just society, this repertoire directly engages with the ever evolving idea of what counts for an American voice. From Montgomery’s "Strum", which celebrates the vitality and resilience of folk idioms, to Tate’s "Pisachi", which draws on his own Chickasaw identity and Indigenous history, each piece offers a unique lens on what it means to find or define “home” in America. Works like Snowden’s "Appalachian Polaroids" and Frank’s "Leyendas" connect regional and ancestral memory to present-day identity, while Esmail’s "This Is It", Stephen Gorbos' new work, and Puts’ "Home" consider the emotional and philosophical dimensions of belonging. Rather than a purely celebratory program, "Sounds of Home at 250" invites reflection on the complex circumstances that bring diverse cultures into dialogue—and sometimes into tension—within American society. In doing so, it echoes the foundational struggle to build a pluralistic democracy, reminding us during this important anniversary that the work of the Revolution is an ongoing project.

The 9th Street Quartet has spent the past several years creating a musical home for young people in their 9th Street Chamber Music string quartet program. The inclusive and welcoming program, which fundraises to cover tuition expenses so that ability for a student to pay is never an issue, brings youth in grades 8 to 12 together each week to rehearse, be coached, and eventually perform in quartets. This sense of creating a home has informed their programming choices for their Little City Concerts event, and their nonprofit partner. The nonprofit partner for this event will be Second Story, an Fairfax County-based organization that serves youth experiencing homelessness or another crisis, and young mothers and their children. Second Story, who will receive 50% of ticket sales for this concert, transforms the lives of children, youth and their families by providing safe havens and opportunities for them to grow and thrive. Their programs provide support at critical turning points in their lives.