by
Published April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
EMA Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Brandon Labadie, caught up with Leslie Kwan over the phone last February to discuss her work with her ensemble, L’Academie, in the Boston hospital system. Since 2009, L’academie has been presenting French Baroque music to the patients of Dana Faber Cancer Institute and has recently financial support for their outreach programs from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Leslie gives EMA the story behind L’academie’s beginnings, how she feels the group’s music making has made an impact, and what other projects might be on the horizon.
[button link=”https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/leslie_kwan.mp3″ color=”red”]Please click here if the audio doesn’t load automatically[/button]
Recent EMA Features
Hear the Ancestors Sing
Looking for ancient voices from his native Ecuador, Felipe Ledesma Núñez turned to ceramics and the sounds of his ancestors. He sees a problem in the humanities, 'that we are privileging the written word. And those kinds of systems are ill-suited: They cannot carry sound.'
Baroque Violinist Wins Barbash Bach Competition
Baroque violinist Danqi Zeng, born in China and currently a doctoral student at Indiana Univ., won the 2025 Barbash J.S. Bach Competition. The prize includes $10,000 and at least five concert engagements in the coming seasons. 'Zeng's Bach spoke profoundly,' remarked one juror, 'and with an immediacy made more palpable by the unforced resonance of her Baroque instrument.'
Can AI Decipher a Manuscript Better than You?
Stuck on sloppy handwriting from the 17th century, a musician recently turned to artificial intelligence to help solve a motet's textural problems. Despite many negative impressions, 'the process of exploring ChatGPT opened my eyes to its potential' as a valuable research partner.
