Soothing Sounds
The Alloy Horn Quartet is pleased to combine their virtuosic musical talents, training in meditation, and deep respect for the natural world to offer Soothing Sounds. This unique program integrates the powerful wisdom of nature, resonant sounds of the french horn, and mindfulness practices to create an atmosphere of peace and wellbeing. Participants can enjoy the performance purely as a musical concert, or they can use it as a more integrative wellness experience.
In today’s fast-paced and stressful world, most of us need encouragement to find balance, relaxation, and reprieve from life’s difficulties. Both everyday stressors (kids, work, bills, etc.) and more substantial challenges (systemic marginalization, a global pandemic, etc.) can wear down our resilience. The consequences can range from irritability to aggression; from low energy to chronic disease; from heightened nerves to panic attacks. All three of the modalities used in Soothing Sounds are evidence-based, empirically researched techniques that have a mitigating effect on stress hormones, high blood pressure, and emotional dysregulation (reference studies here). By combining music, nature, and meditation practices, we hope to provide a program that is more than simply an enjoyable concert (though it is!), but an experience that can facilitate a deeper sense of calm and real physiological changes in our bodies’ stress response mechanisms.
Women Up Front
The Alloy Horn Quartet is proud to present Women Up Front, a program of works composed or arranged by women. Alloy embarks on a sonic tour of the often over-
looked, yet impressively fruitful "other 50%." In a field dominated by male composers and performers, Alloy's Women Up Front illuminates the genius and bounty of female classical musicians both historical and current.
General Program
While primarily classical in nature, this program is full of diverse music that showcases the versatility and beauty of our instrument. We talk about the French Horn (Is it really French?! Why do we hold it like that?), the music, and the composers between pieces spanning multiple genres. Audiences are always surprised to hear that the horn can do so much!
Children's Program
Alloy brings the joy and energy of music to
kids of all ages. Our children’s program
incorporates movement, active listening, and experiential demonstrations to bring our instruments and music to life. We involve the kiddos in discovering how we make sounds and give them a chance to shape the music they hear.