Interviewee:
Andrea LeBlanc (she/her)
In your words… Tell us about your organization, business, initiative.
Arpeggione performs Classical and Romantic chamber music in historic homes and landscapes of the North Shore, and wherever the power of music is most needed.
Arpeggione pairs familiar works with lesser known masterpieces, performed in chamber arrangements for winds and strings. As the North Shore’s only resident period-instrument ensemble, Arpeggione revitalizes once overlooked repertoire to create a newly expanded, re-examined, and inclusive musical canon.
Arpeggione is a BIPOC- and woman-led organization at the vanguard of historically-informed chamber music. We draw inspiration from women-led salons of the past to expand our musical horizons and strengthen community.
Tell us a bit about you and why you do what you do? Share your passions for your business, initiative, organization.
From co-director Andrea LeBlanc:
I am a musician, mother of two, administrator, and artist. I’ve always wanted to start a chamber ensemble, but Arpeggione has quickly taken on a life of its own and surpassed my expectations of what a chamber ensemble can be and what I’m capable of doing. Expanding my career in this way has helped strengthen and clarify my musical point of view, and what I want to achieve with Arpeggione. I have always placed emotional honesty and sincerity above all, and I always hope to connect on a personal Ievel with listeners. I strive to always be making new discoveries about music and the arts, by pushing boundaries and embracing uncertainty. I am passionate about creating connections with other local artists and organizations. I spend a lot of time imagining the collaborations and creating unique, local, community-supported projects.
From co-director Thomas Carroll:
One of my favorite things about Arpeggione and the thing that I’m most proud of, is that we’ve been able to use the ensemble to highlight composers and performers who due to their identities and the social climates of the past have largely been overlooked or forgotten. We’ve also been able to draw on more than two centuries of repertoire to create unique programs that present a more wide-scale view of the musical landscape than the typical canon-based performance.
I also relish the challenges that come with preparing and programming for Arpeggione as we rely on smaller forces, often drawing on 19th and early 20th century arrangements and transcriptions of larger works. As a composer and arranger, I love being able to play musical detective and dig into the larger works when writing reductions for Arpeggione and I find it gives us all a much deeper understanding of the music in the process as we workshop and perform for the public.
What role do you think your business plays in supporting a more creative community? OR your community in general. (Bonus! Why do you think a more creative community is important?)
As the North Shore’s only historically-informed ensemble, Arpeggione fills a gap in the area’s creative community, as well offering something that is completely unique to the North Shore. We are one of only a few ensembles nationwide focusing on Classical and Romantic repertoire on historical instruments, which is a perfect fit for many of the North Shore’s wonderful historic venues. We are also the only ensemble in the country focusing on arrangements of masterpieces from this period, which is how music was most often experienced historically. We find that the many facets of what we do– music, history, instrument building and collecting, storytelling, and more– appeals to many people, not just the area’s many classical music fans.
We believe that a more creative community enriches all of our lives. The arts remind us what it is to be human and that we are all connected, and creative community is an affirmation and representation of that truth.
What was the last book you read OR What was the last video you watched that made an impact on you?
This is a pretty specialized answer, but most of the reading that I have time for is about music. There’s a wonderful book that I’m reading now that I’m incredibly excited about, Women and Musical Salons in the Enlightenment, by Rebecca Cypess.
Every page has at least a few ideas that I want to investigate further, and build a concert around for our Lark Ascending series (a series of programs centered around the works and influence of women composers.)
What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you or your business?
Andrea sews her own clothes. If she had all the time in the world, she would sew concert outfits personalized for all of our musicians in colors of the North Shore- blues, greens, purples…
Thomas builds his own clarinets, copied after originals in museums and his own extensive collection. If he had all the time in the world he would build a complete set of matching wind instruments for the ensemble to use.
What is Creative Collective?
Creative Collective is a group of economic development strategists, small business supporters, activation specialists, and believers in the importance of the creative workforce. We foster growth, sustainability, and scalability for small businesses, creative thinkers, organizations, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Learn more and join Creative Collective at www.creativecollectivema.com/join
Arpeggione Ensemble
View their Member Listing
Founded in 2022 by clarinetist Thomas Carroll and flutist Andrea LeBlanc, Arpeggione is the North Shore’s only resident historically-informed chamber music ensemble. Arpeggione reimagines the concert experience to bring familiar and unknown masterpieces to our audiences in the intimate spaces and stunning landscapes of the North Shore. Arpeggione was inspired by the salons of the early 19th century, where the
SEE LISTING
