An ongoing program that brings an orchestral quartet to perform at area homeless shelters, among other locations, will be showcased during a free public concert on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. at St. Cecilia Parish at 18 Belvidere St.
The “Songs of Life” initiative was launched by Shelter Music Boston launched in January, bringing the quartet led by Adrian Anantawan, the nonprofit’s artistic director, to several shelters, as well as a recovery site and an affordable housing community, respectively, around Boston and Cambridge, for a series of free private chamber concerts each month.
“It’s really through the arts and music that we can make connections in life with others in our community, and the more we’re celebrating voices of marginalized communities, we have a greater connection to those around us, our neighbors, and those who are struggling within our communities because we might also be in a situation where we need help eventually,” Anantawan said in a phone interview.
Workshops were held in January in conjunction with the first series of monthly concerts to solicit feedback from the facilities’ guests and staff, which has helped inform four commissioned pieces and in the selection of songs by other artists that participants deemed to be personally significant, including Survivor’s 1980s anthem “Eye of the Tiger’”; A Tribe Called Quest’s 1990 hip-hop classic “Can I Kick It”; and the modern Portuguese standard, “Eu Gosto de Você.”
Shelter Music Boston’s string quartet will debut these selections at its series of “Songs of Life” concerts during the week of Sept. 18 before performing them at the free public concert on Sept. 27 at St. Cecilia Parish.
Reservations for the public concert are recommended and can be made by visiting sheltermusicboston.org.