Lowell House Opera

Some photos from yesterday’s dress rehearsal!
2 days until the premiere! Get tickets here: https://bit.ly/lho-tickets

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Some BTS shots of last week’s cast run!
5 days until the premiere of No Exit, get tickets here: https://bit.ly/lho-tickets

Shows are March 27-29 @ 8:30 pm in Lowell House
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Eyes everywhere. No escape.
In No Exit, you are always being watched.

Inez: I’ll be your mirror, Estelle.
Just look, just look into my eyes.

Estelle: But in your eyes,
I fear I’ll turn to something wicked.

Garcin: I cannot love you with her watching!
Her eyes boring into my bones...

No Exit is Premiering in 6-days! Get tickets here: https://bit.ly/lho-tickets
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Meet Reuben Stern ‘20, our Music Director

Personal connection, identity, and the human capacity for empathy guide the music-making of conductor Reuben Stern, music director of the Lowell House Opera’s production of No Exit. Active in the Greater Boston area, Reuben is the founder and music director of the Orchestra Book Club, a volunteer ensemble dedicated to breaking down barriers to entry in orchestral music for players, composers, and audience members alike. They also serve as assistant conductor for the Apollo Ensemble, and have cover conducted for the Eureka Ensemble and Longwood Symphony Orchestra.

Reuben completed their graduate work at the Peabody Institute under Marin Alsop and Joseph Young, and their undergraduate work at Harvard University, where they studied with Federico Cortese. They were the second person ever to hold a three-year tenure as music director of Harvard’s Bach Society Orchestra, leading praised performances of Sibelius’s 7th Symphony, Florence Price’s 1st Symphony (New England premiere), and Bacewicz’s Concerto for String Orchestra, among others.

A staunch advocate for the music of Grażyna Bacewicz, Reuben has collaborated with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Schott Music to lead the North American premiere of Bacewicz’s Symphony for String Orchestra. They are fiercely committed to improving representation in classical music across gender, race, religion, social status, and ability.
Reuben holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harvard University. Outside the concert hall, they enjoy powerlifting, math, and origami. Reuben works as a research scientist for Colfax International, studying accelerated computing.

https://bit.ly/lho-tickets

Introducing the Composer/Librettist, Ethan Chaves ‘26

Ethan Antonio Chaves (b. 2003) is a Boston-based violinist, violist, and composer studying at Harvard and the New England Conservatory. A senior in Winthrop House and Artistic Director of Lowell House Opera, he is composing and writing the libretto for No Exit (2026).

His music has been performed by the MIVOS Quartet, Parker Quartet, New York Youth Symphony, and Harvard Choruses, with premieres in the U.S. and Europe. He has appeared as both composer and soloist at venues including Alice Tully Hall and Sanders Theatre, and was featured on NPR’s From the Top.

Chaves’s work spans chamber, orchestral, and electroacoustic music, with recent and upcoming projects including MIXED SIGNALS, the hill wife, and Hagios.

Recent and upcoming projects including a work for the Apollo Ensemble of Boston, loadbang, and performances at summer festivals including Bang on a Can and TAK LAB in New York.

bit.ly/lho-tickets
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Introducing our Garcin, Leo Balkovetz

Leo Balkovetz is a tenor and librettist residing in Boston. On stage, Leo sings with a number of local groups including Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Summer Opera, MassOpera, Opera51, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Nonconformists Orchestra. This is his 4th Season with Lowell House Opera. Off stage, he received a 2022 Live Arts Boston Grant to write the libretto for “Violetta” a modern, q***r retelling of “La Traviata” and was a FUSE collaborative poet for Rachel Devore Fogarty’s “Poor Katy: A Murder Ballad”, premiered by Catalyst New Music in 2024. Visit www.leobalkovetz.com to learn more.

bit.ly/lho-tickets

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