FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Catherine Hancock | Catherine Hancock Digital

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TONY NOMINEE GABBY BEANS JOINS THE SEBASTIANS FOR “SONNETS & SONATAS”

AN EXCITING FUSION OF MUSIC AND POETRY

SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2025, at 5PM

Innovative Collaboration Between Broadway Star and Early Music Ensemble 

Program Features Four of Bach’s Iconic Violin Sonatas Paired

with Shakespearean Sonnets 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | New York, NY (February 14, 2025) – The Sebastians are proud to announce that Tony Award–nominated actress Gabby Beans will join Founding and Artistic Directors violinist Daniel Lee and harpsichordist Jeffrey Grossman for “Sonnets & Sonatas” on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 5:00 PM at Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church in New York City. This unique program interweaves the elegance of Bach’s violin sonatas with the timeless beauty of Shakespearean sonnets, creating a rare opportunity to experience four of Bach’s iconic sonatas alongside some of Shakespeare’s beloved sonnets and rarely-heard contemporary selections.

Gabby Beans, acclaimed as “charismatic and varied” by Time Out and “top-of-her-game” by The New York Times, brings an electrifying stage presence and unparalleled Shakespearean expertise to the concert. She captivated audiences as both Mercutio and Friar Lawrence in this year’s revival of ROMEO AND JULIET at Circle in the Square Theatre, where she starred opposite Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor. In 2022, she made her Broadway debut as Sabina in the Lincoln Center revival of The Skin Of Our Teeth, earning both Distinguished Performance Award and Tony Award nominations. Her stellar off-Broadway work—including award-winning roles in JONAH at Roundabout Theatre Company and acclaimed performances in I’m Revolting and Anatomy of a Suicide—has cemented her reputation as one of today’s most dynamic talents. Her impressive resume extends to television, with credits on Presumed Innocent (Apple TV ), Succession (HBO), The Good Fight (CBS), House of Cards, Blue Bloods, and Ray Donovan, and she has also made her mark as a filmmaker with award-winning narrative shorts.

Sonnets & Sonatas promises to be an extraordinarily challenging and compelling musical program. Audiences will enjoy the mastery of Bach’s sonatas—Sonata no. 3 in E major, BWV 1016; Sonata no. 4 in C minor, BWV 1017; Sonata no. 6 in G major, BWV 1019; and Sonata in E minor, BWV 1023—interwoven with poetry, and all performed by some of today’s top talents in their respective fields. This unique blend of poetry and music reveals how masters of each art form innovated within rigorous structure and crafted exquisite beauty.

Concert Information: 
Sonnets & Sonatas
Saturday, March 1, 2025 at 5pm
Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church
152 West 66th St..
New York, NY 10023

Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Sonata no. 3 in E major for violin and harpsichord, BWV 1016
Sonata no. 4 in C minor for violin and harpsichord, BWV 1017
Sonata no. 6 in G major for violin and harpsichord, BWV 1019
Sonata in E minor for violin and basso continuo, BWV 1023

Selected sonnets by some of the masters of the idiom

Artists:
Gabby Beans, actor 
Daniel Lee, violin
Jeffrey Grossman, harpsichord

Tickets are available at sebastians.org: In-person digital: $40–$100; Digital only: $20. Students of any age can attend concerts for free by emailing music@sebastians.org (limited availability); For those who would like to attend concerts but cannot afford a ticket, community comp tickets can be requested by emailing music@sebastians.org (limited availability). 

About the Sebastians 

The Sebastians are a dynamic and vital musical ensemble specializing in music of the baroque and classical eras. Lauded as “everywhere sharp-edged and engaging” (The New York Times), the Sebastians have also been praised for their “well-thought-out articulation and phrasing” (Early Music Review) and “elegant string playing… immaculate in tuning and balance” (Early Music Today). Their 2018 unconducted St. Matthew Passion with TENET Vocal Arts was called “shattering” and “a performance of uncommon naturalness and transparency.” The Sebastians’ recent seasons have included dozens of originally conceived programs, including collaborations with poets, choreographers, and actors; a musical installation in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; programs dealing with musical “immigration” and nationalism; and major works of J.S. Bach led from the keyboard. The Sebastians are currently in residence at the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments.

About Gabby Beans 

Gabby Beans is a Tony award nominated actress. She recently played Mercutio/The Friar in ROMEO AND JULIET on Broadway, opposite Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor. She has won an Obie Award and a Lortel Award for Best Performance in a Lead Role for last year’s production of JONAH at the Roundabout Theatre Company. She recently wrapped a supporting role in Ethan Coen’s  feature film HONEY DON’T, and she can now be seen in PRESUMED INNOCENT on Apple TV . Other recent TV credits include SUCCESSION, THE GOOD FIGHT, HOUSE OF CARDS, BLUE BLOODS, and RAY DONOVAN. 

About Jeffrey Grossman

Keyboardist and conductor Jeffrey Grossman specializes in vital, engaging performances of music of the past, through processes that are intensely collaborative and historically informed. As the artistic director of the acclaimed baroque ensemble the Sebastians, in recent seasons Jeffrey has directed concerts including Bach’s St. John and St. Matthew Passions and Handel’s Messiah from the organ and harpsichord, in collaboration with TENET Vocal Artists, and he is a frequent performer with TENET, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and numerous other ensembles across the country. Recent seasons include his conducting operas of Haydn and Handel with Juilliard Opera, leading Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with the Green Mountain Project in New York and Venice, and conducting a workshop of a new Vivaldi pastiche opera for the Metropolitan Opera. As musical director for the 2023 and 2019 Boston Early Music Festival Young Artists Training Program, he conducted Jacquet de La Guerre’s Cephale et Procris and Handel’s Orlando from the harpsichord. For thirteen seasons, he toured portions of the rural United States with artists of the Piatigorsky Foundation, performing outreach concerts to underserved communities. Jeffrey can be heard on the Avie, Gothic, Naxos, Albany, Soundspells, Métier, and MSR Classics record labels. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he holds degrees from Harvard College, the Juilliard School, and Carnegie Mellon University. Jeffrey teaches performance practice at Yale University.

About Daniel S. Lee
Award-winning violinist Daniel S. Lee enjoys a varied career as a soloist, leader, collaborator, and educator. Praised by The New York Times for his “ravishing vehemence” and “soulful performance,” he has appeared as a soloist and leader with early music ensembles in the United States and Europe. Lee is a core violinist and the founding director of the Sebastians, a critically acclaimed period ensemble. A piccolo violin specialist, he has performed as a soloist in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Cantata 140 (Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme) and given the modern-day premiere of his own transcription of Johann Pfeiffer’s concerto. 

At the Yale School of Music, Lee teaches baroque violin lessons, coaches chamber ensembles, and co-teaches the class “Rhetoric and Early Instrumental Performance” with faculty harpsichordist Arthur Haas. He has been featured as a soloist on Yale’s Faculty Artist Series, and the Sebastians have served as the ensemble-in-residence at the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments. Lee has also given lectures and master classes at Connecticut College, Purchase College (SUNY), the University of Kansas, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lee received his bachelor of music degree from the Juilliard School, his master of music degree and artist diploma from the Yale School of Music, and his doctorate from the University of Connecticut.

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