about
Longleash (Julia Den Boer, keyboard; Pala Garcia, violin; John Popham, cello) is a group with a traditional instrumentation and a progressive identity. An “expert young trio” praised for its “subtle and meticulous musicianship” (Strad Magazine), “tethered to tight playing and and bound together in lucid interpretations” (Tempo), Longleash has quickly earned a reputation in the US and abroad for innovative programming, artistic excellence, and new music advocacy. Longleash takes its name from Operation Long Leash, a CIA program designed to covertly support and disseminate the work of American avant-garde artists throughout Europe during the Cold War.
The trio balances performing, commissioning, and recording projects alongside a summer concert series and composition workshop, The Loretto Project. Performance highlights include the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, Ecstatic Music Festival, National Sawdust, Princeton Sound Kitchen, Scandinavia House (NY), Open Music (Graz), Trondheim International Chamber Music Festival (Norway), and others. Longleash has conducted lectures and workshops at New York University, Manhattan School of Music, University of Nebraska, Ohio University, and Hunter College. The trio’s work on behalf of American composers has been recognized and supported by Chamber Music America, the Alice K. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, The Amphion Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the Atherton Family Foundation.