#  Selections from Terry Riley's "Holy Liftoff" (2022-25) 

 



    ![An empty Paine Concert Hall stage with a piano on it](/sites/g/files/omnuum12086/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2025-08/Default%20Event%20Thumbnail.png?itok=SnGzc79S) 

 



 

####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **October 22, 2025** 

 07:00PM - 09:00PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **Holden Chapel**  



 

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*"The Holy Liftoff" (2022-25)* by Terry Riley

Curated and hosted by Professor Claire Chase

The iconic American composer Terry Riley (b. 1935) began ***The Holy Liftoff (2022-2025)***\* as an open-score sketchbook of brilliantly colored drawings for multiple flutes, commissioned by **Claire Chase** for her multi-year *Density 2036* project. Through a realization by **Samuel Clay Birmaher**, these sketches have since evolved into a multidimensional work blending through-composed material, graphic notation, evocative artwork, and Riley’s signature open-form scoring. Heard now as an eight-voice chorus of flutes (seven pre-recorded and one live, played by Chase), *The Holy Lift o*ff is joined on the program by Riley’s ***Pulsing Lifters*** (2022) and ***Pulsefield 3*** (2025), both expanding the modular, improvisatory spirit of the larger project: *Pulsing Lifters* reimagined for keyboards by **Alex Peh**, and *Pulsefield 3* with its vivid drawings culminating in a return to song—“the oldest and most urgent mode of music-making,” as Chase notes. For this performance, she is joined by **Parker Quartet**, pianist **Alex Peh**, saxophonist **Neil Leonard**, and special guests from the **Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute**, the **Harvard New Music Ensemble**, and **Students in Contemporary Chamber Music**.

Featuring:

- **Parker Quartet**
- **Alex Peh**, piano
- **Neil Leonard**, saxophone
- Special Guests from **Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute**
- **The Harvard New Music Ensemble** (MUSIC 180)
- **Students in Contemporary Chamber Music** (MUSIC 186)

Program:

**“Pulsing Lifters” (2024)** for large ensemble  
Alex Peh, piano  
Neil Leonard, saxophone  
Special Guests from Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute  
The Harvard New Music Ensemble (MUSIC 180)  
Students in Contemporary Chamber Music (MUSIC 186)

**Selections from** ***“The Holy Liftoff” (2022-2024)*** For flute and string quartet  
Realization by Samuel Clay Birmaher  
Claire Chase, flutes  
Parker Quartet

*\*”The Holy Liftoff” is the twelfth cycle of Claire Chase’s Density 2036 project.*



 

 



 

 

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