WHAT ARE WE?

Improbable Beasts is a Boston-based, professional BASS clarinet ensemble dedicated to bringing the expressive power of many bass clarinets before a broad audience. Our repertoire ranges from Renaissance choral music to brand-new compositions to klezmer tunes and holiday songs. Our mission is to share the deep resonances, soaring lyricism, and propulsive grooves of bass clarinet ensemble music with as many people as we can.


WHO ARE WE?

The members of Improbable Beasts are some of the most sought-after clarinetists in the Boston area, regularly appearing with groups such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and numerous regional orchestras, new music groups, and chamber ensembles.

Improbable Beasts' founder and leader, Jon Russell, has two decades of experience inventing and performing music for bass clarinet(s). He was a longtime member of the Edmund Welles bass clarinet quartet, which channeled the ecstatic power of heavy metal through the deep  resonances of four bass clarinets. He is a member, with Jeff Anderle, of the Sqwonk bass clarinet duo, which for the past 15 years has been creating a new repertoire of vital new music for two bass clarinets. Jon is also a seasoned composer and arranger, with a vast catalog of works for orchestras, choirs, chamber ensembles, and wind bands. He is uniquely positioned to create and arrange music for many bass clarinets that fully exploits the extraordinary capabilities of this unusual ensemble. With the creation of Improbable Beasts, Jon can now realize the richly-textured, harmonious, ferocious music of his dreams.


WHAT DO WE WANT?

We want to play live music for real people! Formed in early 2020, the pandemic hit just as we were getting started. As a result, our activities were limited to making "quarantine-style" videos. Since September 2021, we've been meeting together in person every few weeks, and it has been a profound joy to be in the same space, resonating and grooving together. We are now ready and eager to start performing live, bringing our unique ensemble and sound before the general public.


WHY DO WE NEED MONEY?

Mounting high-quality, live performances involves many expenses, and ticket sales don't come close to covering the costs.
These costs include: 

Our initial campaign goal of $10,000 will approximately fund three public concerts for our 2022 season. Any money we raise beyond the $10,000 will be used to help fund additional future performances. So the more money we raise, the more often we'll be able to perform.


WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

There is an array of options and perks available, depending on your donation level, from acknowledgment in our programs, to free concert tickets, to new compositions that we’ll create and record just for you. All donations (through our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas) are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Please see the range of donation levels to the right, and thank you so much for your support!