Words and Music – An Afternoon Salon

• Aaron Larget-Caplan, guitar
• Charles Coe, poet

Convergence Ensemble is thrilled to invite you to our exclusive salon, Words and Music, at 69 Ocean St. in the Ashmont Hill area of Dorchester on Sunday December 10th at 3pm.

This special event is made possible by our gracious hosts Gretchen and Miguel Suarez and will see intimate performances from our very own Charles Coe, exhibiting his own innovative poetry and prose interspersed with classic works from Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, D.H. Lawrence, and Mark Twain, alongside esteemed classical guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan who will be showcasing his own original compositions. Aaron previously performed with Convergence Ensemble in the Strings Galore! concert in November last year and we are very excited for his return!

Complimentary refreshments and nibbles will be available throughout the salon.

About Convergence Ensemble

Founded in 2015 by Pianist and Artistic Director Rachel Goodwin, Convergence Ensemble is a non-profit organization that presents unusual chamber music programming by supporting a diverse group of musicians that engage local audiences, inspire local pride, and strengthen the connections between our various Boston neighborhoods. The ensemble was founded on the belief that the arts are interdisciplinary—that art, poetry, dance, literature, and music inform one another. The organization prides itself on working not only with musicians but also poets, writers, and literary performers.

About Aaron Larget-Caplan, guitar

Composer and classical guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan searches for the life in music, and music in life. He has premiered over 120 compositions, directs the Spanish music and dance ensemble ¡Con Fuego!, while curating the New Lullaby Project commissioning endeavor, and the Now Musique recital series. His arrangements and recording of the music of John Cage are the first to be sanctioned by the estate and have received international accolades. He has 11 solo albums which have earned over 6 million streams, including albums dedicated to J.S. Bach, John Cage, Spanish romantic and flamenco composers, contemporary composers, and his own music. Raised in Colorado, he makes his home in Boston.

YT/TT: @aaronlcguitar

About Charles Coe, poet

I’m a poet, prose writer, teacher of writing and a musician (vocals and didgeridoo).

I was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana but have lived in the Boston area since 1975.

After eighteen years, I retired in the spring of 2015 from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the state agency that funds arts and culture, and now spend my time writing, teaching writing, and making music.

I’ve written four books of poetry: Picnic on the Moon, All Sins Forgiven: Poems for my Parents, Memento Mori, and Purgatory Road, all published by Leapfrog Press. I've also written Spin Cycles, a novella published by Gemma Media. Peach Pie, a short film by filmmaker Roberto Mighty based on my poem "Fortress," has been shown in film festivals nationwide. Charles Coe: Man of Letters, also created by Roberto Mighty, was named "Best Short Documentary" at the Roxbury Film Festival.

I've received a fellowship in poetry from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and was selected by the Associates of the Boston Public Library as a "Boston Literary Light in 2014" and spent 2017 as an Artist-in-Residence for the city of Boston, creating a project that collected oral histories of people who live and work in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood.

Teaching poetry and prose is a special interest. I teach in a wide variety of settings, including grade schools, high schools, colleges, writing conferences and workshops. I've served as poet-in-residence at Wheaton College and at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York and have taught in Dingle, Ireland for the Bay Path University MFA Abroad program. I'm also an adjunct professor of English at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, teaching poetry and non fiction in the low-residency MFA program.