Strings in Flight: Quartet & Circus

November 13 and 14 2026 ~ A collaboration of live chamber music and youth circus artistry comes to Wilton, NH 

The Apple Hill String Quartet and Flying Gravity Circus Share the Stage in Partnership with High Mowing School.  When a world-class string quartet and a troupe of young circus artists share one stage, the music doesn't just accompany the action, it lifts it. The Apple Hill String Quartet and Flying Gravity Circus join forces for STRINGS IN FLIGHT: Quartet & Circus, in partnership with High Mowing School, an experience of acrobatics, aerial arts, and jonglerie set to exquisite live music played by Jesse MacDonald (violin), Elise Kuder (violin), Mike Kelley (viola), and Jacob MacKay (cello). 

The circus artistry is directed by Madison Ward, Associate Artistic Director at Flying Gravity Circus, and features the FGC "Indigo Troupe" comprising advanced high school students who specialize in preprofessional circus training. Several Indigo troupers are also enrolled in the Circus Studies Program at High Mowing School.

Thanks to a private donation, High Mowing School recently installed a state-of-the-art aerial rigging system in its Pine Hill auditorium to support the future of aspiring circus artists. Supplemental funding was provided by the Cornelia and Michael Bessie Foundation and the Kingsbury Fund.

The collaboration welcomes special guest Ben Hemmendinger on keyboard to provide inventive accompaniment during the transitions and interludes. Hailing from Brattleboro, Ben is known in the contradance community as a member of the WindFish Band.

A brief opening act will feature the Souhegan Harmony Ensemble directed by Andrew Koutroubas, High Mowing School alum and founder of Silentwoods Collective. They will be joined by the “Blue Troupe,” FGC’s intermediate performance troupe. Atmospheric entertainment provided by FGC’s middle-school “Green Troupe” will greet patrons at the door and in hallways.

Circus is a living dialogue between body and time, and live music deepens that dialogue in ways recorded sound cannot. For FGC's pre-professional Indigo troupers, performing with the AHSQ is a rare chance to bring their hard-earned training into artistic conversation with world-class musicians.

"These young artists have spent years building strength, skill, and trust. Performing with a live string quartet asks them to listen as deeply as they move. It's the kind of experience that can shape an artist for life."
— Madison Ward, Associate Artistic Director, Flying Gravity Circus

About Apple Hill String Quartet

Called “dashing and extraordinary” by The Strad Magazine, the Apple Hill String Quartet are the Artistic Directors and resident musicians at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. The Quartet serves as Music Directors for Apple Hill’s Summer Chamber Music Workshop in Nelson, New Hampshire, known for cultivating connection among people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ages through its guiding philosophy, Playing for Peace. The Quartet performs concerts and conducts educational residencies locally in New Hampshire, nationally, and internationally around the globe. www.applehill.org

About Flying Gravity Circus
Flying Gravity Circus helps children and teens ages 2 to 18 develop strength, confidence, and a sense of belonging through recreational and pre-professional programs in southern New Hampshire. Flying Gravity ignites in young people a love for learning, performing, and teaching circus arts through non-competitive performance troupes, summer camps, and afterschool programs, enriching their lives and their communities. www.flyinggravitycircus.org

About High Mowing School

High Mowing School (Wilton, NH) is a coeducational, non-denominational college-preparatory Waldorf boarding and day school serving students in early childhood through grade 12. Founded in 1942, High Mowing School nurtures students’ ongoing discovery of the world and of themselves through the child-centered educational philosophies of Rudolph Steiner. HMS was the first Waldorf high school in North America and remains the only Waldorf boarding school in North America. Learn more at www.highmowing.org.