Artistic Director Kristin Lee writes, ”As we close our season at ECM, I wanted to mark the significance of not only celebrating our seventh season of Emerald City Music, but also what this number meant back in 2020. When I was stranded in New York City during the height of COVID in the year 2020, I – along with many New Yorkers – was able to get through these times, looking forward to Seven o’clock every day. What felt like a deserted and a silent city other than the sounds of the sirens during the day changed at Seven o’clock every day…. With sounds of clapping, cheering, music, the clinking of kitchen items, and all sorts of joyous noise filled the city to thank the Frontline workers and also encourage the neighbors around us. It was one of the most uplifting things from the pandemic. It was really what kept us all going every day for a whole year! Andrea Casarrubios commemorates this shared experience with her piece and the program finishes with one of the most celebratory pieces ever written for chamber music- Beethoven’s Septet.