Performance #1
Pre-Show Reception: 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Concert: 7:00PM - 8:00PM
Performance #2
Pre-Show Reception: 7:30PM - 8:30PM
Concert: 8:30PM - 9:30PM
For two nights only, we have the incredible privilege of welcoming Five-time EMMY® winning composer Jeff Beal to the Crypt, to perform the World Premiere of Volume II of his acclaimed New York Études for solo piano. These intimate, reflective works were born from Beal's experience of living with the chronic illness Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and the performances will take place during MS Awareness Month in March. Beal will release the recording of New York Études, Vol. II on the Platoon label.
When Beal was first diagnosed with MS, he began searching for ways to push back against its effects on both body and mind. He learned how deeply piano playing engages neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to rewire around areas of damage - and the New York Études grew out of that commitment: to stay mentally agile, physically present, and creatively alive.
Each Étude captures a fleeting state: the passing of a season; the fatigue that settles into the body without warning; the discipline of persistence; the choice - daily, deliberate - to meet uncertainty with gratitude rather than despair.
This music speaks not only to Beal's personal struggles and triumphs, but to the universal experience of finding hope in times of darkness, and strength in our deepest moments of vulnerability.
Come share in this intimate, profoundly moving musical meditation, as one of our greatest sonic storytellers shows us how to find grace in the face of hardship.
What You Can Expect
The pre-show hourlong reception takes place in the magnificent nave of the Church of the Intercession, where you'll enjoy cocktails, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic libations, as well as charcuterie and snacks (all included in ticket price - it's enough food to stave off starvation, but you'll still probably want a bit more of a meal before or after the show). Then we'll take a brief stroll through the cemetery and descend to the Crypt for an hour-long performance – seating for the 49 audience members is general admission, but there are no bad seats given the intimacy of the space!
All Good
River
Nocturne
New Leaf
Dark and Light
Summer Spring
Autumn
Awakening
Impromptu
Last Breath
Five-time EMMY® winner Jeff Beal’s improvisatory method, sense of timing, and sophistication have made him a favorite of directors including Ed Harris (Pollock and Appaloosa), David Fincher (House of Cards), Oliver Stone (JFK Revisited and The Putin Interviews), Lauren Greenfeld (The Queen of Versailles and Generation Wealth) and Rob Reiner (Shock and Awe). His work on documentaries Blackfish, The Biggest Little Farm, Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Sequel, Athlete A, Frank Marshall’s Rather, and dramatic scores for HBO’s Rome, Carnivàle, and The Newsroom; USA’s Monk, Netflix’s House of Cards; and AppleTV+’s Raymond & Ray have shown him to be one of the most distinctive and recognizable composers working today.
In addition to his distinguished scoring career, Beal is a prolific composer of concert music. Recent commissioned works include “The Paper-Lined Shack” for Leonard Slatkin, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and soprano Hila Plitmann, “Sunrise” for the The Los Angeles Master Chorale, A flute concerto for Sharon Bezaly / Minnesota Orchestra, and “Body in Motion”, a violin concerto for Kelly Hall-Tompkins. Beal is currently composing a saxophone concerto for Branford Marsalis and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. In 2026 his new choral work “The Beatitudes” will be premiered by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and he will conduct his new score to METROPOLIS with Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
Born and raised in the San Fransisco Bay Area, Beal's grandmother was a pianist who performed on the radio and as accompanist for silent movies. Beal graduated from the Eastman School of Music where he and his wife, Joan, recently donated $2 million to the creation of The Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media.