Through New Music at the Edge, MEE commissions works by talented composers and showcases the premiere performances during the Summer Concert Series. Over the past few seasons, we have premiered powerful works by Howard Rovics, a uniquely original American composer whose works speak very directy to the listener; John H. Wallace, whose 2010 work Structures presented a musical impression of historic architectural landmarks that help define the North Shore; and our own own violist and composer Mark Berger, whose Upon a Wheel of Cloud, Landscape, and String Trios No. 1 and 2 have beguiled, challenged and intrigued our audiences and artists alike.

This year, as part of the 30th Anniversary Season, MEE will present a retrospective of two works by Mr. Rovics in the July program: They are Journey, A Seagoing Narrative with Music, based on Two Years before the Mast by American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., and "Listening to the Sea Winds" set to the poetry of Vincent Ferrini, the late “Poet of Gloucester”. In addition, our September concerts will feature Mark Berger’s String Trio #2 after T.S. Eliot, which was commissioned by MEE in 2007 and received the prestigious ISCM Award in 2008.