Tessa Brinckman & East West Continuo to perform on January 22 Tessa Brinckman & East West Continuo, a unique ensemble of flute, viola, harp and koto (a Japanese stringed instrument), founded and led by flutist Tessa Brinckman, is scheduled to perform on the Celebration Works series on Sunday, January 22, at 3 pm in the Chapel. The ensemble plans an eclectic mix of music, including the Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp by Claude Debussy, Sutra by Bernard Andres, Secret Life of Birds by Elizabeth Brown, Duo for Flute and Viola by Willy Hess, Saga no Aki by Iris Shiraishi and El Contrabando ("Smuggling"), a South American folk tune arranged for the entire ensemble. The Debussy sonata is one of the most well-known and beloved works for the combination of flute, viola and harp. The Andres piece for flute, viola and harp is an homage to the Debussy piece, with this talented modern composer abstracting and distilling the music to create an entirely new soundscape. Brooklyn composer Elizabeth Brown has written Secret Life of Birds for flute and koto as a meditation on the microcosm of the natural world of birds and what they mean to us. The piece is unique in using microtones, common in Asian music but unusual for Western listeners. Saga no Aki is written for flute, viola and koto by a woman taiko drummer in the midwest. The title means "Saga Autumn" and the piece is based on a composition by the 19th-century Japanese composer Kikusue Kengyo, which gives the music a traditional sound with a modern slant. Tessa Brinckman & East West Continuo was formed in 2003 to explore traditional and hybrid material for flute and stringed instruments and has been active in commissioning new works and reviving old ones, from Western classical to non-Western music. The ensemble's first CD, Glass Sky, was recorded in the Chapel at First Presbyterian. The well-received CD will be available for purchase at the concert. Performing on the recital will be flutist Tessa Brinckman, violist Victoria Gunn Pich, harpist Jenny Lindner, and koto player Mitsuki Dazai. Tickets are sold at the door and cost $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students.