Fieldwork: The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is named for the church in London’s Trafalgar Square, where it gave its first concert, in 1959. From its original 11 members, the group grew into a chamber orchestra, which became ubiquitous on the airwaves thanks to its more than 500 recordings, most of which were led by Neville Marriner. In 1967, the organization established the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, which comprises a handful of the orchestra’s principal players and recalls the group’s conductorless origins by touring worldwide with larger chamber pieces, such as sextets and octets. Performance Santa Fe presents the ensemble at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 11, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center (211 W. San Francisco St.), where it will offer Brahms’ G-major Sextet and two works for string octet: Shostakovich’s Prelude and Scherzo plus Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings. For tickets, $27 to $100 (discounts available), call 505-988-1234 or visit www.ticketssantafe.org. — James M. Keller