Low strings are often heard as background. We believe they can speak directly, powerfully, and to everyone. On Fourth and Fifth is a cello and double bass duo committed to expanding what low strings can do and who they can reach.

Our work follows three intertwined paths:

Commissioning new music
Reexamining existing repertoire
Sharing contemporary music through education and community engagement

At the center of all three is a belief that new music thrives when it is deeply prepared, generously shared, and connected to real people.

Who We Are

Founded in 2024, On Fourth and Fifth brings together cellist Mafalda Santos and double bassist Chelsea Strayer. Our collaboration grew from friendship, shared artistic values, and years of training at Yale and Johns Hopkins University.

As performers and educators, we are passionate about contemporary music that is virtuosic, curious, and welcoming. Our duo focuses on repertoire that is rarely heard, often newly written, and uniquely suited to the expressive range of cello and double bass.

What We’re Building

This campaign supports the next major phase of our work across all three of our artistic paths.

1. Commissioning New Works

In 2026, On Fourth and Fifth is commissioning eight new works for cello and double bass by composers ranging from emerging voices we collaborated with at Yale University to established composer-performers in the bass world.

Impact of your donation:

$1,000 supports one new composition
$12,000 total needed: $8,000 for composer fees, $4,000 for artist fees

These funds ensure pay for composers and allow these works to move from page to performance. Your support helps expand a repertoire that is still strikingly small and reflects the expressive and technical possibilities of low strings today.

2. Recording Project @ Cave Without a Name

We also reinterpret existing repertoire alongside new works. This season, we are recording Rodrigo Mata’s Luminescence at Cave Without a Name, a designated Natural National Landmark in Boerne, Texas. Its natural acoustics amplify the depth and resonance of cello and bass in ways impossible in a traditional hall.

Impact of your donation:

$750 covers travel for artists and instruments
$4,000 covers professional videography and audio engineering
$2,000 covers artist recording fees

This support allows these performances to be professionally documented, preserving music beyond a single concert and enabling wider audiences to experience it.

3. Sharing Music Through Education and Community Engagement

A core part of our mission is bringing contemporary music into spaces where it is rarely heard. Our outreach program “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” is a 45-minute performance (approx. one hour with conversation and demonstrations) designed for schools, retirement communities, and other public spaces.

Impact of your donation per outreach program:

$100–$250 covers travel for artists and instruments
$400–$600 covers artist fees

Your support helps us bring music directly to communities, fostering curiosity and excitement for contemporary repertoire and low strings.

Why Support Matters Now

Thanks to fiscal sponsorship from the International Foundation for Contemporary Music, this project is professionally supported and ready to grow. The music exists or is actively being written.

Your contribution allows this work to move from the page into the world:

Fair pay for composers and artists
Travel with large instruments
Documentation that ensures new music lives beyond a single performance

Every donation directly supports the creation, preparation, and sharing of music that would not exist otherwise.

Join Us

By donating, you become part of a process that values curiosity, collaboration, and access. You help ensure contemporary music is not only written, but deeply prepared, thoughtfully recorded, and widely shared. Thank you for supporting On Fourth and Fifth and believing in the power of low strings to connect, surprise, and move us.

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On Fourth and Fifth: New Music for Cello & Double Bass

Help us commission new works and bring contemporary music to schools across the U.S.