A Berklee graduate who premiered his first opus with the NC Symphony while also helming the sweeping chamber-pop band Lost in the Trees, Ari Picker fuses bracing modernist strings with generous indie melodies. A musical vision that overflows indie recordings and nightclubs is fully realized at Duke Performances, where Picker bolsters his core folk- rock band with a chamber orchestra — 12 strings, harp, piano, and percussion — in an ample, resonant hall.

Lost in the Trees’ latest record, A Church That Fits Our Needs, addresses the suicide of Picker’s mother with a “stirring blend of modest rusticity and urbane ambition” (NY Times). His vulnerable tenor and towering arrangements elevate this sensitive material to devastating heights. For the first time, hear the music as it sounds in Picker’s head.