2011 - 2012 Series

Midtown Concerts: 
September 2011  | October 2011  |  November 2011  |  December 2011 |  January 2012
February 2012   |  March 2012  |  April 2012   |  May 2012

2011 - 2012 Series

SEPTEMBER 7
ARTEK: Virtuoso String Music from 17th-Century Italy and Germany

Members of ARTEK, including Theresa Salomon, violin/viola; Vita Wallace, violin; Marka Young, violin; Motomi Igarashi, viola da gamba; Daniel Swenberg, theorbo; and Gwendolyn Toth, harpsichord, perform selections of music for three violins by Biagio Marini, Marco Uccellini, Johann Rosenmüller, and closing with the famous Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel.

ARTEK is the resident ensemble of The Art of the Early Keyboard, the founding organization of Midtown Concerts. Directed by Gwendolyn Toth, the ensemble has toured in the United States and Europe. performing 17th-century music from italy and Germany. The ensemble is currently preparing a CD of cantatas by Johann Rosenmüller for release in 2012. Chamber ensembles formed from members of ARTEK perform regularly on the Midtown Concerts series.

SEPTEMBER 14
Anima: 17th-Century Music from the Barberini Family in Rome

The Barberini family, led by Pope Urban VIII, made a huge impact on the cultural life of 17th century Rome. The effects of their patronage are still visible today, such as in beautiful art works by Bernini. Anima will explore the private music they enjoyed by some of their favorite composers, including Mazzocchi, Rossi, Leoni, and Landi.

Anima specializes in music for small ensemble and voice, played on period instruments. Like its name from Latin, meaning 'soul' or 'breath', the group breathes new life into music from the Baroque and late Renaissance, with a transparent, shimmering sound from their unique continuo team of harp and gamba.


SEPTEMBER 21
Erin Hanke: Harpsichord Recital

Harpsichordist Erin Hanke performs French keyboard works including those by Antoine Forqueray, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Jean-Henri d'Anglebert.

Erin Hanke is teaching assistant to Arthur Haas at SUNY Stony Brook, where she is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree as the recipient of a full Staller scholarship. In January 2011, Ms. Hanke performed works by Louis Couperin on a 1635 Ruckers instrument at the Flint Collection Masterclass. She was artist in residence at the CUNY Queens College Museum of Art in the exhibition Express|Local in January 2011, and held a teaching assistantship at The New School University in the following spring. While a merit scholarship recipient at Mannes, she performed at Alice Tully Hall with the Mannes Orchestra, in the exclusive Mendelssohn Salon Festival under director Pavlina Dokovska, and as a concert soloist with the baroque ensemble. She performs as a chamber musician with Waits Trio and the Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Church.


SEPTEMBER 28
Sonnambula: Consort Music for Three Viols from Renaissance England

Virtuoso viol players John Mark Rozendaal, treble viol; Elizabeth Weinfield, tenor viol; and Anne Legêne, bass viol, perform music from Renaissance England.

Founded in 2011 after the Wieland Kuijken Residency in Boston, Sonnambula is a new viol consort that performs Renaissance and Baroque repertoire for diverse combinations of viols, and in so doing brings together some of today's most exciting gambists and performers of early music.



OCTOBER 5
Gavin Black, harpsichord: Dietrich Buxtehude's Variations on La Capricciosa

Gavin Black plays Buxtehude's monumental variation set for solo harpsichord on the tune "La Capricciosa". A rarely-heard masterpiece!

Gavin Black is best known for his recordings of 17th-century keyboard music on the PGM label. He studied organ and harpsichord with Paul Jordan and Eugene Roan, and conducting with Jahja Ling and Otto-Werner Mueller, and attended Princeton University and Westminster Choir College. He served as Associate University Organist at Princeton from 1977 to 1979 whlie a student there, and was Organist and Senior Choir Director at Hillsborough Reformed Church, Millstone, New Jersey, from 1988 until 1994. he has been a teacher of organ, harpsichord, clavichord, and continuo playing since 1979, teaching from time to time at Westminster Choir College and at the Westminster Conservatory of Music.

OCTOBER 12
Ensemble Breve: Sonatas for flute and recorder with harpsichord by Telemann

The duo members of Ensemble Breve offer a lunchtime repast of four works, each with varying instrumental timbres and styles, spotlighting three of G. P. Telemann's most inventive collections. Telemann revitalized German instrumental music in the 18th century by publishing several collections under his own imprint, often engraving them himself. This program freatures the flute sonata from Tafelmusik, published in Hamburg in 1733. Essercizii Musici (1739) will be represented by one of the four recorder sonatas, the Sonata in D minor, as well as a Fantasia for harpsichord solo. The charming miniature chamber pieces from Die kleine Kammermusik (1728) round out the program with a light and gracious ending.

Ensemble BREVE specializes in the repertoire of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, performing on historical instruments. The group has toured the US, Europe, and Mexico, presenting programs of unique style and charm. Performers: Deborah Booth, flute and recorder, and Stephen Rapp, harpsichord. Deborah Booth has performed with Trinity Bach Vespers, St. Luke's Orchestra, the Handel-Haydn Society, Big Apple Baroque, and is the co-founder of Ensembler BREVE. Stephene Rapp regularly performs with the Orchestra of New England, as organist at St. John's Lutheran Church in Stamford, and other ensembles in the tri-state area.


OCTOBER 19
Pascal Valois: Works by Carpentras, Magnien, and Sor on 19th-century guitar

Classical guitar virtuoso Pascal Valois journeys from Switzerland to perform music buy Romantic composers Carpentras, Magnien, and Sor.

Pascal Valois has received the most renowned bursaries in Canada for guitar performance (Canada Council for the Arts) as well as musicology (FQRSC and SSHRC). He was also awarded scholarships from the Desjardins Foundation, the Wilfrid-Pelletier Foundation, the Laval University Foundation, and the Université du Québec à Montréal Foundation. He studied romantic guitar on period instrument with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum (Switzerland). Prior to this, he had graduated with honours at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Jean Vallières, as well as receiving the prize Pierre J. Jeanniot during his studies at Université du Québec à Montréal with Alvaro Pierri. He performed in the masterclasses of Ricardo Cobo, Roland Dyens, Fabio Zanon, and William Kanengiser. Pascal Valois gave solo concerts on period and modern instruments in Switzerland, France, Latvia, Ontario, Quebec, and New-Brunswick. While he maintained a busy concert schedule, Pascal Valois completed a PhD. in guitar performance practice at Laval University in 2009. He is also responsible for the publication of a series of scores dedicated to 19th century French guitar music at the Centre de Musique Romantique Française and at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. Pascal Valois is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Switzerland), as well as an active performing artist.


OCTOBER 26
Delahanty/Mor Duo: Furia d'amore - Love, Fury, and Despair in 17th-Century Italy

The Belgium-based soprano Ellen Delahanty, soprano and Israeli recorder player Daphna Mor team up for a performance of seventeenth-century Italian music for voice, recorder and harpsichord by Claudio Monteverdi, Girolamo Frescobaldi, and Riccardo Rognoni. Gwendolyn Toth will accompany on harpsichord.

Ellen Delahanty has been praised in the international press as a “wunderbar klare Sopran” and “a singer of great charm and perfect diction”. She studied voice with the renowned English voice teacher Jessica Cash in London. She is a regular guest on several early music festivals in Europe and America, as a soloist as well as a member of the ensembles Quadrivium and Sospiri Ardenti with whom she has recorded CD’s for Kattenberg Recordings.


NOVEMBER 2
Ensemble Leonarda: Baroque Music from France and Italy

Ensemble Leonarda explores eighteenth-century baroque music by Pietro Locatelli, Louis de Caix d'Hervelois, and François Couperin - the man who wanted to synthesize French and Italian styles.

Ensemble Leonarda was formed at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where its founding members were in the early music program. Named after composer Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704), this group of gifted individuals formed an ensemble dedicated to performing works of the Baroque masters with vim, vigor, and enthusiasm.


NOVEMBER 9
Salisbury Quartet: Chamber Music from 17th-Century Italy

Performers Sachiho Murasagi, violin; John Moran, viola da gamba/cello; Jeffrey Schoyen, cello; and Gwendolyn Toth, harpsichord will perform selections by Girolamo Frescobaldi, Francesco Geminiani, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Biagio Marini.

Sachiho Murasagi and Jeffrey Schoyen are faculty members at Salisbury University, Maryland, where the ensemble is based. Gwendolyn Toth and John Moran join the ensemble regularly for performances.



NOVEMBER 16
Carlene Stober, Viola da gamba and Cello: Solo music by Abel and Bach

The virtuoso gambist Carl Friedrich Abel was associated with two generations of the Bach family. This program presents a lovely early classical work for unaccompanied viol along with Johann Sebastian Bach's masterful Suite for violoncello solo in G major.

Carlene Stober is continuo cellist for Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity and is a member of Empire Viols, the Grenser Trio, and the Opera Saratoga orchestra. She has appeared on Prairie Home Companion, performed with the Utah Shakespearean Festival, and served as principal cellist of the Tucson Symphony.


NOVEMBER 23
Dodd Quartet: Haydn String Quartets, Op. 74, No. 1 and Op.103

Haydn's String Quartet Op. 74, No. 1 was written for big public concerts in London, in an attention getting style sure to please a novelty seeking audience. Op. 103, which Haydn was unable to complete, was published with a line from his song "Der Greis" ("The Old Man"), "Hin ist alle meine Kraft, alt und schwach bin ich," ("All my strength is gone, I am old and weak"); it is the brooding, harmonically daring work of a composer who no longer needed to please any audience other than himself.

The Dodd String Quartet performs on period instruments. Focusing on the 100 years that saw the birth and subsequent evolution of the string quartet, they enjoy exploring rarely performed works alongside the glorious mainstays of the quartet repetoire - from the late Baroque through early Romanticism.



NOVEMBER 30
Grenser Trio: Beethoven - Trio in E-flat major, Op. 38

The acclaimed trio of Edward Mathew, classical clarinet; Carlene Stober, cello; and Dongsok Shin, fortepiano perform one of Beethoven's chamber music masterpieces.

The Grenser Trio explores chamber music from Beethoven's time on historical clarinet, cello, and fortepiano. Audiences have heard the Grenser Trio in and around New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; SUNY Stony Brook; Times Center; St. Francis College; Fourth Mondays Series: Holy Trinity Church; Midtown Concerts Series; Interchurch Center; King Manor Mansion; and Morris-Jumel Mansion.


DECEMBER 7
Black Marble: Virtuoso music for two violins by Telemann, Shield, and Leclair

Jörg-Michael Schwarz and Karen Marie Marmer offer an affecting and virtuosic program with music of the high baroque and gallant styles from Germany, England, and France by Telemann, Shield, and Leclair for two violins.

The violinists of Black Marble are the co-directors of the internationally acclaimed baroque ensemble, REBEL, with whom they record and concertize extensively in the U.S. and abroad. The duo has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kendal-on-Hudson Concert Series, and Midtown Concerts; in September 2010, Black Marble was featured on WQXR-FM's 'violin month' in an interview and video performance hosted by Jeff Spurgeon. The name 'Black Marble' derives from the English translation of their last names: Schwarz (German for black) and Marmer (Dutch for marble). The ensemble aims to explore the rich, virtuosic, and rarely performed repertoire written for two violins by Leclair, Telemann, Reger, Spohr, and Bartok, amongst others, on instruments and bows appropriate to their respective periods. The husband and wife team perform on equally well-matched Stainer violins dated 1660 and 1668 respectively.


DECEMBER 14
Charites: German baroque vocal music by Schütz, Scheidt, and Schein

A program of sacred music that displays the intimate passion and fervent piety of the works of the three masters of the early German baroque: Heirich Schütz, Johann Hermann Schein, and Samuel Scheidt. The music is drawn from their respective Kleine geistliche Konzerte, works that reflect the turmoil of the Thirty Years War not only economically in their small forces, but also emotionally. The highly dramatic nature of the music and careful attention to the text, revealing the influence of contemporary Italian composition, are paired with characteristically German contrapuntal rigor and modally-inflected harmonies. In a time of religious war, the singing of sacred music was a political action, and music brought the war-cries and laments of the battlefield to the peace of the sanctuary.

Charites is a female trio committed to bringing the art of early composers to life through bold, expressive performances. The group draws on both historical and modern practices to create theatrical spectacles, combining virtuosic singing, movement, and poetry to involve, delight, and move listeners.


DECEMBER 21
Pomerium: Creator of the Stars - Christmas Music from the Old World

This program features a selection of Gregorian chants for the Christmas season, in each case followed by a large-scale Renaissance polyphonic work based on it. The composers range from Guillaume DuFay in the mid-15th century, to Josquin Desprez 50 years later, to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina at the end of the 16th century.

Now in its 39th season, Pomerium unites to power of 15 solo singers, all with distinguished individual careers, to create a sound described by The Boston Globe as "ravishingly beautiful." Pomerium has been recognized for many years as the leading a cappella ensemble in the United States focusing on the music composed for the famous chapel choirs of the Renaissance.


DECEMBER 28
Modern Musick Trio: Beethoven Trio in C minor, Op. 1 no. 3

Members of the Washington-based period instrument ensemble (Risa Browder, violin; John Moran, cello; Dongsok Shin, fortepiano) perform Beethoven's C minor piano trio on period instruments. The key of C minor has been characterized as turbulent, stormy, and dramatic; used for "works of unusual intensity" such as in the 5th Symphony. Come to the concert to hear some serious music-making as a holiday treat!

Following a successful debut concert in January, 2002, Modern Musick rapidly achieved critical acclaim and a reputation among insiders as Washington's early music ensemble to watch. The Washington Post has said, "Modern Musick played it with great spirit, the period strings both beautifully tracing sustained melodic lines and getting pleasantly rough when the rhthyms got stronger."


JANUARY 4
Guido's Ear: Italian Baroque Sonatas for Two Violins and Harpsichord

Guido's Ear will present a program of Early Italian Baroque sonatas, highlighting the flights of fancy, daring virtuosity, and sheer joy of early baroque composers like Uccelini, Castello, Marini, and Merula. Enchanting dances, enflamed passions, daring passaggi, wild flights from the plaintive to the enraged - these are the hallmarks of this incredibly inventive music.

Guido's Ear is an early music ensemble specializing in repertoire of the late renaissance and early baroque, founded by violinists Aaron Brown and Dongmyung Ahn. Based in New York City, Guido's Ear has performed at the Connecticut Early Music Festival, Vanderbilt Universities Great Performances, and the City University of New York's Graduate Center among other venues, and is currently recording its first CD.


JANUARY 11
Mozartean Players: Haydn trios Hob. XV/22 in E-flat major, and Hob. XV/25 in G major

The Mozartean Players present a program of trios for fortepiano, violin, and cello by Haydn.

The Mozartean Players, founded in 1979, is one of the oldest continuously active early-music organizations in America. It is also one of the most distinguished, as measured by all criteria: critical response, the breadth and volume of its performing history, and the distinction of the auspices that have welcomed it, the influence it has borne on other musicians, and the quality of its recorded legacy. The group has performed under the auspices of Carnigie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum in New York City (where it offered multi-concert seasons for five years), the Lufthansa Festival of London, the Tage alter Musik Festival of Regensburg, and scores of distinguished series in 25 states and other international auspices.


JANUARY 18
Christine Gummere, cello: Suite #6 in D-major for solo cello by J.S. Bach

Virtuoso cellist Christine Gummere plays Suite #6 in D major for unaccompanied cello by J.S. Bach. The 6th suite was written for five-string cello, which is strung with a top E string. It is 30-35 minutes long. In all the suites, Bach explores and expands the expressive possibilities of the cello. In this suite, the extra string seems to take his imagination to another realm.

Christine Gummere has been playing baroque cello since 1985. As an active free-lancer, she played principal cello for Concert Royal, The American Classical Orchestra, Early Music New York, and the New York Collegium. She is now the founder and Artistic Director of Sinfonia New York, a period instrument orchestra.



JANUARY 25
Lyra Consort: Christopher Simpson's The Seasons - Summer and Autumn

In its third season, the Lyra Consort (Vita Wallace, violin; Beverly Au and Lisa Terry, viols; with Deborah Fox, theorbo) will complete the cycle of Christopher Simpson's The Seasons, performing "Summer" and "Autumn" - brilliant and sublime division suites for violin, viols, and continuo, and chamber works featuring lyra viol.

The Lyra Consort specializes in performing rarely-heard pieces featuring the lyra viol - a highly unique and haunting style of Renaissance viol music similar in many ways to lute music, by played with a bow for a sustained chordal sound and offering unusually rich and resonant tonal colors.


FEBRUARY 1
Concitato: 17th century Italian baroque music

The Stylus phantasticus was one of the early styles to develop on the baroque period. it started in Venice and developed in other countries around Europe. This program represents an example of a celebration of 17th century Italian works from the free-flying early days of the violin, and features music by Castello, Cima, Frescobaldi, Colombi, and other early Italian masters. Performers: Joan Plana, violin; Ezra Seltzer, cello; and Jeffrey Grossman, harpsichord.

Taking its name from the Italian concitare ("to incite or provoke"), Concitato electrifies listeners with insightful interpretations of rarely performed repertoire, while redefining the way audiences hear the more well known works of the Baroque canon. Concitato tastefully combines the latest discoveries in musicological research with cutting-edge training. Founded in 2008 by violinist Joan Plana, this trio of dynamic young players - violinist Joan Plana, cellist Ezra Seltzer, and harpsichordist Jeffrey Grossman - performs a vast repertoire of diverse instrumental music from the baroque era. Concitato's flexibility allows for the inclusion of additional musical collaborators for larger ensemble or vocal works. After a stunning Chicago début in November 2008, Concitato has performed concerts in Montreal, Cleveland, and New York. In 20209, Concitato was named a finalist of the York International Early Music Competition.


FEBRUARY 8
Aya Hamada, harpsichord: Music in the Italian style by Bach, Scarlatti, and Frescobaldi

Julliard-trained harpsichordist Aya Hamada performs works of J.S. Bach which were written in the Italianate style, and virtuosic keyboard pieces by Italian composers Frescobaldi and Domenico Scarlatti.

Aya Hamada is an active concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and continuo player. Currently she plays principal keyboard for the New York Symphonic Ensemble and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, and servers as organist/pianist at the L'Eglise Française du Saint Esprit in New York.


FEBRUARY 15
Richard Tunnicliffe, cello: Music by Domenico Gabrielli and J.S. Bach for solo cello

Cellist Richard Tunnicliffe performs Domenico Gabrielli's Ricercar for solo cello and J.S. Bach's Suite No. 5 in c minor, BWV 1011.

Richard Tunnicliffe studied cello and viola da gamba at the Royal College of Music, and now plays music ranging from the Renaissance to the present day on a number of instruments. He is a member of the viol consort "Fretwork", who have travelled widely, had over 20 works written for them, and made numerous recordings. In 2007 they became Ensemble in Residence at Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge. He is also principal cello of the Avison Ensemble and a guest principal of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has been much in demand as a continuo cellist, playing for Opera productions in Glyndebourne and Salzburg (with OAE) and can be heard in this capacity in many orchestral and chamber recordings.



FEBRUARY 22
No concert (Ash Wednesday)


FEBRUARY 29
Uncommon Temperament : "When Love Goes Wrong" - French baroque music for voice and instruments

"When love goes wrong, nothing goes right" (H. Adamson, 1953). The musicians of Uncommon Temperament take a look at the French baroque perspective on this eternal truth: Unhappy lovers get in deadly trouble because of their relationships (or the refusal of such) with Gods and other unreachable characters. They will perform music by E. Jacquet de la Guerre, J.P. Rameau, and a revival of the quirky French tradition of "charivari".

The pillars of Uncommon Temperament are daring programming and an historically informed, yet wild and organic approach to baroque performance practice. The group successfully kicked off in 2009 at NYC's (le) Poisson Rouge, with an "accomplished and winning" performance, according to the New York Times.


MARCH 7
Amy Bartram/Ekko Jennings Duo: Songs from 17th Century England by Lanier, Lawes, and Wilson

Duo partners Amy Bartram and Ekko Jennings perform music from mid-17th century England, featuring songs by Nicholas Lanier, Henry Lawes, and John Wilson, and lute instrumentals from the M-L Lute Book.

Amy Bartram, soprano, and Ekko Jennings, lute, presented their first concert together in 2001, and have since delved deep into lute song repertoire, exploring airs de cours, Elizabethan lute songs, the music of John Wilson, the Bottegari lute book, and more, in more than 14 different programs on concert series around New York City, including the Midday Music, Music in Chelsea, and Midtown Concerts series, as well as on the Baroque Festival of New Jersey. 


MARCH 14
Matthew Hall, harpsichord: English Suite No. 3 in G minor and Toccata in D major by J.S. Bach

This program explores the early keyboard music of J.S. Bach. This early repertoire, dating from the Weimar period (1708-1717) is influenced by the Italianate "stylus phantasticus". It is extravagant music: sometimes so viertuosic as to be "unkeyboardistic". The clockmaker's perfection so much in evidence in the later works has not yet become Bach's ideal - this repertoire is marked by a profusion of ideas characterised not by their refinement but by their brilliance.

Harpsichordist and organist Matthew Hiall is active in the Boston area. Mr. Hall studied music and linguistics at Harvard, and completed a master's degree in musicology at the University of Leeds in the UK on a Fulbright Scholarship. He was also Organ Scholar at Leeds Cathedral. He is currently pursuing a DMA in harpsichord performance under Peter Sykes at Boston University.


MARCH 21
Barbara Hollinshead/Howard Bass Duo: Airs de Cour - early French songs of love and loss

Continuing from last season, Barbara Hollinshead, mezzo-soprano and Howard Bass, lute, present love songs and lute solos from the French courts of the 16th and 17th centuries, as heard in their soon-to-be-released CD of Airs de Cours. Last year, they presented one half of the CD program, and this season they present the second half of the program.;

Mezzo-soprano Barbara Hollinshead and lutenist Howard Bass have worked together for nearly two decades. They have appeared on numerous concert series and have developed several thematic programs for voice and lute. Their CD Loves Lost... and Found garnered critical acclaim, and Airs de Cour is scheduled for release in spring 2012.



MARCH 28
Nell Snaidas/Daniel Swenberg: Duo songs from 17th century Spain by Machado, Hidalgo, Marin, and de Bailly.

Frequent duo partners Nell Snaidas and Dan Swenberg perform a program of Spanish Songs from Hidalgo, Marin, and other composers from 17th century Spain. Nell will sing, Dan will play, and at times Nell and Dan will play together.

Nell Snaidas has been praised by the New York Times for her "beautiful soprano voice", "melting passion", and "vocally ravishing" performances. Of Uruguayan-American descent, Nell began her career singing leading roles in zarzuelas at New York City's Repertorio Español. Specialization in Italian and Spanish Baroque music has taken her all of Europe, North, and Latin America.

Daniel Swenberg is well known to this crowd. In addition to myriad weird instruments you known and love, it seems he has ventured into the 19th century. Long ago and far away, he studied classical guitar, before happily giving it up for the lute. A couple of years ago, he got the chance to play and acquire the beautiful copy of a c. 1820 style Viennese guitar after Stauffer, made by his lute-making friend Michael Schreiner. That led down the slippery slope that has him mired in today's recital.


APRIL 4
ARTEK with soloists Lauren Alfano and Juli Borst: Alessandro Scarlatti's Stabat Mater

Gwendolyn Toth leads a performance of Alessandro Scarlatti's Stabat Mater with soloists Lauren Alfano, soprano, and Juli Borst, mezzo-soprano accompanied by instrumentalists from ARTEK. Scarlatti's Stabat Mater was commissioned in 1723 by the Order of Cavalieri della Virgine dei Dolori; the same Order commissioned Pergolesi to write his more famous Stabat Mater just 20 years later. Scarlatti's haunting music is perhaps even more fitting as a Holy Week tribute to Mary's witness of the sufferings of her son on the cross.

Soprano Lauren Alfano performs extensively as an oratorio soloist. She was a 2010-11 Resident Artist with the Underworld Productions Opera Ensemble, and sings with the Satori Opera Company, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, and the Opera Company of Brooklyn. Ms. Alfano’s recent and upcoming performances include Rigoletto (Gilda), Cosi fan tutte (Despina), Don Pasquale (Norina), La Sonnambula (Lisa), Alcina (Morgana), Don Giovanni (Zerlina), and two operatic premieres. She is a graduate student in Voice at Hunter College in the studio of Martina Arroyo.

Juli Borst was recently praised for her "good acting ability and resonant mezzo" and "an impressively strong, precise delivery and a totally natural dramatic performance" as the Composer in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos with New York City's dell'Arte Opera. In spring 2011, she performed the roles of Mother and Alison in Lee Hoiby's This Is the Rill Speaking with Chelsea Opera. She has performed with companies such as New Rochelle Opera, Amato Opera, New York Metro Vocal Arts Ensemble (NYMVAE), Des Moines Metro Opera, and New York City Opera National Company. Oratorio performances include Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater," Mozart’s "Litany of Loreto," Vivaldi's "Gloria," Handel's "Laudete Pueri" and Graun's "Der Tod Jesu," frequently with NYC's ARTEK Baroque Orchestra.


APRIL 11
Repast: Music by Erlebach, Buxtehude, and J.S. Bach

Repast delves into the fourth year of its "Bach and Before" project, putting Bach in context by exploring the generation of German composers which preceded and influenced him. The sophisticated craftsmanship and exuberant lyricism of Dietrich Buxtehude, Philippe Heinrich, Erlebach, and their contemporaries set a precedent for Bach's later masterpieces.

Acclaimed by the New York Times as "a graceful, energetic ensemble," Repast has performed at the Miami Bach Society, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, Bargemusic, the Early Music Society of the Islands in Victoria, BC, the Times Center, Rhode Island Museum Concerts, and presents three concerts annually at the Baruch Performing Arts Center.


APRIL 18
Waits Trio: Music by Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray

Waits Trio performs works by Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray to test the legend "Marais played like an angel, and Forqueray like the devil," including the Sonnerie de Sainte-Genevive du Mont by Marais, and excerpts from Forqueray's virtuosic suites.

Waits Trio was formed by a mutual love of Couperin and Taquerea Y La Fonda Mexicana in 2008. They met at Mannes College where they studied chamber music with Martha McGaughey and went on to complete degrees at the Juilliard School and Mannes College. Liv Heym, baroque violin, is a recent graduate of the Juilliard School where she studied weith Monica Muggett, member of the European Baroque Orchestra. James Waldo, viola da gamba and cello, is a full scholarship recipientt in the Professional Studies Diploma program at Mannes College where he studies with Timothy Eddy. Erin Hanke recently completed her Masters degree at Mannes College under Arthur Haas. She continues with him at Stony Brook university where she is a full Staller scholarship recipient.


APRIL 25
Duo Marchand: Music of Restoration England by Purcell, Blow, Finger, and Matteis

With special guest Ruth Cunningham, the Duo samples the "sweet delights of love" at the English court - where the English Orpheus, court composer Henry Purcell, reigned over a gorgeous flowering of musical and thatrical creativity in the late 17th century.

Marcia Young and Andy Rutherford have performed together as Duo Marchand since 1995. Soprano and renaissance wind player Ruth Cunningham, well known from her long association with Anonymous 4. has performed frequently with Marcia Young in such ensembles as My Lord Chamberlain's Consort and Early Music New York.


MAY 2
Philmore Ensemble: Romantic Lieder and Song for Soprano and 19th Century Guitar

Julia Madden and Duane Large of the Philmore Ensemble offer a recital of 19th century Lieder performed in an authentic style using a period guitar from Paris, circa 1815. Duane and Julia have studied the bel canto style in France and Italy and offer a fresh and exciting representation of German and Italian art song.

Philmore Ensemble formed at Temple University where Amanda heckman, Duane Large, and Julia Madden were all graduate students. Philadelphia musician Myanna Harvey joined the ensemble to expand the possibilities of the group. Philmore Ensemble is a portmanteau of the words Philadelphia and Baltimore, the cities in which the members live.


MAY 9
Orfeo Duo: Music by Mozart and Spohr for Violin and Fortepiano

The brother-sister duo, Vita Wallace, violin, and Ishmael Wallace, piano, perform Mozart's Sonata in E-flat Major (K. 481), and Louis Spohr's Barcarolle, Op. 135.

The Orfeo Duo has performed throughoutthe Americas as well as in Europe and made numerous recordings. Their repertoire ranges from Bach to music by young contemporary composers, including the complete sonatas of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, and many beautiful early 20th century pieces, and short pieces, including their own arrangements of songs and arias. The Orfeo Duo musicians play from memory, and their interpretations are colored by exploration of historical performance practices and kindled by a spirit of improvisation. In recent years, Vita and Ishmael have been celebrating the creative spirit in their NYC neighborhood in a project called 'What a Neighborhood!' Through concerts and workshops they encourage composers of all ages and backgrounds and draw neighbors together, nurturing a strong sense of community.


MAY 16
Elizabeth Baber/Christa Patton Duo: "Even night is here" - Songs in Praise of the Evening

The stars in her eyes and love's wound, grief and oblivion, the moon and sweet slumber describe the journey of love against the background of night. Baroque harpist Christa Patton and Sophrano Elizabeth Baber soulfully intone the music of Henry Purcell, Giulio Caccini, Luigi Rossi, John Dowland, and contemporary "old souls" Astor Piazzola and Simon Diaz in this program of evocative night music.

Baroque harpist, Christa Patton has performed with many of America's premier performing ensembles such as Apollo's Fire, The King's Noyse, The Toronto Consort, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, La Nef, Blue Heron, and ARTEK, Piffaro, as well as Baroque opera productions of Monteverdi's Ulisse, Poppea, and L'Orfeo with the New York City Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Tafelmusik, and Opera Atelier. Ms. Patton is currently Music Director of the Queens College Baroque Opera Workshop.

Elizabeth Baber has been praised by the Washington Post both for her "angelic brightness and dedication" and her "ability to seduce," and the New York Times called her singing "truly lovely." Ms. Baber has appeared most notably with Hesperus, Parthenia, and "A Vivaldi Festival!" with Voices of Ascension. Elizabeth is a member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Pomerium and the world-renowned choir of Trinity Church, Wall Street.


MAY 23
Sarah Pillow, soprano: Dramatic 17th Century Italian Songs

The acclaimed early music soprano sings cantatas from 17th-century Venice, accompanied by harpsichordist Gwendolyn Toth.

Sarah Pillow has built a unique career by drawing on her equal expertise in jazz and classical repertoire. She began her professional singing career as a jazz vocalist and church musician, became a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and started exploring early music upon her arrival in New York City. Her jazz festival appearances include the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, where she received an award for excellence in performance by Downbeat Magazine. Her work as a classical musician casts a wide net: from Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 (Andrew Parrott and the New York Collegium) to Sweeney Todd (Andrew Litton and the New York Philharmonic) at Avery Fisher Hall. Sarah performs regularly as a solo recitalist in several venues in Europe and the United States, performing repertoire from the 17th century to modern music. Sarah's recordings also attest to her diversity in vocal styles, and she can be heard on such varied recordings as Henry Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas" and "An Afterthought", where she has written lyrics to Marc Wagnon's progressive jazz compositions. Her recording entitled "Nuove Musiche" is a jazz-rock album based on 17th-century melodies and texts. "Remixes", her latest recording, consists of two discs and two interpretations (one historical, featuring Galileo's Daughters; the other a modern twist with jazz-rock musicians) of one set of 17th-century songs.