EarlyMusicNews.Org

“New York City based SIREN Baroque stages vibrant, thought-provoking programs of early chamber and vocal music.  Bringing passionate and historically informed performances to concert halls, art galleries, and cafes throughout New York and beyond, the nine women of SIREN are committed to infusing passionate historical accuracy with a twinge of modern dynamism by commissioning new works for historical instruments. “

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Added on: Feb 22, 2012 | Hits: 170

"S. Chordæ Consort of Viols was founded by gambist John Dornenburg for the purpose of performing and recording the rich body of music for viol consort of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Consort has performed widely in California with presenters including the Berkeley Early Music Festival, San Francisco Early Music Society, San Jose Chamber Music Society, Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Gualala Arts, and Magnificat. In 1999 they made their European debut at the Tage Alter Musik Festival in Regensburg, Germany. The Consort currently has three highly praised CD recordings released on the Centaur label. The most recent CD features Renaissance Music by Josquin Des Prez and Heinrich Isaac with guest vocalists Scott Whitaker and Susan Rode Morris. They have also recorded suites from Johann Hermann Schein's Banchetto musicale of 1617, and Claudio Monteverdi's Third Book of Madrigals played on viols alone without vocalists. In the chamber music of this period the consort of viols occupied a place of honor that in later centuries would be awarded to the string quartet. The repertory for viol consort embraces a wide variety of styles ranging from the chansons, madrigals, and dances of the Renaissance to the fantasias, anthems, consort songs, and suites of the early baroque. Three and sometimes four different sizes of viols create a blended sound that is warmly resonant yet surprisingly transparent. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 02, 2008 | Hits: 304

"Seven Times Salt was formed in February 2003. Since that time, we have performed for the Longy School of Music, Harvard University, The Society For Historically Informed Performance, the Boston Recorder Society, Plimoth Plantation, the Ken Pierce Dance Company, the Amherst Early Music Festival, the Early Music Festivals in Bloomington (IN) and Boston, the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, and WGBH radio. We are based in Boston, MA, and our specialty is chamber music of the 16th and 17th centuries. ...

In our own repertoire, we strive to cover the waterfront from Morley to Matteis and everything in between, including not just English music, but other popular music from around Europe in the musically fertile period of the 16th and 17th centuries. The English consort turns out to be a perfect vehicle for a wide variety of Renaissance and early Baroque music, especially with the occasional addition of voices and other instruments such as bagpipes and percussion. "

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Added on: Mar 08, 2008 | Hits: 378

“Praised for their “well-thought-out articulation and phrasing” (Early Music Review) and “elegant string playing that was immaculate in tuning and balance” (Early Music Today), the Sebastian Chamber Players (Sebastians) specialize in music of the Baroque and Classical eras and newly commissioned works for period instruments. Since their founding in 2001, the ensemble has performed throughout the United States. The group is comprised of members who have studied at the Historical Performance Program at the Juilliard School and as post-graduate fellows in early music at Yale University. The Sebastians were recently named the artists-in-residence at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Manchester, CT. They were finalists of the 2011 York International Early Music Competition and the 2011 Early Music America/Naxos Recording Competition.”

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Added on: Jan 21, 2012 | Hits: 244

"Sarasa is a collective group of international instrumentalists and vocalists who perform classical music of outstanding quality, and bring this music to diverse communities. Through the ensemble's outreach program in adolescent detention facilities, it is dedicated to bridging cultural, aesthetic, and economic barriers and providing incarcerated teenagers with opportunities for growth and enrichment through music.

Sarasa was formed in response to a concert played by its founder, Timothy Merton, in the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 1997, at the urging of a friend who was a prison volunteer. An inmate who heard that first concert remarked, "When art is well executed, it projects a message that transcends language, culture, and even aesthetic boundaries." Sarasa took these words to heart and since then has been bringing high-quality music to those who ordinarily have little access to it. In addition to its public concerts, the ensemble plays in adult and adolescent correctional facilities, homes for the elderly, mental hospitals, and institutions for the disabled. Sarasa also does three-week residencies in grade schools, using drawing and writing to bring children to a meaningful understanding of classical music.

The name Sarasa is derived from a combination of Saraswathi, the Hindu goddess of art and culture, and the poetic sanscrit word rasa denoting the essence of sound " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 12, 2008 | Hits: 369

"Sacramento Baroque Soloists, founded in 2001, is Sacramento's own baroque music ensemble. World-class musicians from in and around Sacramento perform our concerts with the artistry and professionalism one expects in our growing community, playing Baroque music with enthusiasm polished with historical knowledge. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Sep 14, 2008 | Hits: 330

"Founded in 1996 and based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, The Rose Ensemble reawakens the ancient with vocal music that strives to stir the emotions, challenge the mind, and lift the spirit. Each performance illuminates centuries of rarely heard repertoire, bringing to modern audiences research from the world’s manuscript libraries and fresh perspectives on history, languages, politics, religion and world cultures and traditions. With nine critically acclaimed recordings and a diverse selection of concert programs, the group has thrilled audiences across the United States and Europe with repertoire spanning 1,000 years and over 25 languages, including new research in Hawaiian, Swedish, Middle Eastern and American vocal traditions.

The recipient of the 2005 Chorus America Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and a first-place winner in the sacred music category at the 2007 Tolosa International Choral Competition (Spain), the group’s concerts and recordings have been called “first class” (Neuss-Grevenbroicher Zeitung), “impassioned and brightly alive” (Choral Journal) and “engaging . .. satisfying” (Gramophone). Founder Jordan Sramek received the 2010 Louis Botto Award from Chorus America “for entrepreneurial zeal.”

The Rose Ensemble can be heard regularly on American Public Media and the European Broadcasting Union (most notably with annual Christmas broadcasts) and was recently featured in special live broadcasts on Radio France, Chicago Public Radio, Vermont Public Radio and National Public Radio’s Performance Today.

The Rose Ensemble’s 16th anniversary season highlights include appearances at Cornell Concert Series (Ithaca, NY), University of Vermont Lane Series, The National Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Secrest Artist Series (Winston-Salem, NC), J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, CA), and a collaboration with Piffaro, The Renaissance Band (Philadelphia, PA and MN).

The Rose Ensemble’s latest recording, Il Poverello, is a diverse collection of medieval and Renaissance music for Saint Francis of Assisi."

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Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 348

"Acclaimed by the New York Times for its "vital performances" and "robust" playing, Repast is a collaboration of three period-instrument virtuosi presenting vivid renditions of music of the baroque era. Repast members Keri Mikkelson (harpsichord), Amelia Roosevelt (violin), and John Mark Rozendaal (violoncello and viola da gamba), each have active careers in historical performance and bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the trio's programs. Repast enjoys frequent and fruitful collaborations with leading period instrument players and vocalists in order to explore the vast, masterful repertoire of the baroque era. The group's name, meaning a meal or a feast, is a double-entendre: out of the revival of past music comes a delectable, spiritually nourishing experience. ...

Added on: Aug 06, 2008 | Hits: 434

“RENAISSONICS music lives in the robust performances of Renaissonics. Simultaneously historical and contemporary in its approach, the group plays as musicians of the era played --vigorously and improvisationally. Renaissonics' stylish performances allow audiences to experience the elegance and excitement of Renaissance music as it was intended to be heard. Music of the past is suddenly music of today. Virtuoso solos, chamber music, dance music and dazzling improvisations combine in a program that joyously bridges the gap between the artistic and pop. Renaissonics is a unique blend of members, all of whom are internationally recognized soloists, dance musicians, and improvisors. Their playing vibrantly blends this extensive expertise into performances that are continually original. Renaissonics is the resident ensemble for the Historical Dance Foundation's annual International Early Dance Institute.

RENAISSONICS is acknowledged as a leading ensemble of Renaissance Chamber Music, Dance Music, and Improvisation. They have appeared at the Festival Cenomanies in Le Mans, France; Musique en Catalogne Romaine, Perpignan, France; and may be heard on Ken Burn's PBS Documentary "The West". They were a featured ensemble for the Christmas Revels where they performed for a public of over 15,000 and for Early Music America's Star Spangled Season. Other appearances include the Boston Early Music Festival, the Cambridge Society for Early Music's International Candlelight Concerts, the Castle Hill Pop Music Series, the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, the New England Conservatory of Music's Improvisation Festival, Plimouth Plantation, and at Boston's First Night Celebration. RENAISSONICS is the resident ensemble of the Killington Vermont Shakespeare Festival.  ..“

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Added on: May 03, 2010 | Hits: 430

"Renaissance Voices was founded in 1995 by a group of Maine singers on tour in London. The original idea for a small, auditioned, Portland-based chamber ensemble still guides our choices today. Although our emphasis is the a capella performance of early European music, in recent years we have broadened our repertoire to include other origins and periods, especially the 20th century. Every season we find and present music by women. We are a non-profit organization. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 305

"Hailed by the New York Times as “Sophisticated and Beguiling” and praised by the Los Angeles Times for their “astonishingly vital music-making”, the New York-based Baroque ensemble REBEL (pronounced “Re-BEL”) has earned an impressive international reputation, enchanting diverse audiences by their unique style and their virtuosic, highly expressive and provocative approach to the Baroque and Classical repertoire. ..." (See site for more info (ed.))

Added on: Feb 02, 2008 | Hits: 359

“Vision:

Publick Musick seeks to be America's premier period instrument orchestra and choir dedicated to the performance of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Mission:

Publick Musick seeks to achieve its vision through consummate performances of passion and power; devoting equal attention to both vocal and instrumental development and deriving inspiration from the work of the greatest figures of the Early Music revival. All vocal soloists are drawn from the choir, giving Publick Musick's sound a unique combination of clarity and strength. Instrumentalists are leading specialists in period instrument performance and all members share not only a passion for bringing Bach's music to the widest possible audience, but also a dedication to a performance tradition that combines great music making with historical research. ..“

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Added on: Apr 19, 2009 | Hits: 274

“Pro Musica Rara, Baltimore's “premier early music ensemble”, is a period instrument chamber music ensemble performing baroque, classical, and early romantic repertoire. Founded in 1974, its musicians include Baltimore area professionals, early music specialists from throughout the eastern seaboard and world-renown guest artists. As Artists-in-Residence at Towson University Center for the Arts, PMR presents an annual subscription series and offers pre-concert lectures, master classes, and open dress rehearsals for students. In recent years, PMR has also given performances in important area venues such as the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, Peabody Conservatory, and the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.”

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Added on: Jan 22, 2011 | Hits: 241

"Polyhymnia is a small ensemble of singers and instrumentalists focusing on historically informed performance of sacred music from the courts and cathedrals of the Renaissance world. The singers that comprise the ensemble are drawn from many sources, including some of the finest church choirs in New York. Past and present members have sung with Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Saint Luke in the Fields and Holy Apostles. Originally artists-in-residence at Saint John’s in the Village, the ensemble moved to its current home at Saint Ignatius of Antioch in 2003, when the ensemble and its audience outgrew its original home. Currently producing three concerts a year in New York, Polyhymnia has also made a name for itself at performances in Boston as a popular entry in the Boston Early Music Festival fringe events, and has been the guest choir at a number of special events, most notably the centenary celebrations of Holy Cross Monastery, in Westpark NY. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 497

"The ensemble recreates the elegant sounds of the official, professional wind bands of the late Medieval and Renaissance periods as well as the rustic entertainments of the peasantry. Audiences from Seattle to Spoleto, Italy, have marveled at the virtuosity of the ensemble, its precision and impeccable intonation, but most of all its vitality and enthusiasm. Shawms, sackbuts, dulcians, recorders, krumhorns, bagpipes, lutes, guitars and percussion provide the fascinating aural dimensions to an entertaining Piffaro performance. Piffaro has recorded extensively and can be heard on the Newport Classic, Deutsche Grammophon's Archiv Produktion, Wyndham Hill, Passacaille, and currently on Dorian Recordings labels. "

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Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 282

"Pastimes is a group of musicians who perform early music on period instruments.

We had been playing together for a couple years before forming in 1995 the ensemble now known as Pastimes. We began receiving requests to play at private parties, costume dinners and outdoor fairs, business functions, school assemblies, and occasionally in church settings. We play renaissance music from the late 1400s to the mid 1600s, ranging from formal courtly and liturgical music to refined or rustic domestic entertainment.

We take our name from a song attributed to Henry VIII called 'Pastime with Good Company'. Our goal is to provide as much fun for those who hear us as we ourselves are having, and we do aim to have a good time! Our home base is in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Northern Delaware. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 04, 2008 | Hits: 292

"Parthenia is a dynamic quartet of viols dedicated to performing the rich and abundant repertoire for viola da gamba from the 16th to 21st centuries. We present an annual series of concerts in Manhattan, where we collaborate with esteemed guest artists in engaging and surprising programs; we commission and premier new works for viols; we work to increase awareness of the viol's cultural heritage by touring to historical venues throughout New York City and to prestigious venues around the country. Parthenia is committed to creating more consort-playing opportunities, both professional and amateur, throughout America."

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Added on: Aug 05, 2008 | Hits: 434

“The Pacific Collegium aims to bring exceptional vocalists together with period instrumentalists in adventurous exploration of the marriage of text and music—the meeting of the natural instrument with the artful. Specializing in 16th- through 18th-century vocal chamber music and choral music, as well as the occasional foray into the modern repertory, we are committed to the presentation of virtuosic literature in both concert and liturgical settings. We are Artists-in-Residence at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Oakland and provide music for the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Margaret Mary’s Catholic Church, Oakland. …”

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Added on: Mar 28, 2012 | Hits: 86

"The Oregon Renaissance Band The Oregon Renaissance Band is an 8 to 12 member ensemble dedicated to performing and recording music of the Renaissance, played on faithful reproductions of historical instruments. These include violins, cittern, harp, bandora, chitarrino, recorders, krummhorns, racketts, sackbuts, pipe & tabor, bagpipes, schreierpfeiffen, and percussion, many of which were built by the performers. The Oregon Renaissance Band has presented concerts and workshops since 1991 and has been featured on NPR's "Performance Today". Their cd with ensemble De Organographia is entitled "Carnevale! Carnival Songs, Frottole, Dances and other Festive Music of 16th century Italy". In 1998, ORB performed at the early music festival in Regensburg, Germany.

Directed by Philip Neuman and Gayle Neuman. Other members include Daphne Clifton, Kathryn Richer, Andy Harris, Polly Gibson, David Bryan, Lori Fitch, and Laura Zaerr. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 04, 2009 | Hits: 413

“Baroque flutist Mary Oleskiewicz and harpsichordist David Schulenberg have been performing together since 1997. Specialists in Baroque music for flute and keyboard, each has an international reputation not only as a performer but as a scholar. They have presented recitals, public lectures, and demonstrations throughout Europe, North America, and Japan.

The world-premiere recording of the Six Flute Quartets by Johann Joachim Quantz by the Oleskiewicz-Schulenberg Duo and Friends was released in 2004. ..“

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Added on: Feb 08, 2010 | Hits: 272

"The Novello Quartet was founded in the winter of 2002 to perform Joseph Haydn's rarely programmed quartet setting of the Seven Last Words of Christ. The quartet's passion for the music of Haydn and his contemporaries has led to an ongoing artistic partnership between four of America's leading early music artists. The Novello Quartet has been presented by the San Francisco Early Music Society, San Francisco Performances, Trinity Concerts, the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, and was the featured ensemble at the 2006 Mozart Conference at Claremont College. ...

The Novello Quartet was named for the members of the Novello family, Vincent, Mary and Clara. Vincent (1781-1861) was a church organist, composer and music publisher born of Italian parents in London, England. With the publication of two volumes of sacred music (1811) he founded the publishing house of Novello & Co, and was a founding member and later pianist and conductor of the Philharmonic Society. In 1829, Vincent Novello and his wife Mary undertook a journey to the continent, stopping in the musical capitals of Europe to hear the music of the day in churches and concert halls, and also to deliver to W.A. Mozart's impoverished sister Nannerl a small sum Vincent had raised by subscription in London. Among the musical luminaries the Novellos met on their journey were Mozart's widow Constanze, and Abbe Stadler, who told them the story of Joseph Haydn's commission from Spain by the Bishop of Cadiz for the Seven Last Words of Christ. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 02, 2008 | Hits: 392

"The Newcastle Players perform Renaissance, Medieval, Celtic and British folk music on lute, baroque guitar, theorbo, viola da gamba, recorders, whistles and other period instruments. The Baltimore based ensemble was formed in 1994 when as members of the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble they collaborated to form a smaller group. Each member has extensive experience with early music perfomance on period instruments. " See website for more details. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 18, 2008 | Hits: 379

"Since its founding in 1972, the New York Consort of Viols has championed the beauty and breadth of music written expressly for or especially suited to the viol. Acclaimed as a foremost ensemble for its dynamic Renaissance and Baroque repertoires, the Consort also performs medieval music on such instruments such as the rebec and vielle. The group commissions contemporary works as well.

The Consort has performed for enthusiastic audiences on campuses and in concert series throughout North America. These include such notable venues as Milwaukee's Early Music Now, the Berkeley Festival, and New York's Music Before 1800. In 1992 the Consort traveled to Turkey to perform in Istanbul and Ankara. The Consort has also collaborated with many accomplished early music ensembles such as Pomerium, Zephyrus, the Boston Viol Consort, the Yukimi Kambe Viol Consort, the Waverly Consort, the Ensemble for Early Music and Music For A While. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 06, 2008 | Hits: 350

"Founded in 2006, the New Esterházy Quartet takes its name from the Hungarian estate where Joseph Haydn lived and worked for nearly three decades, and from the noble family who were his employers and patrons. The name also honors Quartetto Esterhazy, the ground-breaking historical string quartet from the 1970s, with the blessing of that ensemble’s eminent founder and leader, Jaap Schroeder.

The members of the New Esterházy Quartet are internationally-known period-instrument and chamber music specialists Kati Kyme and Lisa Weiss, violins, violist Anthony Martin, and cellist William Skeen. As individuals, the players perform in the top echelon of early music ensembles such as Orchestra of the 18th Century, the Bach Ensemble, Artaria Quartet, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Arcadian Academy, the Göttingen Festival Orchestra, and Musica Angelica. In addition to many years of musical collaboration in Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, and a long list of renowned chamber ensembles, these four Bay Area players have enjoyed decades of friendship and shared experience. Their history as both colleagues and friends endows the quartet with an unusual commonality of musical language and gesture, and provides a strong foundation for a unique and original ensemble voice.

The New Esterházy Quartet has embarked on a performance voyage featuring all 68 of the string quartets of Franz Joseph Haydn. The concerts will span two seasons, culminating in 2009, the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death. This is the first complete period-instrument Haydn cycle ever performed in North America. Composed over a period of a half-century, Haydn’s quartets contain some of the most imaginative, sophisticated and expressive composition in all of music, providing great joy to players and listeners. For the New Esterházy Quartet, the chance to learn and perform the complete Haydn quartets represents the opportunity of a lifetime. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 02, 2008 | Hits: 365

“Described as one of the discoveries of the 2001 early music festival in Regensburg, Germany, Musicians of the Old Post Road has been captivating audiences in the US and abroad with its exciting programming and virtuoso performances. As a chamber ensemble specializing in the period instrument performance of music from the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods, the ensemble specializes in offering a dynamic and diverse repertory that includes rediscovered works that have been lost to audiences for centuries.“

Also, visit these associated Old Post Road sites:

Podcasts: Discover Podcasts
YouTube Channel: musiciansopr
OPR Editions: Old Post Road Editions

Added on: Jul 27, 2010 | Hits: 394