For years, this concert tradition has delighted audiences as it explores modern music, reminding them that all music was once new.
By JESSICA NEU
Audiences will not be disappointed this year as the program will again explore the idea of “modern” music for the esteemed ensemble’s instruments – violin, viola da gamba, and theorbo – from the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 21st centuries.
The talented trio is composed of (L-R) Chatham Baroque’s Andrew Fouts (violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba), and Scott Pauley (theorbo & baroque guitar). All three musicians are veterans of Chatham Baroque, as Halverson is a proud founding member whom Pauley joined in 1996 and Fouts in 2008.
The folks at Chatham Baroque are especially pleased to note that the program includes the poignant 21st-century work “for Emily” by Pittsburgh composer David Stock. This unique piece was composed especially for Chatham Baroque in memory of its founding violinist, Emily Norman Davidson. The concert features early innovators for their instruments Diego Ortiz and Giovanni Kapsperger, the 17th-century modern style of Dario Castello and Isabella Leonarda, and the striking fantastic style of Antonio Bertali and Heinrich Schmelzer.
Serving as co-artistic director, Fouts stated that the annual opening concert is “an opportunity to custom tailor a program of music uniquely suited to our trio and the combination of instruments we play. This year we spotlight fantastic compositions of the 17th and 21st centuries that reflect the modernity of their respective times. Music we love that showcases contemporary ideas of composition, novel ways of writing for our instruments, and that most importantly, is beautiful, interesting, and makes our hearts sing.”
About Chatham Baroque:
Each year, Chatham Baroque presents a series of captivating, historically informed performances, drawing from a vast repertoire of classical music styles, eras, and locales from the Medieval Period through the early 19th Century. Each season features several concerts with the distinguished Chatham Baroque ensemble with artistic directors Fouts, Halverson, and Pauley. The season also features additional concerts performed by renowned touring ensembles specializing in the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical period music. The acclaimed musicians proudly perform with period instruments that are restored or replica versions from when the music was written.
About the Musicians:
Andrew Fouts: Hailed by the Washington Post as “an extraordinary violinist” who exhibits “phenomenal control” (Bloomington Herald-Times). In addition to Chatham Baroque, he regularly appears with The Four Nations Ensemble and Apollo’s Fire. He has taught at the Madison Early Music Festival and the Oficina de Música de Curitiba, Brazil, and can be heard on recordings with Chatham Baroque, American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Musik Ekklesia, and Alarm Will Sound.
Patricia Halverson: Halverson holds a doctoral degree in Early Music Performance Practice from Stanford University and continued her studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. A native of Duluth, Minnesota, Patty is a founding member of Chatham Baroque. Recent collaborations outside of Chatham Baroque include concerts with Four Nations, The Rose Ensemble, Empire Viols, J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Sixth Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Bach’s passion performances with Baldwin-Wallace University, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Scott Pauley: Pauley joined Chatham Baroque in 1996. He obtained a doctoral degree in Early Music Performance Practice from Stanford University. He has performed in numerous Baroque opera productions as a continuo player in the USA and abroad. He performed in Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, with the acclaimed British ensemble, the English Concert. In 2016, Scott traveled to Argentina for the Festival Internacional de Música Barroca, “Camino de las Estancias,” in Córdoba.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
The Friday, October 6th performance will occur at the St. Nicholas church in Millvale at 7:30 pm. The concert will be preceded by a tour of the Millvale murals of Maxo Vanka and a conservation lecture/demonstration at 6 pm. The Saturday, October 7th, and Sunday, October 8th performances will be held at Hicks Memorial Chapel, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, with performance times of 7:30 pm and 2:30 pm respectively.
Subscription and single tickets are available at http://www.chathambaroque.org/23-24-concert-series/.
To learn more about the 23/24 season, visit http://www.chathambaroque.org.
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Show Previews
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