2020-2021 SEASON
The Jefferson Project: Virtual Fellows Forum
Livestream: Thursday, August 13 at 4pm
Performer-scholars David McCormick and Loren Ludwig ended their 2020 Fellowship at the International Center for Jefferson Studies with a Virtual Fellows Forum entitled Black Musicians in Jefferson's Virginia.
View this video on The Jefferson Project page.
Livestream: Thursday, August 13 at 4pm
Performer-scholars David McCormick and Loren Ludwig ended their 2020 Fellowship at the International Center for Jefferson Studies with a Virtual Fellows Forum entitled Black Musicians in Jefferson's Virginia.
View this video on The Jefferson Project page.
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Virtual Season Launch Event
Saturday, October 17 at 7:30pm Early Music Access Project launched our season with a special Zoom event for donors at the $250 level and above. Artistic Director David McCormick gave guests a preview of the upcoming season, answered questions, and played a few tunes on baroque violin and viele. |
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Class: Tunes of Monticello
Sunday, October 18, 4-5pm
Though we will be unable to gather this winter for the Community Baroque Gathering, there will still be plenty of opportunities for virtual gathering and learning! Intermediate, advanced, and professional instrumentalists of all ages were invited to join violinist David McCormick for a fun and informative class exploring tunes played in and around Monticello by both free and enslaved musicians. Participants played along with the tunes and asked questions throughout this hour-long workshop.
Sunday, October 18, 4-5pm
Though we will be unable to gather this winter for the Community Baroque Gathering, there will still be plenty of opportunities for virtual gathering and learning! Intermediate, advanced, and professional instrumentalists of all ages were invited to join violinist David McCormick for a fun and informative class exploring tunes played in and around Monticello by both free and enslaved musicians. Participants played along with the tunes and asked questions throughout this hour-long workshop.
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Les Délices presents SalonEra:
Folk Influences Monday, November 16 at 7:30pm Three violinists – Gail Hernández Rosa, Edwin Huizinga, and David McCormick – keep one foot firmly in the Baroque world and the other just outside. In this episode of SalonEra, they share recent work spanning Celtic tunes, traditional music from Spain, and research focused on Black musicians at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Excerpts from this broadcast now available on The Jefferson Project page. |
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Expanding the Narrative: Slave Songs and Spirituals as Early Music
Sunday, November 22 at 4pm
Sunday, November 22 at 4pm
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Early Music Access Project’s new virtual series, Expanding the Narrative, aims to center Black music and musicians in the story of early America. EMAP Artistic Director David McCormick is joined by countertenors Reggie Mobley and Patrick Dailey and baritone James Dargan for a roundtable discussion on approaching slave songs and spirituals from a historical performance perspective. Exciting connections are made between Charlottesville’s musical past and major national trendsetters like the Fisk Jubilee Singers. All four artists offer musical selections from their respective locations.
View this episode and the follow-up conversation sponsored by Early Music America on our Expanding the Narrative page. |
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Class: Baroque Bowing for String Players
Sunday, December 13, 4-5pm In the spirit of the holidays, Early Music Access Project offered a special take on baroque Christmas music for the second in a series of three “virtual” Community Baroque Gatherings. This class, designed just for string players, used classic baroque-era Christmas carols as a vehicle for learning about baroque bowings. Violinist David McCormick lead this class. |
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POSTPONED: All Who Wander: A Zoom Fundraiser
Saturday, January 9 at 7:30pm (this event will be rescheduled for late Spring 2021)
Donors at the $100 level and above are invited to a special virtual screening of All Who Wander, Early Music Access Project’s first ever performance from 2017. The screening will take place via Zoom and will be followed by a special live Q&A session with vocalist and multi-instrumentalists Tracy Cowart, Sian Ricketts, and Brian Kay, and Artistic Director David McCormick.
Saturday, January 9 at 7:30pm (this event will be rescheduled for late Spring 2021)
Donors at the $100 level and above are invited to a special virtual screening of All Who Wander, Early Music Access Project’s first ever performance from 2017. The screening will take place via Zoom and will be followed by a special live Q&A session with vocalist and multi-instrumentalists Tracy Cowart, Sian Ricketts, and Brian Kay, and Artistic Director David McCormick.
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In Fortune's Hands: Music of Troubadours Past and Present
Sunday, January 24 at 4pm This virtual concert, co-presented by Amherst Glebe Arts Response, featured David McCormick on baroque violin and viele and Brian Kay on lyre, lute, oud, and percussion. They performed a wide array of ancient songs, including the oldest song ever found with both its text and musical notation, The Epitaph of Seikolos, carved into a first or second-century tombstone. |
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Class: Baroque Dance for Musicians
Sunday, February 21, 4-5pm Our virtual Community Baroque Gathering series concludes with a fun, interactive hour for singers and instrumentalists of all ages and ability levels. From your own living rooms, learn baroque dance steps from Case Western Reserve University lecturer Elena Mullins. She’ll be joined by violinist David McCormick to illustrate how dance can influence the choices we make in playing baroque music. Registration is capped at 24 participants to allow for some individualized instruction. If there is enough interest, a second section of this class may be added at 2pm. Registration fee: $10 *tickets previously purchased on Brown Paper Tickets will be honored.
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The Jefferson Project: Black Fiddlers of Monticello Walking Tour
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Saturday, April 10 at 2pm & 4pm (Rain date: April 11)
Saturday, April 17 at 2pm & 4pm (Rain date: April 18) Additional dates may be added as needed At last, after months of waiting, Early Music Access Project offers a unique in-person experience! Based on his research as a 2020 Fellow of the International Center for Jefferson Studies, David McCormick leads a tour of downtown Charlottesville that illuminates the lives of the Scott and Hemings family fiddlers with stops at the Maplewood Cemetery, the one-time sites of the Scott and Hemings family homes on Main Street, and a few other important landmarks like the Levy Opera House. McCormick caps off each tour with a short outdoor performance. In the event of cancelation due to inclement weather, participants may attend the rain date for their tour. Ticketing will be available soon! |
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David McCormick performs regularly on both violin and viele (medieval fiddle) and is in demand as an educator and arts leader. He is the founding Artistic Director of Early Music Access Project (EMAP), a rotating group of musicians bringing a wide range of early music to Charlottesville, Virginia and surrounding communities. Through EMAP, David was awarded a 2020 Fellowship with the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, culminating in a series of concerts and online events exploring various aspects of music-making in Jefferson’s Virginia.
He is a founding member of Alkemie, a medieval ensemble based in New York City. With Alkemie, David has appeared at Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Music Before 1800, and Amherst Early Music Festival. He was also founding Artistic Director of Charlottesville-based baroque ensemble Three Notch’d Road, and has performed with Washington Bach Consort, Mountainside Baroque, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and as featured guest artist for the Bach-Handel Festival at Shenandoah University.
David is Executive Director of the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival and former Executive Director of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, where he regularly performs as soloist and chamber musician. He also serves on the board of Early Music America.
David was President of the Charlottesville Music Teachers Association for two years and has nearly two decades of teaching experience through both the public schools and his private violin and viola studio. He has offered performance practice workshops for educators, students, and performers through Virginia Music Teachers Association, James Madison University, Fordham University, Fairmount State University, and others.
His degrees in music education and performance from Shenandoah University and Case Western Reserve University include specialized training in chamber music and historical performance. He is a 2017 recipient of Shenandoah Conservatory’s Rising Stars Alumni Award.
David’s instruments include a viele by Karl Dennis and violin by Jonathan Vacanti, with period bows by Louis Bégin, Michelle Speller, Ralph Ashmead, and H. F. Grabenstein.
He is a founding member of Alkemie, a medieval ensemble based in New York City. With Alkemie, David has appeared at Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Music Before 1800, and Amherst Early Music Festival. He was also founding Artistic Director of Charlottesville-based baroque ensemble Three Notch’d Road, and has performed with Washington Bach Consort, Mountainside Baroque, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and as featured guest artist for the Bach-Handel Festival at Shenandoah University.
David is Executive Director of the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival and former Executive Director of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, where he regularly performs as soloist and chamber musician. He also serves on the board of Early Music America.
David was President of the Charlottesville Music Teachers Association for two years and has nearly two decades of teaching experience through both the public schools and his private violin and viola studio. He has offered performance practice workshops for educators, students, and performers through Virginia Music Teachers Association, James Madison University, Fordham University, Fairmount State University, and others.
His degrees in music education and performance from Shenandoah University and Case Western Reserve University include specialized training in chamber music and historical performance. He is a 2017 recipient of Shenandoah Conservatory’s Rising Stars Alumni Award.
David’s instruments include a viele by Karl Dennis and violin by Jonathan Vacanti, with period bows by Louis Bégin, Michelle Speller, Ralph Ashmead, and H. F. Grabenstein.
Sian Ricketts (voice, recorders) enjoys a multi-faceted career as a singer and period woodwind specialist. She performs medieval, Renaissance and baroque chamber music and orchestral repertoire with ensembles such as Bach Collegium Fort Wayne, Apollo’s Fire, Dallas Bach Society, Piffaro, Forgotten Clefs, and Labyrinth Baroque. Sian is a co-founding member of the early music ensemble Alkemie, specializing in music of the medieval period. Alkemie has been featured on concert series such as the Cambridge Society for Early Music, Five Boroughs Music Festival, Arizona Early Music Society, and Capitol Early Music, and has a partnership with Fordham University. In addition to her interest in early music, Sian also regularly performs 21st-century repertoire as both an instrumentalist and singer, and has collaborated with composers such as Jonathan Dawe, Gregory Spears, Elliot Cole, Fiona Gillespie, and Mark Nowakowski. Sian was a Visiting Medieval Fellow at Fordham University for 2019-2020 and is co-director of Fordham University's Collegium ensemble. Sian holds a D.M.A. in historical performance practice from Case Western Reserve University with concentrations in voice and baroque oboe.
Tracy Cowart (mezzo-soprano) enjoys a wide range of vocal interests, from twelfth-century polyphony to contemporary art music. Praised by the New York Times as “the real attraction” with a voice that is “light and lithe,” Tracy has performed with Apollo’s Fire, Musica Pacifica, Opera Lafayette, the Newberry Consort, Rose of the Compass, and the Washington Bach Consort. She is Co-Director of the Labyrinth Baroque Ensemble and a co-founder of the medieval ensemble Alkemie, with whom she has performed on the Capitol Early Music, Indianapolis Early Music, and Music Before 1800 series. Also known for her interpretations of new music, Tracy has performed with the Great Noise Ensemble, sung cabaret with the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, and toured with Weird Uncle, an experimental group that fuses medieval modes, jug band, and electronica. Tracy received her M.M. in Early Music from the Longy School of Music and her D.M.A. in Historical Performance Practice from Case Western Reserve University. She is on the faculty of the Amherst Early Music Festival, and co-directs the early music Collegium at Fordham University with Sian Ricketts. She has been a guest-artist/lecturer at Pennsylvania State University, Fairmont State University, Bucknell University, and the Society for Seventeenth Century Music.
Brian Kay is a modern-day troubadour. He is the first Artistic Leadership Fellow of Cleveland’s Baroque Orchestra Apollo's Fire and in 2019, he won a GRAMMY® Award for his work on their Songs of Orpheus recording. He has performed throughout the world at venues such as the National Concert Hall of Dublin, Belfast Castle (Ireland), Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center. His live radio appearances include NPR, Baltimore's WYPR, Baltimore's 98ROCK, Boston's WGBH, and Cleveland's WCLV. He has recorded with record labels Avie and Sono Luminus and has appeared on more than 10 album releases. He is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, traditional and historical music specialist, poet, painter, and avid proponent of meditation.
His recent projects include Meditations, an album of original songs in a modern style with a nostalgic flare, and Play, Music!, a one-man Shakespeare show which combines traditional music and theater (performed live at the Folger Theater in DC). He was recently chosen to collaborate with the UKs Early Folk Band.
His recent projects include Meditations, an album of original songs in a modern style with a nostalgic flare, and Play, Music!, a one-man Shakespeare show which combines traditional music and theater (performed live at the Folger Theater in DC). He was recently chosen to collaborate with the UKs Early Folk Band.
Praised for her "alluring" performances and "easy virtuosity," soprano and dancer Elena Mullins has wide-ranging interests in the fields of early music and dance. As a performer of period chamber music she has appeared with The Newberry Consort, Three Notch’d Road, Les Délices, and Apollo’s Fire. She takes a scholarly interest in the performance practices of early repertoires, and co-founded the medieval music ensembles Alkemie and Trobár. She holds a DMA in Historical Performance Practice from Case Western Reserve University and a BA in Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music. A passionate educator, Elena directs the Early Music Singers at CWRU, where she teaches historical dance, medieval music history, and early musical notation. She also has a voice studio at Cleveland State University.