2025-2026 SEASON
EARLY MUSIC ACCESS PROJECT PRESENTS ALKEMIE
Sunday, March 8, 2026, 8pm
The Rotunda at The University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA
FREE ADMISSION (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED)
Sunday, March 8, 2026, 8pm
The Rotunda at The University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA
FREE ADMISSION (ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED)
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Brooklyn-based medieval ensemble Alkemie presents music that shows traces of the medieval zodiac and the ways it mapped onto daily life - including agriculture, recreation, magic, medicine, and personal divination. Do you know when to avoid tree-climbing and bloodletting but to reunite quarrelling friends? Constellations projected onto the Rotunda dome will serve as a mesmerizing backdrop for this unique performance.
OUT AND ABOUT (Charlottesville's LGBTQ+ social group) will host a meet-the-artists reception in The Rotunda's Multi-Purpose Room at 7pm, open to all. |
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Tracy Cowart - voice, harps, percussion
Shira Kammen - vielle, harp Ben Matus - voice, recorders, dulcians, hümmelchen David McCormick - rebec, vielle |
Sian Ricketts - voice, recorders, douçaine
Niccolo Seligmann - vielles, scheitholt, gittern, psaltery, percussion Ellie Sutherland - voice, lyre |
EARLIER THIS SEASON
PRE-SEASON EVENT
A Co-Production of Early Music Access Project and Theatro
Tickets: $10-25, available online and at the door
Tickets: $10-25, available online and at the door
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Saturday, October 4, 2025, 7:30pm
Rock Chapel at Church of Our Saviour, Charlottesville VA |
Sunday, October 5, 2025, 7:30pm
Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton VA |
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Shakespeare’s illustrious prose is inextricably linked with the music that was performed in his plays. The Bard frequently directed his characters to burst into song, cannily catering to the vast audiences who flocked to the Globe Theatre, expecting to enjoy the popular melodies of the day that were interwoven throughout the narrative. English novelist and biographer Peter Ackroyd remarked, “It can be argued that Shakespeare was the first dramatist to make song an integral part of the drama and can thus be seen as the begetter of the musical theatre.”
Play, Music! features music from such memorable plays as All’s Well that Ends Well, As You Like It, Hamlet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and more, penned by prominent 16th-century tunesmiths including John Dowland, King Henry VIII, Richard Tarleton, and Shakespeare himself. Theatro founder Brian Kay is the guest director for this performance. Early Music Access Project and the Shenandoah LGBTQ Center are co-hosting a happy hour prior to our Staunton performance on October 5. All are welcome to join us at 6:30pm on the second floor of the Blackfriars lobby. Buy a drink, mingle with new and old music-loving friends, and meet our stellar artists. Ashlee Foreman, vocals
Brian Kay, vocals & plucked strings David McCormick, baroque violin Anna O’Connell, vocals & historical harp Holly Scarborough, historical winds & percussion |
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Ashlee Foreman, an award-winning soprano from Akron, Ohio, has performed with renowned ensembles including Apollo’s Fire, the New York Philharmonic, and The Cleveland Orchestra at prestigious venues worldwide. Praised for her “tremendous range” and “theatrical assurance,” she is recognized for standout roles in works such as Porgy and Bess and Blind Injustice, as well as her contributions to music education and outreach.
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Brian Kay is the Artistic Director of the early music meets early theater group THEATRO, and oversaw their international recording of music from the plays of William Shakespeare. He also works as a recording artist for the Netflix music lab and is a featured soloist on the soundtrack of their original series' The Witcher and The Decameron and created arrangements of Russian folk songs for their upcoming Guillermo del Toro film Frankenstein.
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David McCormick is artistic director of Early Music Access Project, executive director of Early Music America, a founding member of Brooklyn-based medieval ensemble Alkemie, and a 2020 fellow of the International Center for Jefferson Studies. He plays a violin by Jonathan Vacanti.
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Anna O’Connell is a soprano and harpist specializing in self-accompaniment with folk, medieval, renaissance, and baroque harps. Her research interests include medieval chant, seventeenth-century Italian women composers, and traditional Irish singing.
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Holly Scarborough is a California native and medieval–Renaissance music specialist with a Master’s degree from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Based in Basel, Switzerland, she directs ensembles Zweigulden and Parlamento and is Managing Director for ReRenaissance, a monthly concert series and festival devoted to music before 1600.
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AN ENGLISH MASQUE BY JOHANN PEPUSCH
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Saturday, January 17, 2026, 7:30pm
Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton VA Tickets: $10-25, available online and at the door |
Sunday, January 18, 2026, 7:30pm
The Rotunda at The University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA Free admission (advance registration required) |
Though Cupid tries to keep lovers Dido and Aeneas united, Mercury has other plans. He commands Aeneas to leave Carthage and establish a new Trojan kingdom. Will Dido be left hopelessly heartbroken and alone?
The Death of Dido, first performed in 1716, features a delightfully Italianate musical score by Johann Pepusch with an English libretto by Barton Booth. The libretto uses the same section of Virgil’s Aeneid as Purcell’s famous 1689 opera Dido and Aeneas, but with a smaller cast of characters. This EMAP production likely marks the first time this work has been performed in North America.
The masque will be preceded by arias and instrumental music from Henry Purcell's theatrical works. The musical selections will introduce the audience to the characters of the masque, setting the scene for the infamous tale to come.
The Death of Dido, first performed in 1716, features a delightfully Italianate musical score by Johann Pepusch with an English libretto by Barton Booth. The libretto uses the same section of Virgil’s Aeneid as Purcell’s famous 1689 opera Dido and Aeneas, but with a smaller cast of characters. This EMAP production likely marks the first time this work has been performed in North America.
The masque will be preceded by arias and instrumental music from Henry Purcell's theatrical works. The musical selections will introduce the audience to the characters of the masque, setting the scene for the infamous tale to come.
Aeneas … Aryssa Leigh Burrs
Cupid … Julie Bosworth
Mercury … Harrison Hintzsche
Dido … Alyssa Weathersby
David McCormick & Guillermo Salas-Suárez, violins; Allison Monroe, viola
Kristin Olson & Sian Ricketts, oboes and recorders; Ben Matus, bassoon
Caroline Nicolas, viola da gamba; Kevin Payne, theorbo; Jennifer Streeter, harpsichord
Alyssa Weathersby, stage director; Ben Matus, music director; Adrian Shank Zehr, stage manager
Cupid … Julie Bosworth
Mercury … Harrison Hintzsche
Dido … Alyssa Weathersby
David McCormick & Guillermo Salas-Suárez, violins; Allison Monroe, viola
Kristin Olson & Sian Ricketts, oboes and recorders; Ben Matus, bassoon
Caroline Nicolas, viola da gamba; Kevin Payne, theorbo; Jennifer Streeter, harpsichord
Alyssa Weathersby, stage director; Ben Matus, music director; Adrian Shank Zehr, stage manager
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CUPID
With a voice like “a long, unbroken beam of light” (San Francisco Classical Voice), soprano Julie Bosworth has captivated audiences from coast to coast. She is delighted to return to Early Music Access Project singing her third different role as Cupid. |
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AENEAS
Mezzo-Soprano Aryssa Leigh Burrs can be heard across genres and ensembles, including as a founding member of Warner Classic’s signed ensemble Lyyra, and as a regular with The Crossing, Clarion Music Society, and Ensemble Altera. You can also find her as a soloist with organizations such as Apollo’s Fire, InSeries Opera, and the Bach Choir of Bethlehem. |
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MERCURY
“Sonorous” (Opera News) baritone Harrison Hintzsche’s career in oratorio, art song, and choral music has taken him to world-class stages such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Seoul’s National Theater of Korea, and New York City’s Weill and Alice Tully Halls. He has been praised for his warm lyric tone, musical sensitivity, and dedication to text, and thrives on bridging a living connection between author and audience. |
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DIDO
Alyssa Weathersby is a vocalist and director-choreographer whose “inventively staged” works and “beguiling production[s]” (Houston Press) span from early music, through grand opera, to modern musical theatre. She was previously seen with EMAP as Nature in Cupid & Death and as Venus in Venus & Adonis, and is a core member and vocalist with the early music ensemble Ars Poetica. As a director-choreographer, she has collaborated with organizations including TENET, Utah Festival of Opera & Musical Theatre, Opera in the Heights, Boston Opera Collaborative, Carnegie Mellon University, New England Conservatory of Music, the Houston Gilbert & Sullivan Society, and Prague Summer Nights. |
David McCormick is artistic director of Early Music Access Project, executive director of Early Music America, and a founding member of Brooklyn-based medieval ensemble Alkemie. He is a 2020 and 2026 fellow of the International Center for Jefferson Studies and a 2025 fellow of the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. He plays on a violin by Jonathan Vacanti.
Guillermo Salas-Suárez (DMA, Case Western Reserve '22) plays Baroque violin with several ensembles throughout the country. His book The Tender Echo will be published in the fall by Indiana University Press.
Allison Monroe performs historical repertoires on bowed strings and sings with ensembles such as the Boston Camerata, Blue Heron, Ensemble L’Harmonie des saisons, Les Délices, and Apollo’s Fire, and is the Artistic Director of medieval band Trobár. A passionate pedagogue, she is also the Director of the Five College Early Music Program in western Massachusetts.
Guillermo Salas-Suárez (DMA, Case Western Reserve '22) plays Baroque violin with several ensembles throughout the country. His book The Tender Echo will be published in the fall by Indiana University Press.
Allison Monroe performs historical repertoires on bowed strings and sings with ensembles such as the Boston Camerata, Blue Heron, Ensemble L’Harmonie des saisons, Les Délices, and Apollo’s Fire, and is the Artistic Director of medieval band Trobár. A passionate pedagogue, she is also the Director of the Five College Early Music Program in western Massachusetts.
Kristin Olson plays modern and historical oboe throughout the United States. She is the director of 7th Street Concerts in Charlotte, NC, and is on faculty at Wingate University.
Sian Ricketts enjoys a multi-faceted career as a period woodwinds specialist, singer, and medieval pedagogue; she is a core member of Piffaro and Alkemie, and she also performs and records medieval, Renaissance, and baroque chamber music with ensembles including Trobár, Makaris, Theotokos, Science Ficta, and Apollo’s Fire. Sian has served on the faculties of Fordham University, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Pinewoods.
Ben Matus performs across North America on historical woodwinds – primarily bassoons, recorders, and bagpipes. Passionate about music and drama, this is the third stage production that Ben has helped produce for EMAP and he recently created and performed a devised medieval opera, Sir Orfeo, with Alkemie.
Sian Ricketts enjoys a multi-faceted career as a period woodwinds specialist, singer, and medieval pedagogue; she is a core member of Piffaro and Alkemie, and she also performs and records medieval, Renaissance, and baroque chamber music with ensembles including Trobár, Makaris, Theotokos, Science Ficta, and Apollo’s Fire. Sian has served on the faculties of Fordham University, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Pinewoods.
Ben Matus performs across North America on historical woodwinds – primarily bassoons, recorders, and bagpipes. Passionate about music and drama, this is the third stage production that Ben has helped produce for EMAP and he recently created and performed a devised medieval opera, Sir Orfeo, with Alkemie.
With an eclectic repertory that spans from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, acclaimed cellist/gambist Caroline Nicolas enjoys an active and multifaceted career as one of the outstanding performers in her field. She lives in New York City.
Lutenist Kevin Payne is active as an accompanist and continuo player throughout the US, having played with many of the country’s leading ensembles and conductors. When not performing, Kevin enjoys cooking, reading, watching Star Trek and attempting to delay the inevitable demise of the houseplants he shares with his wife, cellist Caroline Nicolas.
Jennifer Streeter has performed throughout the United States and Europe with critically acclaimed ensembles such as the North Carolina, Indianapolis, and Seattle Baroque Orchestras, Three Notch’d Road, Alkemie, Raleigh Camerata, and as concerto soloist with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, North Carolina Baroque, and Indiana University Baroque Orchestras. Originally from Europe, she now calls Cary, NC home where she is a freelance performer, recorder and harpsichord teacher, and Myofascial Release therapist.
Lutenist Kevin Payne is active as an accompanist and continuo player throughout the US, having played with many of the country’s leading ensembles and conductors. When not performing, Kevin enjoys cooking, reading, watching Star Trek and attempting to delay the inevitable demise of the houseplants he shares with his wife, cellist Caroline Nicolas.
Jennifer Streeter has performed throughout the United States and Europe with critically acclaimed ensembles such as the North Carolina, Indianapolis, and Seattle Baroque Orchestras, Three Notch’d Road, Alkemie, Raleigh Camerata, and as concerto soloist with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, North Carolina Baroque, and Indiana University Baroque Orchestras. Originally from Europe, she now calls Cary, NC home where she is a freelance performer, recorder and harpsichord teacher, and Myofascial Release therapist.
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