2023-2024 SEASON
UPCOMING EVENTS
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COMMUNITY BAROQUE GATHERING
Saturday, November 18, 2023, 2-5pm “The Mission” at Church of Our Saviour 1165 Rio Rd E, Charlottesville VA (to the right of the main church building) The 2023 Community Baroque Gathering is open to singers, bowed string players, and woodwind players. High school and college students are welcome, as well as adult amateurs and professionals. Bring your modern or baroque instruments at A440! This will be a rare opportunity to work on music from an English masque by John Locke and Matthew Gibbons, Cupid & Death. The clinicians for this event are baroque violinist David McCormick, woodwind specialist Ben Matus, and soprano Alyssa Weathersby. These three form the creative team behind EMAP’s February 2024 professional production of this same masque. This is an informal event where the clinicians will provide stylistic advice and historical context in a rehearsal setting. PDF copies of repertoire will be sent to participants prior to the event. (Note: we are not able to provide transposed sheet music for instruments not in C. All music will be in either treble or bass clef.) REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED! $35 - Adults $15 - High School and College Students |
Ben Matus
Alyssa Weathersby
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CUPID & DEATH: An English Masque
Tuesday, February 13, 2024, at 7:30pm Blackfriars Playhouse 10 S. Market St., Staunton VA What happens when Cupid and Death accidentally exchange arrows? In the 1653 English masque Cupid & Death, librettist James Shirley takes a comedic approach to this twisted plot, with Cupid unwittingly killing young lovers and Death mistakenly causing the elderly and warriors to fall in love. They are joined in this humorous farce by Folly, Madness, Despair, Nature, and Mercury, along with a few mortal humans and apes. The music for this masque comes from a venerable pair of Baroque composers, Matthew Locke and Christopher Gibbons. Early Music Access Project brings this rarely-heard work to the iconic Blackfriars Playhouse stage just in time for Valentine's Day. What's a masque? We're glad you asked! This festive courtly entertainment was popular in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. It's like an opera in that you'll find lots of vocal and instrumental music, dancing, and fascinating plot twists. But there's always quite a bit of spoken dialogue and the baroque-era performances featured courtiers participating alongside professional musicians, two features not usually found in opera productions. $25 - General Admission $10 - Student/Economic Need |
Photo credit: David Perry
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This event is sponsored in part by grants from The Rea Charitable Trust and The Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge. Additional sponsorship has been provided by Libby Hartman and Dana & Steve Patek.
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AMASS: A New Mass for Old Instruments
Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 7:30pm Christ Episcopal Church 120 W. High St., Charlottesville VA Early Music Access Project offers a world premiere from composer James Dargan that features vocal soloists Brianna Robinson, Patrick Dailey, and the composer himself, accompanied by strings and organ. For this new work, AMASS, Dargan has married two musical styles he has grown up singing, embedding the spirituals of the Black churches he attended as a child into the Latin mass tradition of his professional choral singing career, using compositional techniques of the medieval, Renaissance, and baroque periods, as well as period instruments. Works of Bach and Buxtehude have been selected to punctuate key moments of the Mass. James Dargan, composer & bass Brianna Robinson, soprano Patrick Dailey, countertenor Carmen Johnson Pájaro & David McCormick, baroque violins Tavya McCoy, baroque viola Loren Ludwig, viola da gamba Patricia Ann Neely, violone Nicole Keller, organ $25 - General Admission $10 - Student/Economic Need This is event is sponsored in part by:
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EARLIER THIS SEASON
A NEW WONDER: The Leading Ladies of Baroque Dance and Music
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Friday, October 6, 2023, at 7:30pm
Grisham Hall at St. Anne's Belfield Greenway Rise Campus 2132 Ivy Road, Charlottesville VA Baroque dancer and choreographer Julia Bengtsson brings four “leading ladies” of the baroque era to life, recreating historical choreographies once danced by French ballerina Marie-Thérèse de Subligny and noted English dancer and actress Hester Santlow, and creating new choreographies for the music of Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre. The centerpiece of the program is Bengtsson’s choreography to J.S. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 5, which provides a window into the life of his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach. Famous Dutch cellist Jaap ter Linden, an early pioneer of historical performance, is featured in this performance. EMAP artistic director David McCormick will play baroque violin and Cameron Welke will play theorbo and other historical plucked instruments. Broadway actress Nancy Anderson will deliver four monologues that represent the four Baroque-era women profiled in this concert. Julia Bengtsson, baroque dancer & choreographer Nancy Anderson, actor Jaap ter Linden, baroque cello David McCormick, baroque violin Cameron Welke, plucked strings $25 - General Admission $10 - Student/Economic Need This event is sponsored in part by David & Barbara Thomas and Ruth Chodrow
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Photo credit: Merri Cyr
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Ben Matus enjoys a varied performance career, bringing to life music regardless of whether it was written in the Middle Ages or yesterday. Ben performs with early music groups on various bassoons, dulcians, shawms, recorders, bagpipes, and whatever instruments he can get his hands on, including Alkemie, New York Baroque Incorporated, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, The Clarion Society, Opera Lafayette, The Washington Bach Consort, The Handel and Haydn Society, Mountainside Baroque, and more. In addition to his performances in concert halls, Ben plays and sings for the Chivalrous Crickets, a band focused on the folk traditions of the British Isles, America, Canada, and their early music roots. With Alkemie, Ben recently prepared and recorded the music for the video game Pentiment.
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Leading the charge for early music in the 21st century, David McCormick is a multi-instrumentalist, scholar, and educator recognized for curating imaginative performances, creating educational opportunities for students of all ages, and guiding prominent arts organizations through the challenges of our time. In 2021, David took the helm of Early Music America as its sixth executive director, with the ambition of creating a more inclusive, equitable space for all who engage with historical performance. As artistic director of Charlottesville-based Early Music Access Project, David plays baroque violin and vielle (medieval fiddle) and transforms thoughtful research into dynamic programming. David is a founding member of Alkemie, a medieval ensemble based in New York City, with whom he has appeared at Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Music Before 1800, and Amherst Early Music Festival. He is a 2017 recipient of Shenandoah Conservatory’s Rising Stars Alumni Award and a 2020 Fellow of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. David plays on a violin by Jonathan Vacanti.
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Alyssa Weathersby is a quickly emerging international director/choreographer and vocalist from Houston, Texas. Her stylistic staging is hailed as “cleverly designed” and “compelling,” and her “strong soprano voice” delivers performances deemed “an embarrassment of riches.” During the 2023 festival season, Alyssa joined the Utah Festival of Opera & Musical Theater, serving as choreographer, assistant director, fight captain, soloist, featured dancer, ensemble member, and understudy. Other recent highlights include directing sell-out productions of Rigoletto (Opera in the Heights, Houston) and L’elisir d’amore (Boston Opera Collaborative), devising and directing an updated Così fan tutte at Carnegie Mellon University, and joining the New England Conservatory to direct Hansel & Gretel, plus their undergraduate and graduate opera scenes programs. In 2022, Alyssa directed and performed the titular role in Venus & Adonis at the Blackfriars Playhouse (Early Music Access Project), placed in the Quarterfinals of the prestigious American Traditions Competition (voice), and served as staff at the international festival Prague Summer Nights (director, choreographer, fight choreographer).
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Swedish-born choreographer, dancer, and stage director Julia Bengtsson lives in New York and has created over 20 original ballets, films and opera productions for venues including Carnegie Hall, UN Headquarters, Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, and Alvin Ailey Dance Center. Her stage direction in Opera Lafayette's production of Venus and Adonis was praised by The Washington Post as “a fine evening's entertainment.” Other commissioners include Connecticut Ballet, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, New York Dance Project, and New York Renaissance Chorus. She moved to New York in 2012, following her graduation from the Royal Swedish Ballet School and was a Scholarship Student at Joffrey Ballet School. A New York Baroque Dance Company-member since 2018, Julia Bengtsson has found in artistic director Catherine Turocy unique mentorship and guidance from her over 40 years in the dance field. Bengtsson has presented her work at seminars, conferences and workshops at Temple University, NYU Steinhardt, University of Pittsburgh, and Stanford University. In 2021 she was the first choreographer to be awarded a position in Early Music America's Emerging Professional Leadership Council.
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Baroque cellist Jaap ter Linden is a Dutch pioneer in the world of early music. Currently based in the United States, he is on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University, where he directs chamber ensembles and the baroque orchestra. His extensive discography includes two recordings of the J.S. Bach suites for cello solo, the complete Mozart symphonies with the Mozart Akademie which he founded and conducted, as well as countless recordings with Musica Antiqua Cologne, the English Concert, and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. During his performance career he has collaborated with such well known musicians as Andrew Manze, Ton Koopman, Richard Egarr, Reinhard Goebel, and the late Gustav Leonhardt, to name a few. As a solo and chamber music player and conductor, he has toured throughout Europe, the United States, Australia, China, and Japan.
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Nancy Anderson is a 20-year veteran of Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional stages. She made her Broadway debut as Mona in A Class Act, followed by the roles of Helen and Eileen in the Broadway revival of Wonderful Town. She understudied Glenn Close in the 2017 revival of Sunset Boulevard, and she recently concluded the national tour of the all-female, trans, non-binary Broadway revival of 1776 in which she had the honor of portraying Thomas Jefferson – and yes, she played the violin! Nancy has been nominated four times for Washington D.C.’s Helen Hayes award, is a three-time Drama Desk Nominee, and was nominated for an Olivier Award in London. In addition to the “PBS: Great Performances” broadcasts of Kiss Me Kate and South Pacific (starring Reba McIntyre), Nancy’s other television appearances include Madame Secretary, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and The Gilded Age. Currently, Nancy is a Professor of Practice and Director of the Dance Department at Mary Baldwin University and an Adjunct Artist-in-Residence at Shenandoah Conservatory where she teaches musical theater vocal technique.
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Leading the charge for early music in the 21st century, David McCormick is a multi-instrumentalist, scholar, and educator recognized for curating imaginative performances, creating educational opportunities for students of all ages, and guiding prominent arts organizations through the challenges of our time. In 2021, David took the helm of Early Music America as its sixth executive director, with the ambition of creating a more inclusive, equitable space for all who engage with historical performance. As artistic director of Charlottesville-based Early Music Access Project, David plays baroque violin and vielle (medieval fiddle) and transforms thoughtful research into dynamic programming. David is a founding member of Alkemie, a medieval ensemble based in New York City, with whom he has appeared at Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Music Before 1800, and Amherst Early Music Festival. He is a 2017 recipient of Shenandoah Conservatory’s Rising Stars Alumni Award and a 2020 Fellow of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. David plays on a violin by Jonathan Vacanti.
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Cameron Welke brings a passionate curiosity and a deep creative drive to all manner of historical plucked instruments, which he plays with “expert technical dexterity, consummate phrasing and endearing expressivity” (Chestnut Hill Local). Past and current engagements include performances with the Washington Bach Consort, Tempesta di Mare, the Folger Consort, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Early Music City, and Hesperus. In 2022, he gave the first lute masterclasses to ever take place in the Dominican Republic through La Foundation de Conciertos de la Villa de Santo Domingo. He explores repertoire for two baroque lutes in Duo Silvio with duo partner Richard Stone; the two gave the modern premiere of Stone’s reconstructions of lute duets by Sylvius Leopold Weiss in the fall of 2019. Cameron began his musical life as a classical violinist and a rock and jazz guitarist. He holds a B.M. in classical guitar performance from Belmont University, where he studied with Francis Perry and John Pell, and a M.M. in historical performance on lute and theorbo from the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Richard Stone. He currently teaches lute at Grinnell College and lives in Richmond, Virginia.
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