2024-2025 SEASON
BELLRINGER
CELEBRATING THE POETRY OF RITA DOVE
Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 3pm & 7pm
The Rotunda at The University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 7:30pm
Blackfriars Playhouse
Staunton, VA
These concerts are FREE and open to the public.
Patrons are encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance.
CELEBRATING THE POETRY OF RITA DOVE
Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 3pm & 7pm
The Rotunda at The University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 7:30pm
Blackfriars Playhouse
Staunton, VA
These concerts are FREE and open to the public.
Patrons are encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance.
Early Music Access Project collaborates with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove for a program that celebrates the intersection of poetry and music. Composer and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody will perform the world premiere of his own new work, a setting of Dove’s poem “Bellringer”. This poem honors the life of Henry Martin, an enslaved bell ringer at the University of Virginia’s Rotunda who was born at Monticello the day Thomas Jefferson died. Dove has also curated a selection of poems that will be heard throughout the remainder of the program, with musicians from Early Music Access Project providing a wide range of musical responses, from Shakespearean tunes to Beethoven sonatas.
In addition to Jonathan Woody, baroque violinist David McCormick, viola da gamba player Loren Ludwig, and double bassist Sam Suggs will perform.
In addition to Jonathan Woody, baroque violinist David McCormick, viola da gamba player Loren Ludwig, and double bassist Sam Suggs will perform.
RESERVE TICKETS:
LAFAYETTE'S FIDDLERS
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Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 3pm
Sydnor Performance Hall University of Lynchburg Schewel Hall Lynchburg, VA Sunday, November 10, 2024, 3pm & 7pm The Rotunda at The University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA FREE |
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In November 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette visited his dear friend Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville. His visit was heralded with great fanfare, including a grand banquet at the Rotunda on the grounds of the University of Virginia. The Scott family fiddlers, of Black and Indigenous heritage, provided the musical entertainment for this event.
Early Music Access Project will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s visit to Charlottesville and Monticello with two free concerts inside The Rotunda on Sunday, November 10, 2024. Based on his research as a fellow of the International Center for Jefferson Studies, EMAP artistic director David McCormick has curated a program that includes music that may have been played for the occasion and French songs that Lafayette and Jefferson admired. An actor will portray three Black historical figures who left written accounts of Lafayette’s visit.
Early Music Access Project will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s visit to Charlottesville and Monticello with two free concerts inside The Rotunda on Sunday, November 10, 2024. Based on his research as a fellow of the International Center for Jefferson Studies, EMAP artistic director David McCormick has curated a program that includes music that may have been played for the occasion and French songs that Lafayette and Jefferson admired. An actor will portray three Black historical figures who left written accounts of Lafayette’s visit.
MEET THE ARTISTS
Historical clarinetist Dominic Giardino enjoys a varied professional life as a performer, administrator, and researcher. He is the executive director of Arizona Early Music, instructor of historical clarinets at the University of North Texas, and the historical ensembles program coordinator with George Mason University’s Green Machine Athletic Bands.
Benjamin Hunter, a Seattle-based polymath, is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, creative & cultural advocate, social entrepreneur, producer, and educator. Connecting all his experiences into one language, his work and music scans the margins and the nucleus alike, searching for the stories and intersections where everything converges.
Violinist Carmen Lavada Johnson-Pájaro, native of Birmingham, Alabama, is a community-based artist living in New York City. Carmen’s upcoming season includes performances with Twelfth Night, Arcangelo, the Handel & Haydn Society, Apollo’s Fire, Repast Baroque, Washington Bach Consort, and Staunton Music Festival.
David McCormick (baroque fiddle) 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 on a violin by Jonathan Vacanti.
Rebecca Scout Nelson is a composer and violinist from Germany. Her debut album Do Not Lament fuses her love of bluegrass, baroque, and everything in between.
With "precise technique, interpretive vision, and impeccable musicianship" (Boston Globe), Sam Suggs (double bass) has won multiple international competitions and serves on the faculties of the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival and James Madison University. He is the son of birdwatchers and an alumnus of the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra.
Benjamin Hunter, a Seattle-based polymath, is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, creative & cultural advocate, social entrepreneur, producer, and educator. Connecting all his experiences into one language, his work and music scans the margins and the nucleus alike, searching for the stories and intersections where everything converges.
Violinist Carmen Lavada Johnson-Pájaro, native of Birmingham, Alabama, is a community-based artist living in New York City. Carmen’s upcoming season includes performances with Twelfth Night, Arcangelo, the Handel & Haydn Society, Apollo’s Fire, Repast Baroque, Washington Bach Consort, and Staunton Music Festival.
David McCormick (baroque fiddle) 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 on a violin by Jonathan Vacanti.
Rebecca Scout Nelson is a composer and violinist from Germany. Her debut album Do Not Lament fuses her love of bluegrass, baroque, and everything in between.
With "precise technique, interpretive vision, and impeccable musicianship" (Boston Globe), Sam Suggs (double bass) has won multiple international competitions and serves on the faculties of the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival and James Madison University. He is the son of birdwatchers and an alumnus of the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra.
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SAM SUGGS & DAVID MCCORMICK IN CONCERT
Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 7pm Stone Chapel, Church of our Saviour Charlottesville, VA |
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Early Music Access Project kicks off its 8th season with a special concert in one of Charlottesville's most iconic small venues. Only 60 tickets will be sold! Violin and vielle player David McCormick will be joined by double bass player Sam Suggs for an eclectic set of medieval dances, 19th century fiddle tunes, Bach arrangements, and original compositions.