2022-2023 SEASON
UPCOMING EVENTS
ROCK & REEL: MONTICELLO'S FOLK TRADITIONS
What sounds might a visitor to Monticello have heard? Music was often in the air - Thomas Jefferson was a violinist, and nearly every member of his family also played an instrument, including his three enslaved sons with Sally Hemings, all of whom played fiddle. On Charlottesville’s Main Street, the Scott family, related by marriage to the Hemings clan, boasted three generations of fiddlers who played for every sitting president for decades.
In celebration of Juneteenth, Early Music Access Project will present Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Folk Traditions, a concert that explores the unique repertoire of these accomplished Black fiddlers, which ranged from raucous reels to stately minuets. The concert also includes a newly written work by composer Jonathan Woody, a setting of a story passed down from an enslaved nursemaid at Monticello, performed in this concert by storyteller Sheila Arnold. This story, "Mr. Fox Tricks Mr. Rabbit and is Tricked in Return," comes from the Brer Rabbit tradition and has elements of Ghanaian storytelling.
This performance features Seattle-based fiddler Benjamin Hunter, baroque violinist and EMAP artistic director David McCormick, and Juilliard-trained baroque violinist Carmen Johnson-Pájaro. Dominic Giardino will play historical clarinets and Loren Ludwig will play early American bass viols.
Learn more about the research behind this music in David McCormick’s 2022 article, Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Black Fiddlers.
In celebration of Juneteenth, Early Music Access Project will present Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Folk Traditions, a concert that explores the unique repertoire of these accomplished Black fiddlers, which ranged from raucous reels to stately minuets. The concert also includes a newly written work by composer Jonathan Woody, a setting of a story passed down from an enslaved nursemaid at Monticello, performed in this concert by storyteller Sheila Arnold. This story, "Mr. Fox Tricks Mr. Rabbit and is Tricked in Return," comes from the Brer Rabbit tradition and has elements of Ghanaian storytelling.
This performance features Seattle-based fiddler Benjamin Hunter, baroque violinist and EMAP artistic director David McCormick, and Juilliard-trained baroque violinist Carmen Johnson-Pájaro. Dominic Giardino will play historical clarinets and Loren Ludwig will play early American bass viols.
Learn more about the research behind this music in David McCormick’s 2022 article, Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Black Fiddlers.
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THE EVENTS
CONCERT | Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Folk Traditions Friday, June 16 at 7:30pm Presented by Amherst Glebe Arts Response Court Street Baptist Church | 517 Court St., Lynchburg VA, 24504 Tickets: $5 (free for K-12 students) Early Music Access Project is proud to partner with Amherst Glebe Arts Response to present this concert in Lynchburg’s oldest African American church. The congregation dates back to 1815 and the current church edifice was completed in 1880. Monticello's Folks Traditions: Meet the Musicians of Early Music Access Project
Saturday, June 17 at 10:30am The Center at Belvedere | 540 Belvedere Blvd., Charlottesville VA 22901 FREE, registration recommended Learn more about the music and musicians featured in Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Folk Traditions during this special free community event. Early Music Access Project musicians will perform selections from their upcoming concert, talk about the history behind the music, and discuss their approach to this unique fiddling tradition. Audience members will have an opportunity to ask questions of the musicians. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
EMAP intermission performance and post-show discussion Saturday, June 17 at 7:30am The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center | 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903 General Admission - $20 Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by August Wilson is one of his American Century Cycle. The African American Heritage Center’s Charlottesville Players Guild (CPG) will complete production of the entire cycle in October of this year. Directed by Ti Ames, this show is the only one in the cycle that does not take place in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. In order to tell this part of Black existence Wilson traveled to a Chicago recording studio where Ma Rainey and her band are preparing to record several records. Rainey, like other musicians of the 1920’s, toured to make the bulk of her money performing at the then Elmore Theater in Pittsburgh in 1927 along with her contemporaries like Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters. This play highlights a Black performers life, revealing the indignities and calculations that they must navigate to be paid fairly and respected. As part of the Juneteenth (June 17) performance the Charlottesville Players Guild has partnered with Early Music Access Project to bring a band of performers who have reinterpreted music played by Black fiddlers formerly enslaved at Monticello. These musicians will play some of this music during our intermission and then be part of a post show discussion about the music, its reimagining, and the similarities to the stories of these Black musicians born hundreds of years apart. |
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Tour of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia
Sunday, June 18 at 6pm
University of Virginia Grounds
FREE for all Sunday concert attendees (register via the concert ticket link below)
This special tour of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers lasts about one hour and highlights some of the musicians memorialized there.
Sunday, June 18 at 6pm
University of Virginia Grounds
FREE for all Sunday concert attendees (register via the concert ticket link below)
This special tour of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers lasts about one hour and highlights some of the musicians memorialized there.
CONCERT | Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Folk Traditions
Sunday, June 18 at 7:30pm
The Rotunda at the University of Virginia | University of Virginia Grounds
FREE, advance registration required
FREE LIVESTREAM option also available!
Hear the music of Monticello’s fiddlers in one of Charlottesville’s most iconic historic spaces. The dome of this UNESCO World Heritage Site will be lit up with constellations, modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s 1818 plans. Only 140 tickets are available for this concert, so all reservations must be made in advance.
Sunday, June 18 at 7:30pm
The Rotunda at the University of Virginia | University of Virginia Grounds
FREE, advance registration required
FREE LIVESTREAM option also available!
Hear the music of Monticello’s fiddlers in one of Charlottesville’s most iconic historic spaces. The dome of this UNESCO World Heritage Site will be lit up with constellations, modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s 1818 plans. Only 140 tickets are available for this concert, so all reservations must be made in advance.
Benjamin Hunter, David McCormick, and Carmen Johnson-Pájaro, fiddles
Dominic Giardino, historical clarinets | Loren Ludwig, Yankee viols & jaw harp
Sheila Arnold, storyteller | Jonathan Woody, composer
Dominic Giardino, historical clarinets | Loren Ludwig, Yankee viols & jaw harp
Sheila Arnold, storyteller | Jonathan Woody, composer
Early Music Access Project thanks the following sponsors:
EARLIER THIS SEASON
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HOUSE CONCERT
Sunday, October 9, 2022 @ 3pm | Downtown Charlottesville VA Sam Suggs, double bass | David McCormick, baroque violin & vielle All EMAP donors who have recently donated $100 or more will automatically receive invitations. To receive your invitation, make a donation today to help EMAP continue offering bold, innovative programming.
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Sam Suggs, double bass
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ROTUNDA PLANETARIUM: MUSIC UNDER THE STARS
Friday, November 25 & Saturday, November 26, 2022, 5:30-8:30pm The Rotunda at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA Baroque violinist David McCormick of EMAP will perform Jeffersonian tunes at the top of each hour as the Rotunda Planetarium once again opens to the public on November 25 and 26. McCormick will share music from his research into Monticello's Black fiddlers as a 2020 Fellow of the International Center for Jefferson Studies. FREE!
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COMMUNITY BAROQUE GATHERING
Sunday, December 11, 2022, 2-4:30pm | Charlottesville Band Building, Charlottesville VA Early Music Access Project announces the return of our annual Community Baroque Gathering, an afternoon of exploration designed for advanced high school and college students, adult amateurs, and professional musicians.
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WINTER SONGS & STORIES
Monday, February 13 at 7:30pm | Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton VA Tuesday, February 14 at 7:30pm | Stone Chapel at Church of our Saviour, Charlottesville, VA Brian Kay, guitar & vocals | David McCormick, baroque violin Peter Walker, bagpipe & vocals | Sarah Walker, storyteller |
Sarah Walker, storyteller
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A Little May Music: EMAP performs with Virginia Consort
Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 7:30pm | St. Paul's Memorial Church, Charlottesville VA Adults $25, Students $15 Featuring J.S. Bach's cantata: Aus der Tiefe rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131 and works by Whitacre, Barber, Morley and more… |
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Early Music Access Project donors are invited to an exclusive house concert in historic downtown Charlottesville on Sunday, October 9. Wine will be served starting at 3pm; the concert will begin at 3:30pm with refreshments to follow. 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.
All EMAP donors who have recently donated $100 or more will automatically receive invitations. To receive your invitation, make a donation today to help EMAP continue offering bold, innovative programming. The address of the performance will be provided to those who register online to attend. Only 28 unobstructed-view seats are available; a limited number of partial-view seats will be made available as needed.
David McCormick is the artistic director of Early Music Access Project and a founding member of Alkemie, a Brooklyn-based medieval ensemble. 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.
Sam Suggs was recognized with an award for Extraordinary Creativity at the 2017 Bradetich Foundation International Double Bass Competition, and in 2015 he won First Place in the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. He has performed at the Mostly Mozart Festival, Yellow Barn, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and with PUBLIQuartet, Frisson Ensemble (composer-in-residence), and his contemporary jazz trio Triplepoint. He is Assistant Professor of Bass at James Madison University.
Please note: masks are optional but encouraged indoors. Refreshments will be served outdoors, weather permitting. Guests should not attend if they feel ill or have been recently exposed to COVID-19.
All EMAP donors who have recently donated $100 or more will automatically receive invitations. To receive your invitation, make a donation today to help EMAP continue offering bold, innovative programming. The address of the performance will be provided to those who register online to attend. Only 28 unobstructed-view seats are available; a limited number of partial-view seats will be made available as needed.
David McCormick is the artistic director of Early Music Access Project and a founding member of Alkemie, a Brooklyn-based medieval ensemble. 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.
Sam Suggs was recognized with an award for Extraordinary Creativity at the 2017 Bradetich Foundation International Double Bass Competition, and in 2015 he won First Place in the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. He has performed at the Mostly Mozart Festival, Yellow Barn, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and with PUBLIQuartet, Frisson Ensemble (composer-in-residence), and his contemporary jazz trio Triplepoint. He is Assistant Professor of Bass at James Madison University.
Please note: masks are optional but encouraged indoors. Refreshments will be served outdoors, weather permitting. Guests should not attend if they feel ill or have been recently exposed to COVID-19.
When English and Scottish settlers came to the Colonies, they brought music, stories, and songs to bring light and laughter to long, cold winter nights. These tales and tunes took on lives of their own around the campfires and hearths of the New World. Jigs and reels migrated from bagpipes to banjos, and beloved characters like Jack were joined by newcomers like Mutsmag in the Appalachian hills.
Shakespeare’s plays also made their way across the Atlantic, beloved by Washington, Jefferson, and many others. The music and drama of these monumental works finds a perfect home in this concert’s opening night venue, an American reproduction of Shakespeare’s Blackfriars Playhouse.
Join EMAP artists Brian Kay (guitar, vocals), David McCormick (baroque violin), Peter Walker (bagpipe, vocals), and Sarah Walker (storyteller) for Winter Songs and Stories, an intimate evening of music from the British Isles and America.
Shakespeare’s plays also made their way across the Atlantic, beloved by Washington, Jefferson, and many others. The music and drama of these monumental works finds a perfect home in this concert’s opening night venue, an American reproduction of Shakespeare’s Blackfriars Playhouse.
Join EMAP artists Brian Kay (guitar, vocals), David McCormick (baroque violin), Peter Walker (bagpipe, vocals), and Sarah Walker (storyteller) for Winter Songs and Stories, an intimate evening of music from the British Isles and America.
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TICKETS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR THIS EVENT
Join Dr. Leni Sorensen of Indigo House and David McCormick of Early Music Access Project for an evening of food, wine, and music that offers a window into the many accomplishments of the Hemings family, once enslaved at Monticello.
Leni will introduce dinner guests to Chef James Hemings, who was trained in the art of French cooking while accompanying Thomas Jefferson in Paris. In Philadelphia, Hemings would use these skills to cook for countless diplomats and politicians during Jefferson’s time as Secretary of State. This multi-course meal offers a glimpse into the Hemings kitchen and the extended family members who learned from James Hemings and cooked at Monticello after his death.
Throughout the evening, David will play fiddle tunes associated with this highly musical family. All three of Sally Hemings’ sons with Thomas Jefferson appear to have been fiddlers, and there were three generations of fiddlers among their cousins in the Scott family.
THE FOUR-COURSE MENU
1770 Tomato Soup
Salad with 1824 Tarragon Dressing
1824 Curry of Chicken with Rice
Honey-Butter Carrots
1824 Raspberry Cream
Tickets to this event are $225 per person. Proceeds will support Early Music Access Project ($45 of your ticket price will be considered a tax deductible donation). Reserve your spot early -- seating is limited for this special event! RSVP no later than Friday, April 7.
Join Dr. Leni Sorensen of Indigo House and David McCormick of Early Music Access Project for an evening of food, wine, and music that offers a window into the many accomplishments of the Hemings family, once enslaved at Monticello.
Leni will introduce dinner guests to Chef James Hemings, who was trained in the art of French cooking while accompanying Thomas Jefferson in Paris. In Philadelphia, Hemings would use these skills to cook for countless diplomats and politicians during Jefferson’s time as Secretary of State. This multi-course meal offers a glimpse into the Hemings kitchen and the extended family members who learned from James Hemings and cooked at Monticello after his death.
Throughout the evening, David will play fiddle tunes associated with this highly musical family. All three of Sally Hemings’ sons with Thomas Jefferson appear to have been fiddlers, and there were three generations of fiddlers among their cousins in the Scott family.
THE FOUR-COURSE MENU
1770 Tomato Soup
Salad with 1824 Tarragon Dressing
1824 Curry of Chicken with Rice
Honey-Butter Carrots
1824 Raspberry Cream
Tickets to this event are $225 per person. Proceeds will support Early Music Access Project ($45 of your ticket price will be considered a tax deductible donation). Reserve your spot early -- seating is limited for this special event! RSVP no later than Friday, April 7.
Table sponsorships are available for $2,000. Sponsors receive tickets for a table of 6, plus 6 VIP tickets to Early Music Access Project's June 18 concert, Rock & Reel: Monticello's Folk Traditions. Sponsors will be publicly acknowledged at both events and on the EMAP website. Contact David McCormick at info@earlymusiccville.org for more information on sponsorship.