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Event
The More, The Merrier
The desert season heats up with a new partner in the cultural life of the Coachella Valley: DESERT BAROQUE, founded by early keyboard specialist, Margaret Irwin-Brandon. Desert Baroque is poised to strengthen and deepen the musical offerings that make the Coachella Valley a go-to area for residents and visitors alike. Three concerts, January 20, 21, 22, 2017, in three Valley locations.
The second concert, "The More, the Merrier," Saturday, January 21 at 7 pm, in Desert Baroque's "The Suite Life" weekend presents, for the first-time ever in the Valley, Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach for two, three and four harpsichords. Accompanied by the Buon Tempi Quartet from the San Diego area, a total of five internationally celebrated harpsichordists, in different configurations, perform the various concerti, BWV 1061, 1063, 1064 and 1065.
The Artists:
MARGARET IRWIN-BRANDON, Founder/Director of Desert Baroque is celebrated for her expertise in the Baroque as well as contemporary expressions on the harpsichord, organ, clavichord and fortepiano.
Arcadia Players Founder and Artistic Director Emerita, Margaret-IrwinBrandon, a specialist in early keyboard instruments, is a concert recitalist in the Americas and Europe. Her harpsichord performances of J.S. Bachs "Well Tempered Clavier" in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall were received with critical acclaim. She has been a soloist in European and American festivals and has performed in national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society. As founding artistic director of the Arcadia Players Baroque Orchestra, Chorus and Chamber Ensembles, she produced Arcadia Players a Baroque Celebration, presented by WGBY TV in1992. She also produced and directed Arcadia Players first fully staged Baroque opera, "Montezuma,"and premiered Richard Einhorns score, Voices of Light, live, for the classic film, La Passion de Jeanne dArc. She has directed over 250 diverse programs of Baroque music.
As a Fulbright Scholar in Germany, Ms. Irwin-Brandon studied organ with Karl Richter, and continued harpsichord studies with Gustav Leonhardt in Holland. She is an Associate Fellow at Davenport College, Yale University where, twice a year she performs with the Dutch violinist Jaap Schroeder. She has served on the faculties of the Oberlin College Conservatory, the University of Oregon, Portland State University, and Mount Holyoke College, and is a member of the Board of Advisors to the Boston Clavichord Society. She holds the B.A. degree from Pacific Lutheran University, and the M.M. degree from the New England Conservatory, Boston, MA. In November, 2017 she will lead her eighth cultural/organ tour in Italy, this tour focusing on organs of Rome and Sicily.
SONIA LEE. Currently serving as the President of the Historical Keyboard Society of North America, scholar-performer Sonia Lee maintains an international schedule that covers four continents. Her performances have been praised by critics as nicely rendered (Early Music America Magazine) and full of elegance and expression (Cleveland Classical). She is a laureate of the Mae and Irving Jurow International Harpsichord Competition and the Montréal Baroque Galaxie-CBC Rising Star Competition.
A performer on both historical and modern keyboard instruments, she has performed at festivals and venues in Argentina, Canada, China, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea The Netherlands, and the United States. Her discography includes premiere recordings of rediscovered music of Bembo, Weigl, Kozeluch, and Berg. She has served on the jury of the Aliénor International Harpsichord Composition Competition and has taught master classes in the US and abroad. As a scholar, she is a contributor to such publications as Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century and Great Lives from History: Latinos.
Sonia Lee holds advanced degrees in music from McGill University and the University of Illinois, with additional study in public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education. Her performance teachers include Charlotte Mattax, Hank Knox, Luc Beauséjour, Joyce Lindorff, and Kenneth Gilbert. She has studied in masterclasses with Arthur Haas, Andrew Willis, David Kreitman, and Malcolm Bilson. A resident of Pasadena, CA, she recently held artist/scholar residencies at La Napoule Art Foundation, France, and La Piccola Academia di Montisi, Italy.
CHARLES METZ studied piano at Penn State University, beginning his harpsichord studies through private lessons with the legendary Igor Kipnis. In the process of earning a Ph.D. in Historical Performance Practice at Washington University in Saint Louis Missouri, he studied with Trevor Pinnock. More recently, Charles has worked with Webb Wiggins and Lisa Crawford at the Oberlin Conservatory.
Charles has performed across the country with concerts in Chicago IL, Saratoga NY, Bennington VT, Louisville, KY and Liberty Mo in their Baroque music JEMS Fest. He has performed solo recitals at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., Oberlin Conservatory and appeared as guest artist in Kansas City for the Bach Aria Soloists and the KC Symphonys summer program Summerfest.
In 2014, he appeared with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Ars Antigua Chicago and the Newberry Consort of Chicago in the Música Barroca Mexicana program. In the spring of 2015 he again played with the Newberry Consort in the Mr. Dowlands Midnight program with Paul ODette. In addition to his performing activity, he serves on the Board of Directors of Chamber Music Society of St. Louis, The Newberry Consort and Early Music America.
ELAINE FUNARO is regarded as one of the leading performers of new music for harpsichord (Classical Music: The Essential Listening Companion). She is a popular presence at contemporary and early music festivals around the world, is past President of the Historical Keyboard Society of North America (HKSNA) and the Artistic Director of Aliénor, the American-based international competition for new harpsichord music. She has studied the harpsichord at Conservatories in Florence, Italy, Oberlin, Ohio, New England Conservatory, Boston and Amsterdams Sweelinck Conservatory. Her teachers have included Ton Koopman, John Gibbons, Lisa Crawford, and the late Gustav Leonhardt.
She has premiered pieces on five continents including concerts in Amsterdam, Rome, Sydney, Boston, Hong Kong and Tokyo. In addition to her solo recitals at the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, Funaro has been a frequent collaborator with symphonies and chamber ensembles. Her appearances often present modern compositions in the context of old and new musical traditions from around the world, yet her impassioned solo and chamber interpretations of traditional scores for her instrument remain a core element in an exceptionally active career. Elaine Funaro has recorded for Arabesque, Centaur, Gasparo, Wildboar, and Classic Concert.
WEBB WIGGINS, recognized and lauded internationally for his innovative and musical continuo realizations, has performed and recorded with many US ensembles. They include the Folger Consort, the Dryden Ensemble, Kings Noyse, Chatham Baroque, the Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, Apollos Fire, The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, the Smithsonian Chamber Players and Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra. His collaborations with soloists, both vocal and instrumental, have earned him high respect among his colleagues in the world of baroque music and earlier.
Wiggins is also one of the foremost teachers of harpsichord as well as a coach for baroque chamber music and as musical director of baroque opera. He was associate professor of harpsichord at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music for eleven years and was coordinator of the early music program at the Peabody conservatory of Music for twenty years. On multiple occasions, Webb has given concerts, classes, lectures, and coachings to students at the Shanghai Music Middle School and at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Quito Ecuador. His recordings can be heard on the Smithsonian, Dorian, EMI, Bard, and PGM labels.
Webb holds degrees in organ performance from Stetson University and the Eastman School of Music and has done additional harpsichord study at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. He is perhaps the only harpsichordist in modern times to have given multiple performances on trans-Atlantic voyages.
Joining the harpsichordists in their performances is the BUON TEMPI QUARTET: Bridget Dolkas, and Alice Wrate, violins; Krista Haslim, viola and Lars Hoefs, cello.
"The vivacious chamber musicians of Buon Tempi delight audiences with their musical passion and gusto. Their performances are infused with excitement and virtuosity, and they share a deep love for communicating the story of the music they are performing."
DESERT BAROQUE, "The Suite Life," includes daily three-hour workshops led by the artists, addressing the familiar dance movements bundled together into Suites. The other two concerts, Friday, January 20,7 pm Gilbert Martinez, harpsichord, in Palm Springs; Sunday at 4 pm, in Desert Hot Springs, "From Baroque to Beyond" features Elaine Funaro.
Desert Baroque, "The Suite Life," is sponsored in part by the Western Early Keyboard Association. WEKA was founded in 1998 to promote mutual interests, foster communication and share resources and expertise among harpsichord, clavichord, fortepiano and organ enthusiasts, both professional and amateur, in the western United States. www.wekaweb.org
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LocationThe Hope Center, Hope Lutheran Church (View)
45900 Portola Ave.
Palm Desert, CA 92260
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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