2023 Fringe Concert & Colleague Event Schedule
Updated May 31, 2023
For listings stating “discounts may apply,” please contact the Fringe Artist, Ensemble, or Organization for further information.
SUNDAY, JUNE 4 No Fringe Events Scheduled
MONDAY, JUNE 5
5pm Berwick Fiddle Consort (Lydia Becker, Julia Connor, and Sarah Douglass, fiddles). The Highland Exodus An eclectic program combining aural fiddle traditions of Ireland and Cape Breton with printed 18th-century Scottish folk music and works by Bach and Vivaldi. Beacon Hill Friends House. $15 suggested donation. 505-917-6564; berwickfiddleconsort@gmail.com; www.berwickfiddleconsort.com
6:30pm The Oriana Consort, directed by Walter Chapin, with assistance from Andrea Hart (mixed voice choir with Nelli Jabotinsky and Ambrose Philipek, violin; Andrew Koutroubas, basse de violon; Hendrik Broekman, chamber organ) Conflict and Resilience in Choral Music of the 12th, 16th, and 17th Centuries. Much choral music, across the centuries, has been about human conflict, and the resilience of people in response to it reflecting the fact that conflict has been a part of human civilization for a very long time. Hear this come to life in the music of Hildegard von Bingen, Thomas Tallis, Raffaella Aleotti, and Heinrich Schütz. A period instrumental ensemble accompanies. First Lutheran Church of Boston. FREE (donations gratefully accepted). 339-203-5876; info@orianaconsort.org
TUESDAY, JUNE 6
12 noon Oscar Jiang, pianoforte (circa 1860s). Sounds of Frédéric Chopin: The Piano of His Time. Selected works of Chopin, Ogiński, Mozart, and J. S. Bach, performed on First Church Boston’s recently restored mid-19th-century John Broadwood pianoforte. Post-concert Q&A, Album CD soft launch event. First Church Boston. $20 suggested donation. 917-995-1495; oscarjiang97@gmail.com
12 noon Anna O’Connell and Friends (Anna O’Connell, triple harp & voice; Jonathan Goya, cornetto & violin; Jane Leggiero, viol; Phaik Tzhi Chua, violin & dance; Elena Mullins, dance; Kameryn Leung, voice; Andrea Walker, voice). Triple Threat: Women Singing, Dancing, and SelfAccompanying. Join us as we visit some of the most famous Medici extravaganzas of the late 16th and early 17th centuries! How did women comport themselves in society, and how did the regency of Maria Magdalena allow for the incredible talent of Francesca Caccini to flourish? Find out as we sing, strum, dance, and play (sometimes at the same time!) our way through moments from intermedios, opera, accompanied song, and more! Seully Hall, Boston Conservatory at Berklee. $15 suggested donation. aoconnellharp@gmail.com
12:30pm The Pandora Consort (Kendra Comstock and Angie Tyler, soprano; Ruth McKay, harpsichord). Vox Feminae: Songs of Powerful Women. The Pandora Consort presents a musical exploration of historical heroines, such as Eurydice, Susannah, the Virgin Mary, and others. Works by Barbara Strozzi, Antonia Bembo, Isabella Leonarda, and Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre. The College Club of Boston. $15 suggested donation (discounts may apply). 802-299-1654; thepandoraconsort@gmail.com
2pm–4pm Choral Workshop, directed by Edward Elwyn Jones, with John Sullivan, piano C. P. E. Bach: Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu, Wq 240. This choral workshop will focus on reading through the choruses in C. P. E. Bach’s oratorio, Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu, Wq 240. Choral scores published by Carus-Verlag will be provided to participants as part of the admission fee. Paine Hall, Music Department, Harvard University. $10 (cash only). 781-605-8847; pcorneilson@packhum.org; cpebach.org
2pm Jeffrey Snedeker, organ. The Nightingale and the Cuckoo. Many composers of the Baroque found inspiration in the songs of birds. Evocative music featuring the calls of nightingales, cuckoos, finches, and warblers will be presented on the renowned Baroque organ (Richards, Fowkes & Co.) at First Lutheran. Works by Frescobaldi, Steigleder, Rameau, Couperin, Krebs, Poglietti, and Handel. First Lutheran Church of Boston. $20 suggested donation (discounts may apply). 607-279-8540; jsnedek2@twcny.rr.com; www.jeffreysnedekerorganist.com
2:30pm Oscar Jiang, pianoforte (circa 1860s). Sounds of Frédéric Chopin: The Piano of His Time. Selected works of Chopin, Ogiński, Mozart, and J. S. Bach, performed on First Church Boston’s recently restored mid-19th-century John Broadwood pianoforte. Post-concert Q&A, Album CD soft launch event. First Church Boston. $20 suggested donation. 917-995-1495; oscarjiang97@gmail.com
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7
11:30am Bud Roach, tenor & theorbo. Bud Roach presents a program of 17th-century Italian arias and cantatas by Cazzati, Perti, Stefani, and Strozzi, and English songs by Lanier, Lawes, Wilson, and Purcell. Beacon Hill Friends House. FREE. 905-517-3594; bud@budroach.com; www.budroach.com
2pm Entwyned Early Music (Dee Hansen, lever harp, traverso & Baroque guitar; Eric Hansen, archlute & parlor guitar; Neal Humphreys, viola da gamba; Ben Toth, percussion). Gracias a la Vida: Latin American and Spanish Songs of Love and Life. The music of Latin America and Spain inspires our hearts to beat and our toes to tap. The title song, Gracias a la Vida by Chilean composer and singer Violetta Parra, provides the culmination of this luscious romantic musical journey. Passionate expressions and rhythmic delights of traditional folk dances and songs are coupled with pieces by Villa Lobos, Ribayez, and Ortiz. Entwyned Early Music performs on historic parlor and Baroque guitars, archlute, lever harp, traverso, viola da gamba, and traditional South American percussion played by internationally acclaimed percussionist Benjamin Toth. The College Club of Boston. $20 suggested donation 785-760-0627; libraryluteplayer@gmail.com; www.entwynedearlymusic.org
2pm Les Canards Chantants (Eric Brenner, countertenor; Robin Bier, contralto; Jacob Perry, tenor; Graham Bier, bass). Solomon’s Vineyard. Few texts in history blur the lines between earthly and spiritual love as compellingly as the Song of Songs. Ascribed to King Solomon, this sensuous biblical poem was set to music countless times during the Renaissance. Leonhard Lechner’s sublime and boozy Germanlanguage version, Das Hohelied Salomonis (1606), takes center stage today as we enjoy a tasting of Solomon’s “uberlove-song” and other works inspired by the triple muse of love, life, and good wine, curated by Lechner and his teacher, the inimitable Orlande de Lassus. Gordon Chapel, Old South Church. $15 suggested donation. 215-740-8667; canardschantants@gmail.com; www.lescanardschantants.com
3pm Judith Conrad, clavichordist. Music of John Dowland as Reenvisioned by Keyboard Composers of his Day. Transcriptions of Dowland’s most popular works as transcribed for keyboard by William Byrd, Heinrich Scheidemann, John Wilbye, and others, played on a triplefretted mean-tone clavichord by Andreas Hermert, 2001, after the 1688 Georg Woytzig clavichord in the Musikmuseet, Stockholm. The Paulist Center Library. FREE (donations welcome). 508-674-6128; judithconrad@mindspring.com
3pm Eastman Collegium Chamber Ensemble (Christel Thielmann, director; James Marshall and Rachel Smith, Baroque violin; Juliana Kilcoyne, Baroque viola; Joëlla Becker, Baroque violoncello; Owen McCready, Baroque bass; Pedro Sperb, theorbo & Baroque guitar; Henry Webb, harpsichord). From the Ridiculous to the Sublime – Music for every Mood. A suite from Purcell’s fantastical Fairy Queen, the deeply moving Sinfonia al Santo Sepolcro of Vivaldi, Telemann’s hilarious violin duet Gulliver’s Travels, a theatrical trio sonata of Stradella, and a celebratory Chaconne of Brescianello. Church of the Covenant. $15 suggested donation. 585-309-3876 or christelthielmann@gmail.com; 585-705-5458 or resmith1998@gmail.com
THURSDAY, JUNE 8
12 noon New York Continuo Collective, directed by Grant Herreid Early 17th-Century Roman Opera Scenes Staged scenes drawn from three early 17th-century Roman operas: Domenico Mazzocchi, Il Catena d’Adone (1626), libretto by Ottavio Tronsarelli, based on episodes from Giambattista Marino’s epic poem L’Adone (1623); Michelangelo Rossi, Erminia sul Giordano (1633), libretto by Giulio Rospigliosi, from a tale found in Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata; and Luigi Rossi, Il Palazzo Incantato (1642), libretto by Giulio Rospigliosi, based on Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando furioso. Gordon Chapel, Old South Church. FREE.
646-239-3522; ContinuoNY@aol.com
1pm James Ruff, tenor & early Gaelic harp Women’s Work: Voices of the Highlands (Obair nam Ban: Guthan na Gàidhealtachd). The Highland Oral Tradition encompasses an impressive range of poetry and music. Though officially excluded from the bardic orders, women increasingly became important bearers of tradition in Scotland as harpers and singers, and as poets and composers of song fully employing the intricate bardic poetic forms. In recent centuries, women proved important collectors of traditional song. Today, James explores the rich Highland repertoire of the 16th to 18th centuries composed, collected, or inspired by women. Come experience these songs, in Gaelic and Scots, where women lament their dead husbands, brothers, and kinsmen…nobly celebrate their clan chiefs, and even beautifully bid farewell to the “Music of the Clarsach.” Interspersed with haunting early harp repertoire from Scottish lute manuscripts, this rarely heard repertoire is sure to transport you… Hale Chapel, First Church Boston. $20 (discounts may apply). 212-767-9099; info@jamesrufftenorharper.com; Jamesrufftenorharper.com
1:30pm Seven Times Salt (Barbara Allen Hill, soprano; Michael Barrett, tenor & recorders; Karen Burciaga, violin, guitar & voice; Dan Meyers, recorders, flute, percussion & voice; Josh Schreiber, bass viol & voice; Matthew Wright, lute, bandora & voice). Easy As Lying: The Music of Shakespeare’s Globe A spirited celebration of the splendid music heard in Shakespeare’s plays at the original Globe theater in London. We perform works ranging from melancholy to mirthful including songs the Bard mentions by name, works by his talented contemporaries including Thomas Morley, John Dowland, and Robert Johnson, and selected scenes from the plays read aloud in Original Pronunciation. Dance tunes from the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts and a saucy ballad or two round out the festivities. Old West Church. $10 suggested donation. 508-878-7028; inquiries@seventimessalt.com; www.seventimessalt.com
FRIDAY, JUNE 9
9:30am–1:30pm Viola da Gamba Society of America (VdGSA) The Gamba Gamut. A showcase of short performances featuring the viola da gamba by performers from across the nation. This BEMF Fringe event is sponsored by the Viola da Gamba Society of America. Please feel free to drop in anytime during the Gamut! Gordon Chapel, Old South Church. $10 suggested donation. 781-310-8294; Erik.Christian.Andersen@gmail.com; VdGSA.org
10am–2pm American Recorder Society (ARS) Recorder Relay Concert. The American Recorder Society presents a free series of vignette recitals showcasing outstanding recorder talent. Performances will include solo work, young performers, consorts, established professionals, classical works, and contemporary pieces. There will be a brief ceremony and reception at the end of the event, honoring the recipients of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Award (Nina Stern), and Presidential Special Honor Award (Cléa Galhano). The Guild Room, 4th Floor, Old South Church. FREE. 781-862-2894; bonniekellyars@gmail.com; www.americanrecorder.org/bemf
10am–12 noon The Very First Piano (Elaine Funaro and Artem Belogurov, Baroque piano after Cristofori, Florence, 1726, by Kerstin Schwarz, Zerbst, Germany, 2020) The Very First Piano poses an intriguing question: What music was played on the first keyboard instruments with a hammer action? This double recital by two renowned specialists in the field contrasts, on the one hand, the earliest repertoire written for the brand-new Florentine piano with, on the other, keyboard repertoire it may have been expected to play in Saxony and London. Builder Kerstin Schwarz’s replica of the 1726 Bartolomeo Cristofori piano in Leipzig has 4½ octaves, an una corda handstop, and an astonishing range of color, dynamics, and depth. This piano astonished the world when it was new. It does so even more in our time.
10am Concert: Elaine Funaro, Baroque piano. Elaine Funaro plays the earliest piano repertoire, including works by female and male pianist-composers later in the 18th century. Program includes sonatas by Galuppi, Pescetti, Alberti, and others.
11am Concert: Artem Belogurov, Baroque piano. Artem Belogurov plays history’s first piano in repertoire it might have been expected to play in Leipzig and London. Works by
William Babell, J. S. Bach, and George Frideric Handel. First Lutheran Church of Boston. $15 admission. 410-218-7749; crecquillon@gmail.com
11:30am Bud Roach, tenor & theorbo. Bud Roach presents a program of 17th-century Italian arias and cantatas by Cazzati, Perti, Stefani, and Strozzi, and English songs by Lanier, Lawes, Wilson, and Purcell. Beacon Hill Friends House. FREE. 905-517-3594; bud@budroach.com; www.budroach.com
2pm Les Canards Chantants (Eric Brenner, countertenor; Robin Bier, contralto; Jacob Perry, tenor; Graham Bier, bass). Solomon’s Vineyard. Few texts in history blur the lines between earthly and spiritual love as compellingly as the Song of Songs. Ascribed to King Solomon, this sensuous biblical poem was set to music countless times during the Renaissance. Leonhard Lechner’s sublime and boozy Germanlanguage version, Das Hohelied Salomonis (1606), takes center stage today as we enjoy a tasting of Solomon’s “uberlove-song” and other works inspired by the triple muse of love, life, and good wine, curated by Lechner and his teacher, the inimitable Orlande de Lassus. First Lutheran Church of Boston. $15 suggested donation. 215-740-8667; canardschantants@gmail.com; www.lescanardschantants.com
2:30pm The Suspicious Cheese Lords (Male Vocal Ensemble: Aurélien Billot, George Cervantes, Guillaume Cléaud, Sargon de Jesus, Kevin Elam, Dominic Mason, Cole Milliard, David Okun, Christopher Riggs, Anthony Smitha, Adam Taylor, Jonathan Wanner, Clifton “Skip” West, III, Gary Winans, Jr.). The Devil Went Down to Clairvaux Marking their return to the BEMF Fringe Concert circuit, the Suspicious Cheese Lords present eye-opening selections from their 5th world premiere recording, Illumina Oculos Meos: Sacred Music of Palestrina and De Silva. Featuring Andreas de Silva’s (fl. 1510–1530) titular motet, this concert showcases masterworks including Palestrina’s parody Mass on de Silva’s motet and his Magnificat Secundi Toni for five voices. Stay for Francesco Soriano’s joyful double-choir Laetare Jerusalem. Come find out why the Devil went down to Clairvaux (but didn’t find a soul to steal)! Church of the Covenant. $10 suggested donation. 202-681-7352; suspiciouscheeselords.com
3:30pm AKOYA (Naomi Dumas, Baroque violin; Caitlyn Koester, harpsichord). The Ladies of Versailles. A one-hour concert devoted to the works of four female composers who were affiliated with the court of Versailles from the baroque until the French Revolution. These include a selection of sonatas composed for harpsichord and violin by Émilie Candeille (1767–1834) and Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665–1729), Airs from Mademoiselle de Menetou (1679–1745), and excerpts from the opera-ballet Les Génies by Mademoiselle Duval (1718–1775). Cathedral Church of St. Paul. $10 suggested donation. akoyaduo@gmail.com; www.akoyaduo.com
SATURDAY, JUNE 10
11am CWRU Historical Performance Ensembles, directed by Julie Andrijeski and Peter Bennett (Alissa Magee and Andréa Walker, sopranos & dance; Kameryn Lueng, mezzo-soprano & dance; Phaik Tzhi Chua, violin & dance; Andrew Hatfield and Bruno Lunkes, violins; Jonathan Goya, viola; Macarena Sanchez Ruiz, violoncello & dance; Jane Leggiero, basse de viole; Mikhail Grazhdanov, harpsichord; Don Verkuilen, organ; Danur Kvilhaug, theorbo & guitar). Rares et Diverses Musiques: Music and Dance in 17th-century France. Our program focuses on women performers, composers, and patrons in 17th-century Paris, including vocal and instrumental music by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Françoise Charlotte de Senneterre Ménétou, Antoine Boësset, and Marc-Antoine Charpentier, and featuring scenes and dances from Henry Desmarest’s Didon. Gordon Chapel, Old South Church. $20 suggested donation. 412-401-4073; jxa4@case.edu
11am SIREN Baroque (Antonia Light Nelson, Marina Fragoulis, and Emily Hale, violin; Anneke Schaul-Yoder, violoncello; Kelly Savage, harpsichord). Conversations with Friends: Lively Music for Three Violins and Continuo Captivating audiences since 2011, the all-female SIREN Baroque proudly presents a program for three violins. Delve deep into this fun and moving program of works by Purcell, Gabrieli, Hacquart, Schmeltzer, and others. Cathedral Church of St. Paul. Admission $15 ($10 students and seniors). 646-512-2076; info@sirenbaroque.com
12 noon Convivium Musicum, directed by Allegra Martin Duo Seraphim Clamabant: Works by Italian Women. Starting at the end of the sixteenth century, numerous Italian women composers started to publish their music. Many, but not all, were nuns. Raffaella Aleotti, Caterina Assandra, Maddalena Casulana, Sulpitia Cesis, Lucretia Vizzana, and Isabella Leonarda are just a few of the composers active during this time, and modern musicologists have been working to make this music available. Last year a lost alto partbook was discovered for one of Casulana’s five-voice madrigal books, making these works available for the first time; we will be performing two of these madrigals, as well as others of her works. Come with us on a journey of discovery as we explore the voices of Italian women at the turn of the 17th century! Old West Church. $10 suggested donation. 781-929-3707; ruthiegm@gmail.com; www.convivium.org
1pm Stevenson Baroque Ensemble and Viol Consort, Enrique Vilaseco, director and Morgan Little, associate director. The program will include works by J. S. Bach, Handel, Corelli, and Vivaldi, along with viol ensemble repertoire of the early Baroque and late Renaissance. Marsh Chapel, Boston University. FREE (donations welcome). 847-415-4771; evilaseco@d125.org; mlittle@d125.org; www.d125.org
2pm Nuova Pratica (Manami Mizumoto, Tsutomu [Will] Copeland, Rebecca Nelson, and Rafa Prendergast, Baroque violins & violas; Charlie Reed, viola da gamba & Baroque violoncello; Ellen Sauer, Baroque flutes; Nathan Mondry and Nicola Canzano, historical keyboards). The Living Baroque. A lively performance of Baroque music for a living Baroque audience by Baroque composers who are… alive? Nuova Pratica is a group of some of early music’s most promising new musicians. This special program for BEMF’s 2023 celebration of women features the exquisitely charming new Baroque-inspired music of Rebecca Nelson, the evocative music of Manami Mizumoto, and an exuberant Italianate sonata by Cullen O’Neil. Hear also the immaculate early Baroque ensemble music of Tsutomu Copeland, well-wrought late-Baroque trios by Nicola Canzano, the elegant music of Charlie Reed, and the clever trickery of Nathan Mondry. First Church Boston. FREE. 248-631-7953; nicola.canzano@juilliard.edu; www.nuovapractica.com
2pm The Phoenix Consort (Becca Bly and Caitlin Laird, soprano; Cameron Dobson, alto; Mary Jodice, harpsichord, Carol Lewis, viola da gamba). In Mary’s Footsteps Phoenix Consort presents a program of Early Music and chant, illustrating the life of Mary, mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary’s life as a historical figure is somewhat overshadowed by her son, but she was a living, breathing woman with emotions and hopes and dreams just like anyone else. Starting with Marian Chants to divide the program into sections, we use music by Barbara Strozzi, Isobella Leonarda, and Giovanni Pergolesi to help us walk in Mary’s footsteps. First Baptist Church of Boston. $10 suggested donation. 617-513-8747; maryjodice1@gmail.com
SUNDAY, JUNE 11
No Fringe Events Scheduled
Venue Locations
All venues are in Boston unless otherwise indicated.
Beacon Hill Friends House, 6 Chestnut Street
The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 138 Tremont Street
Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury Street
The College Club of Boston, 44 Commonwealth Avenue
First Baptist Church of Boston, 110 Commonwealth Avenue
First Church Boston and Hale Chapel, 66 Marlborough Street
The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 299 Berkeley Street
Marsh Chapel, Boston University, 735 Commonwealth Avenue
Old South Church, Gordon Chapel, and the Guild Room, 645 Boylston Street
Old West Church, 131 Cambridge Street
Paine Hall, Harvard University, 3 Oxford Street, Cambridge
The Paulist Center Library, 5 Park Street
Seully Hall, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, 8 Fenway