FEATURED EVENTS

GEMS Presents
Makaris

Out of the Western Isles

the Celtic Influence on Baroque Parlor Music

A celebration of the traditional music of Scotland and Ireland that captured the fancy of 17th and 18th-century continental Europe. Whether arranging dozens of songs for parlor performance, or incorporating Celtic rhythms and tonalities into their work in subtle ways, composers from Bach to Beethoven made use of the rich ethnomusicological outpouring of folk material from the western isles during these two centuries. Makaris shares this repertoire, alongside pieces by Scottish Baroque composers, traditional tunes, and beloved works by the famed 18th-century Irish harpist and bard, Turlough O’Carolan. Hailed as, “...a beautiful intersection of folk melodies and dance rhythms with the airy textures, refined gestures, and virtuosic asides of the Galant style” (Early Music America), Makaris brings together Baroque and folk musicians to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, HIP-style.

Saturday, March 16 at 7:30 pm

Tickets:
Prime seating ~ $40
General Admission ~ $25
Students (with ID) ~ $10

Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church
Enter on West 87th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, Manhattan

Purchase tickets

Makaris explores historical Scottish music, and creates new music rooted in Scottish cultural heritage. Recordings: Wisps in the Dell (2019); The Gallant David Rizzio (2022), modern-premiere of Allan Ramsay’s The Gentle Shepherd (in production). In 2021 Makaris released the EP Tam Lin: a folk-rock ballad opera co-written by Fiona Gillespie & Elliot Cole, which premiered on the Five Boroughs Music Festival. Based in and around New York City, Makaris maintains a national roster of early, new, and folk musicians at the top of their fields, per the needs of each project. makaris.org

Enjoy an intimate concert in a beautiful Connecticut residence, up close and personal with the brilliant international students in Juilliard’s Historical Performance Program.

The host for this rewarding event is GEMS board member Jacqueline Algon, who is a gracious hostess and brilliant cook!

Pre-concert drinks and snacks at 3 pm, music at 4, followed by a sumptuous reception.

The suggested donation is $50/person. 

RSVP and Donate here

If you would like to attend please click the link above or call the GEMS office at (212) 866-0468 to reserve a place. 

All guests are reminded to test for Covid prior to arrival; masking is optional, in keeping with CDC recommendations.

Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition Fifth Anniversary Gala Concert

The Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition will celebrate its Fifth Anniversary with a gala concert featuring past laureates: Avery Fisher Career Grant recipients violinist, Rachell Ellen Wong, and double bassist, Nina Bernat; Young Concert Artists International Auditions winner, violinist, Lun Li; and Tianyou Ma, winner of the Bach Prize at both the Singapore and Menuhin International Violin Competitions. More about the competition here

The concert is presented by Gotham Early Music Scene (GEMS). 

View the program

Friday, December 1, 2023 at 7:00 pm

Tickets:
In person ~ $30
Online ~ $10

The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street, Manhattan

Online access available until December 22, 2023

Puchase online tickets

THE PERFORMERS

Rachell Ellen Wong

Recipient of a prestigious 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant — the only early music specialist in the respected program’s history — and Grand Prize winner of the inaugural Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition, violinist Rachell Ellen Wong is a star on both the modern and historical performance violin stages. With performances across five continents, Rachell has established herself as one of the leading historical performers of her generation, collaborating with esteemed ensembles such as the Academy of Ancient Music, Jupiter Ensemble led by lutenist Thomas Dunford, Bach Collegium Japan, Ruckus Early Music, and Les Arts Florissants, among others. Equally accomplished on the modern violin, Rachell made her first public appearance with Philharmonia Northwest at age 11 and has since performed as a soloist with orchestras such as Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Panamá, Orquesta Sinfónica de Costa Rica, and the Seattle Symphony. In 2020, Rachell made her conducting debut with the Seattle Symphony, leading a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons from the violin. Currently, she serves as concertmaster of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra.

Notable highlights from Rachell's 2022–2023 season include performances of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with the Auburn Symphony (WA), Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Richmond Symphony (IN), Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy with the American Classical Orchestra (NYC), as well as recitals for UC Berkeley's Cal Performances, the Edinburgh Music Festival, the Washington Bach Consort in DC, and for the Starling-DeLay Symposium at The Juilliard School. Additionally, Rachell is an Artist-in-Residence with the Heifetz International Music Institute in Staunton, Virginia, and a faculty member at the Valley of the Moon Music Institute in Sonoma, CA. She is also an American Fellow of The English Concert.

Alongside acclaimed keyboardist David Belkovski, Rachell is co-founder of Twelfth Night. Founded in 2021, Twelfth Night’s notable engagements include Music Before 1800, Reno’s Apex Concert Series, Arizona Early Music, and Chatham Baroque. The ensemble is set to make its Carnegie Hall debut during the 2023–2024 season.

Rachell holds a Master of Historical Performance from The Juilliard School, a Master of Music degree from Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she divides her time between New York City and Seattle. Rachell performs on a Baroque violin from the school of Joachim Tielke circa 1700, as well as a violin made by Carlo de March in 1953. Her exceptional blend of technical virtuosity, expressive musicianship, and deep understanding of period performance practices has garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated following. For more information about Rachell, please visit her website at www.rachellwong.com.

Nina Bernat

Double bassist Nina Bernat, acclaimed for her interpretive maturity, expressive depth, and technical clarity, emerges onto the world stage with awards and accolades, thrilling audiences everywhere. This year, Nina is honored as a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the CAG Elmaleh Competition. Recent First Prizes include the 2022 Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition, the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Juilliard Double Bass Competition, and the 2019 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. She was also named a Bowers Program Artist at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for the 2024–2027 seasons.

Engaged in all aspects of double bass performance, in 2019 she was invited to perform as guest principal bassist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, serving under the batons of András Schiff and Osmo Vänskä. Among her notable chamber performances are appearances with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Series, and Mostly Music. This summer, Nina heads to Vermont for her second season at both the 2023 Marlboro Music Festival and the Lake Champlain Music Festival. She returns to the 2023 Grace Note Farm Summer Music Festival in Rhode Island for her third season, as both performer and co-organizer.

Nina’s 2023–2024 season includes a concerto debut with the Minnesota Orchestra and performances as guest principal of the Oslo Philharmonic. Nina performs on an instrument passed down from her father, Mark Bernat, attributed to Guadagnini

For more information, visit www.ninabernat.com.

Lun Li

Lun Li is a violinist committed to creating thought-provoking, boundary-pushing concert experiences for contemporary audiences around the world. A native of Shanghai who is currently based in New York, Lun won First Prize in the 2021 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, the Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society Prize, and was named John French Violin Chair at YCA. Additionally, he is also the joint winner of the First Prize at the 2021 Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition. Recently, he was named a Bowers Program Artist at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for the 2024–2027 seasons.

Lun has appeared on major musical stages around the world, including Helsinki Music Centre, Konzerthaus Berlin, Kulturpalast Dresden, Wiener Konzerthaus, and Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center. Next season, he will make his solo recital debut in Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., as well as his concerto debut in the Lincoln Center.

An avid chamber musician, he has participated in the Marlboro Music Festival, the Verbier Music Festival Academy, Music@Menlo’s international program, and Music from Angelfire. He has collaborated with leading musicians such as Kim Kashkashian, Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, Marcy Rosen, Steven Tenenbom, Peter Wiley, and members from Calidore, Doric, and Miro Quartets. His upcoming season will include chamber music tours with Curtis Institute of Music, Marlboro Music Festival, and Young Concert Artists, bringing him to Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, and others.

Lun holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music (BM’20) and The Juilliard School (MM’22). His mentors include Ida Kavafian, Catherine Cho, and Joseph Lin. He is currently pursuing an artist diploma at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Catherine Cho.

Lun plays on the Stradivarius “Samazeuilh” 1735 violin, on generous loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

Tianyou Ma

Violinist Tianyou Ma has been a prize winner in numerous prestigious international competitions, including the 2021 Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition (Joint Grand Prize), the Singapore International Violin Competition (Bach Prize), the Sendai International Music Competition, The Menuhin International Violin Competition (Bach Prize), and the Postacchini Competition.

Tianyou has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Webern Kammerphilharmonie, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, London Doctors’ Orchestra, Adelaide Youth Orchestra, and Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist and a chamber musician in many countries in Europe, Asia, the USA, and Oceania. He has spent his summers studying at the Verbier Festival Academy, Gstaad and International Summer Academy (Internationale Sommerakademie der mdw).

Tianyou began studies at the Elder Conservatorie of Music in Adelaide, Australia in 2010, when he was awarded a full scholarship to study with Keith Crellin. Since 2014, Tianyou attended The Yehudi Menuhin School in the United Kingdom where he studied with Diana Galvydyte. He was also awarded a full scholarship covering all his living fees from the Music and Dance Scheme in the United Kingdom from 2016–2019. Tianyou pursued his undergraduate studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from 2019–2023, studying with Pamela Frank and Shmuel Ashkenasi. Tianyou is now pursuing his Masters Degree with Catherine Cho at The Juilliard School. He is the recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.

UPON REFLECTION: An Opera in Ten Images

WORLD PREMIERE

Music by Frances White
Words and Photographs by Wendy Steiner

Sherezade Panthaki ~ soprano

Parthenia:
Lawrence Lipnik ~ recorders
Beverly Au, Rosamund Morley & Lisa Terry ~ viols

Ryan Closs and Wendy Steiner ~ Projections

This new chamber opera by composer Frances White and librettist/photographer Wendy Steiner features soprano Sherezade Panthaki, Lawrence Lipnik on recorders and Beverly Au, Rosamund Morley, and Lisa Terry on viols. The scene is a gallery opening where a young photographer is speaking to her guests about the contradictions she has felt as a woman artist. She invites them to find her image in each of ten enigmatic photos, to "see her seeing” and with her feel a “rosiness” in life she almost lost.

Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 3 pm

Tickets:
General Admission ~ $40
Students ~ $25

Mary Flagler Cary Hall, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music
450 West 37th Street, Manhattan

Purchase tickets

Read an interview between Wendy Steiner and John Thiessen here

Read an interview of John Thiessen with Frances White, Lisa Terry, and Larry Lipnik

Parthenia Viol Consort is a recipient of a 2024 grant from Chamber Music America’s Artistic Projects program, funded through the generosity of The Howard Gilman Foundation, for the UPON REFLECTION premier.

GEMS Presents
Alana Youssefian ~ violin

Corelli Violin Sonatas

with Jeffrey Grossman ~ harpsichord
& Sarah Stone ~ violoncello

Corelli's Opus 5 Violin Sonatas remain a Baroque violinist's dream to explore and perform. Alana Youssefian, joined by Jeff Grossman and Sarah Stone, returns in recital to perform a selection of these glorious works, including the famously devilish Folia. This unabashedly all-Corelli program promises to take the listener on a florid journey through one of the Italian Baroque's most treasured collections.

Saturday, December 2 at 7:30 pm

Tickets:
Prime seating ~ $45
General Admission ~ $30
Students (with ID) ~ $10

Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church
Enter on West 87th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, Manhattan

Purchase tickets

GEMS Presents
The Chivalrous Crickets

Master of Merriment: a Celtic Christmas Revel

Fiona Gillespie ~ voice, whistle, flute, bodhran
Paul Morton ~ theorbo, Baroque guitar, banjo, voice
Genevieve Gillespie ~ fiddle/voice
Spiff Wiegand ~ pipes, accordion, percussion, voice
Sarah Stone ~ cello

Anchored around six arrangements from Esprit Philippe Chédeville's collection of Christmas folk melodies in 1730s Paris, Nouveau recueil de Noëls, the Chivalrous Crickets lead audiences on a rambling, wassail-filled journey through villages of France, Ireland, England, Scotland, and America while exploring the tunes and traditions of Celtic Yuletide from the quiet first day of Winter to the raucous Twelfth Night.

Thursday, December 21 at 7:30 pm

Tickets:
Prime seating ~ $45
General Admission ~ $30
Students (with ID) ~ $10

St. Malachy's Church
239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Purchase tickets

The Chivalrous Crickets explore the intersection between Celtic and American folk music, and Western European early music. Its members, who all sing, play instruments, arrange and compose for the band, come from backgrounds of folk, classical, and pop music. The musicians' skills and interests combine to form a unique sound centered on rich vocal harmonies, diverse timbral blends of modern and ancient instruments, exhilarating arrangements, and innovative programming of traditional, original, and historical music, with a special fondness for producing theatrical events that recreate old-world Celtic celebrations such as Twelfth Night and May Day. Based between eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Crickets play a diverse range of venues around the nation from museums to boat cruises, concert series to folk festivals, churches to barns, and pubs to theaters. A core mission of the band is to work with other ensembles and arts initiatives to create special projects and events. Recent and upcoming collaborations include The Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, Tiny Glass Tavern (Massachusets), Makaris Ensemble (New York City), Freelance Nun (New York City), and Musica Sierra's Musical Headwaters Project (California).

Banff Centre EvoFest: Evolution Concert Series & Gotham Early Music Scene present

Quartet Salonnières

From Vienna to Paris: Beethoven in Context

Live Streamed from the Church of the Transfiguration (“Little Church Around the Corner”)
1 East 29th Street, Manhattan

Friday, July 9 at 7:30 pm EDT
All in-person attendees should be in their seats 10 minutes before start time. Late arrivals will be admitted only between works. Masks are required.

Admission: Free; donations gratefully accepted

Watch here

VIEW THE PDF PROGRAM

Donate here

GEMS presents Quartet Salonnières in partnership with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity EvoFest Concert Series 2021. Celebrating the classical music tradition, new creation, and curatorial innovation, EvoFest takes place between June 22 and August 14 and will feature performances by participants and renowned international faculty from the Banff Centre's Evolution: Classical and Evolution: Quartet programs.

Click here for more information about EvoFest concerts

PROGRAM

Ignaz Pleyel
String Quartet in G minor Ben 339
   I. Allegro

Anton Reicha
String Quartet in F minor op. 94 no. 3
   I. Lento-Allegro Assai

L. van Beethoven
String Quartet op. 59 no. 2 ‘Razumovsky'
   I. Allegro
   II. Molto Adagio
   III. Allegretto
   IV. Presto

Mathilde Côté
La nuit sur la cord à linge

Presented by GEMS in partnership with Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity with support from the National Arts Centre

Mathilde Côté is a musician from Gaspé area, Quebec. As a composer, she stands on her own feet, letting her music be influenced sometimes by popular songs, jazz, folk tunes, etc. Her main non-musical sources of inspiration are simple words, nature and people. In 2016, she wrote and produced a concert called “Métissages”, featuring new music for a traditional foot-tapping percussionist and a string quartet. Her music has been played in Canada and Europe.

Quartet Salonnières
Acclaimed for their spirited, engaging and highly original performances, New York City-based Quartet Salonnières is devoted to performance practices of the baroque through contemporary time periods.

Founding members Majka Demcak, Aniela Eddy, Natalie Rose Kress and Cullen Coty-O'Neil met during their studies in the Historical Performance program at The Juilliard School. They have toured nationally and internationally, performing together on stages in New Zealand, with Les Arts Florissants in Paris, Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco, Apollo's Fire in Cleveland, Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, and Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver, Canada. Highlights of the quartet's 2019/2020 season include concerts presented by Early Music America, San Francisco Early Music Society, Knox nstrumental Measures, Musicivic Musicast, and Berkley Early Music Festival. Additionally, they were awarded the position of Quartet in Residence at the Carmel Bach Festival and were featured on New York's WQXR radio station and Michigan's WMUK "Let's Hear It!" program.

Quartet Salonnières recently made their New York City debut as part of the Midtown Concert Series hosted by Gotham Early Music Scene. Their first album, to be released in Spring of 2021, features works by Mozart, Haydn and Boccherini. Quartet Salonnières is the recipient of the George J. Jakob Global Enrichment Grant and is currently Ensemble in Residence with Musicivic, Inc.

Banff Centre EvoFest: Evolution Concert Series & Gotham Early Music Scene present

Desdemona Quartet

Momentum and Stasis

Live Streamed from the Church of the Transfiguration (“Little Church Around the Corner”)
1 East 29th Street, Manhattan

Friday, July 9 at 5 pm EDT
All in-person attendees should be in their seats 10 minutes before start time. Late arrivals will be admitted only between works. Masks are required.

Admission: Free; donations gratefully accepted

Watch here

VIEW THE PDF PROGRAM

Donate here

Adrianne Munden-Dixon, violin
Caroline Drexler, violin
Carrie Frey, viola
Julia Henderson, cello

Celebrating the classical music tradition, new creation, and curatorial innovation, EvoFest takes place between June 22 and August 14 and will feature performances by participants and renowned international faculty from the Banff Centre's Evolution: Classical and Evolution: Quartet programs.

Click here for more information about EvoFest concerts

PROGRAM

Maria Kaoutzani (b. 1993)
jaune doré (2016) 

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op 59 No. 1 "Razumovsky"
   II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando 

Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
Fantazia in F Major, Z. 737 (June 14, 1680) 

Margaret Kogos
Past, Present, in Future (2021)* 

Purcell
Fantazia in A Minor, Z. 740 (June 23, 1680)

Du Yun (b. 1977)
Tattooed in Snow (2014)

Purcell
Fantazia in C minor, Z. 738 (June 19, 1680)

*Premiere

Presented by GEMS in partnership with Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity with support from the National Arts Centre

Margaret Kogos (b. 1995) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. She seeks to immerse the listener in her stories through the use of unique textures, often a mix of acoustic instruments, field recordings, electronics or text excerpts. As a composer, Margaret has attended numerous festivals including the Yarn/Wire festival, the Line Upon Line Winter Composer festival, SPLICE festival, and the So Percussion Summer Institute at Princeton University, where she attended as an ASCAP Composer’s Fellow. Margaret holds a B.M from New York University, where she studied composition under Marc-Antonio Consoli, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Media Arts at the University of Michigan. Her works have been performed throughout the United States and the Czech Republic.

Desdemona is a New York City-based ensemble devoted to creating unique and inventive performances of repertoire spanning from the Renaissance to world premieres. They have been described by The New Yorker as an “excellent young quartet,” OperaWire as “fantastic,” and by The Wall Street Journal as “behind a scrim.” Fusing conservatory training with immersion in the New York experimental scene, Desdemona is known for expanding the sonic possibilities of traditional instrumentation with vocalization, improvisation, and mixed media.

Desdemona has appeared at venues including the Ukrainian Museum, Spectrum, Areté Gallery, 1 Rivington, Princeton University’s Unruly Sounds Festival, Savannah Philharmonic’s Larsen Spotlight Series, the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, and at numerous home gatherings through Groupmuse. In early 2020, they premiered “Magdalene,” an opera by 14 composers for soprano, quartet, and harp, as part of PROTOTYPE Festival. The quartet's 2021 season includes features on the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival and Re:Sound, Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project’s streaming festival. Desdemona was selected as one of Chamber Music America’s Ensemble Forward 2021 grantees, and their upcoming portrait album of Finola Merivale’s work is supported by the Irish National Concert Hall Music Recording Award. The group regularly performs in Savannah, Georgia, on the Live Oak Concert Series, bringing “sampler pack” programs of classical and new music to a broader audience in venues from art galleries to kayak shops.

Taking advantage of the string quartet’s chameleonic nature, Desdemona collaborates with a wide range of talents in NYC and beyond, including percussionist Adam Holmes, harpist Sonia Bize, mezzo-soprano Mikki Sodergren, and the Classical Saxophone Project. They have worked closely with living composers including Anthony R. Green, Peter Kramer, David Bird, Robinson McClellan, and Kinds of Kings collective, whose six string quartets they gave the New York premiere.

As educators, they have given masterclasses at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Garrison School for the Arts in Savannah, and workshopped new pieces of the students at the Kaufman Center in spring of 2020. All of Desdemona’s members maintain private studios in New York and are passionate about instilling creativity in musicians of all ages.

Concerti D’Amore

Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 7:00 PM

Our Saviour’s Atonement Lutheran Church
178 Bennett Avenue (at 189th street)
Manhattan

Tickets:
$25 ~ General Admission
$15 ~ Under 30

Purchase here

Bacchanalia presents baroque and modern music for flute, oboe, harpsichord, and strings including J.S. Bach’s much-loved Brandenburg Concerto #5 and Triple Concerto in A minor, plus the rarely heard concerto for flute, oboe d’amore, and viola d’amore by Telemann. Also included on the program is a new work written for the ensemble by Belarus-American composer Nina Siniakova. Hailed as “one of the most interesting composers of her generation” (K. Meyer, Cologne Academy of Music) she brings her spirit of innovation and contemporary flair to the program, which resonates with Bacchanalia’s vision of creative exploration of music both old and new.

Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Triple Concerto in A minor, for flute, violin, and harpsichord
BWV 1044

Bach
Brandenburg Concerto 5 in D Major, for flute, violin, and harpsichord
BWV 1050

Georg Phillip Telemann
Triple Concerto E Major, for flute, oboe d’amore, and viola d’amore
TWV 53: E1

Nina Siniakova
Immagini Sfuggenti (Escaping Images) (2021)

Performers:
Laura Thompson ~ flute
Andrew Blanke ~ oboe & oboe d'amore
Karl Kawahara, Francis Liu, Kate Goddard ~ violin
Louise Schulman ~ viola & viola d'amore
Michael Eisenberg ~ harpsichord
David Bakamjian ~ cello
John Feeny ~ bass

New Amsterdam Consort, New York City's premiere early music string band of Juilliard graduates, presents its first live performance in over a year with a selection of works for three violins. Our program was chosen with maximum variety in mind, from the endless invention of the early Italians to the courtly music of France and everything in between. Audience favorites such as Purcell and Gabrieli will be featured, alongside some lesser-known composers you might be discovering for the first time.

Aniela Eddy, Isabelle Seula Lee & Rachell Ellen Wong ~ violins
Ana Kim ~ cello
Robert Warner ~ harpsichord & director

Friday, November 19 at 7:30 pm

St. John's in the Village, 218 West 11th Street, Manhattan

Tickets:
$20 ~ General Admission

Purchase here

New Amsterdam Consort was formed in 2018 by a group of graduates from Juilliard's Historical Performance program dedicated to exploring the vast repertoire of string music from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Since then they have become known for their vibrant and stylish one-on-a-part performances and for a consistently high level of musicianship. The ensemble's flexible structure, along with the versatility of its musicians, has allowed for a diverse repertoire ranging from the consort music of the Renaissance to the sonatas of the high Baroque.

www.newamsterdamconsort.com

GEMS is pleased to celebrate the re-emergence of live early music in New York! Throughout the pandemic, streamed concerts without in-person audiences have become the norm, and necessarily so, in order to protect the health and well-being of our musicians and patrons. The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, established in 2020 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, has become essential in supporting arts organizations across the country present public performances after a long hiatus. This generosity allowed us to re-imagine a time when GEMS musicians and patrons could once again come together and experience the unmatched wonder of live early music performances.

GEMS is thrilled to announce New Beginnings, a special series celebrating repertoire from Machaut to Haydn and beyond – all performed with renewed vigor and purpose by our period instrument ensembles.

The Concerts

Please note: Many of these concerts are self-produced, despite being a part of this series. Click on the "more info" link or the ensemble name to be taken to the correct website for more information and tickets.

Saturday, June 11 at 7 pm
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 33-50 82nd Street, Jackson Heights, Queens
Queens Consort and Friends
German Splendor

The concert features Handel’s Trio Sonata in G Major, Op. 5, No. 4, Telemann’s Sinfonia Spirituoso in D Major and Bach’s Air on a G String from the fourth Orchestral Suite as well as his third Brandenburg Concerto, featuring Claire Smith Bermingham and Margrét Hjaltested, violins, Dan McCarthy, viola, Anneke Schaul-Yoder, violoncello, and Aya Yamada, harpsichord. The ensemble is based in Queens and will present this celebratory performance in its home borough.

Tickets available at the door ($20/$10)

Sunday, June 26 at 5 pm
St. Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church, 552 West End Avenue, Manhattan
Twelfth Night
Rivalry

Whether petty or life-altering, rivalries persist throughout music history, consuming even the most well-known composers. Exploring feuds between Handel and Porpora, to Leclair and Guignon, this Twelfth Night program allows the listener to hear both sides of the story.

More info and tickets 

Past Concerts

Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 8:00 PM
Church of St. Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street, Manhattan
Concordian Dawn
Fortuna Antiqua et Ultra

Join Concordian Dawn for a debut album release concert that celebrates transcendence and hope despite life’s turmoil. Fortuna Antiqua et Ultra features songs of struggle, coping, and resilience through the whims of Fortune from a medieval perspective – a topic no less relevant today than it was in the Middle Ages. With Christopher Preston Thompson, director, tenor, medieval harp; Karin Weston, soprano; Clifton Massey, countertenor; David Dickey, countertenor and recorder; Thomas McCargar, baritone; and Niccolo Seligmann, vielle.

More info and tickets

Friday, February 25, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Church of St. Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street, Manhattan
Parthenia Viol Consort
House of Habsburg

View the program

A wealth of riches for viola da gamba quartet from the magnificent Habsburg dynasty, with pavanes and fantasias by Antonio de Cabezón, Josquin des Prez, Jacob Obrecht, Ludwig Senfl and others performed by Beverly Au, Lawrence Lipnik, Rosamund Morley and Lisa Terry.

Watch the pre-concert lecture here

More info and tickets

Friday, March 11, 2022 at 7:00 PM
First Church of Christ Scientist, 10 W. 68th Street (at Central Park West), Manhattan
Sonnambula
Tenth Anniversary Concert

Join Sonnambula at the juncture of two special moments: our return to the New York City stage following the onset of COVID-19, and to celebrate the occasion of our tenth anniversary together as an ensemble. On this program we'll play some of our favorite works – masterpieces of the English Renaissance, proto-Baroque dances from Spain, Franco-Flemish love songs, and works by lesser-known composers we have championed over the years. Some of this music you might know well from concerts you have attended in the past, and others might become new favorites. We'll showcase the diversity of our repertoire and the most important aspect of our job, which is playing beautiful music – for you, our devoted audience, whom we have missed so much over these last two years. Come celebrate with us on this very special night.

Online sales availabe until 12pm on 3/11; Tickets also available at the door.

Wednesday, March 23 at 7:30 pm
Church of the Transfiguration, 1 East 29th Street, Manhattan
Abendmusik
Violins and Viols in Restoration England

Featuring works by Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell, Thomas Lupo, John Dowland, Robert Johnson, Thomas Simpson, Thomas Brewer, Orlando Gibbons and others. With Vita Wallace and Claire Smith Bermingham, violins; Lawrence Lipnik and Patricia Ann Neely, violas da gamba.

More info and tickets

Sunday, April 3 at 7 pm
Advent Lutheran Church, 2504 Broadway, Manhattan
Cramer Quartet
Haydn: Dialogues

The Cramer Quartet is thrilled to launch Haydn: Dialogues, an ambitious multi-year cycle combining Haydn’s 68 string quartets with sixteen new commissions by composers of marginalized identities. The inaugural concert will feature the world premiere of a new work by American composer Alexandra du Bois to be performed alongside Haydn’s Op. 20, Nos. 2 & 3. With this project the quartet marries its passion for historical performance with a commitment to rebalancing the string quartet canon by centering the voices of women, non-(cis)males, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ folx and other communities historically underrepresented in classical music.

More info and tickets

Thursday, April 7 at 7:30 pm
National Sawdust, 80 North 6th Street, Brooklyn
New York Baroque Incorporated
Double Trouble

Double the trouble, double the fun! NYBI brings together a program of double concertos by Bach and Vivaldi for pairs of harpsichords, violins, violas (da braccio and da gamba), and cellos. Two by two, NYBI superstars showcase their virtuosity in some of the Baroque’s most beloved concertos, including J.S. Bach’s Concerto for 2 harpsichords in c minor, BWV 1060, Concerto for two violins in d minor, BWV 1043, Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, BWV 1052 and Vivaldi’s Concerto for two cellos in g minor, RV 531.

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Friday, May 6 at 7:30 pm
The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street, Manhattan
Parthenia Viol Consort with Cody Bowers, countertenor
A Reliquary for William Blake

Music for countertenor, viols and recorder by American composer, Will Ayton, featuring his song cycle setting the poetry and prose of William Blake.
Pre-concert event, hosted by Tea Arts & Culture at 5:30 pm. Meet composer Will Ayton and enjoy an intimate hour-long conversation hosted by Wenting Zhang of Tea Arts & Culture. Tea will be served. 
View the program

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Saturday, May 14 at 2 pm
St. Paul's Chapel, 209 Broadway, Manhattan
House of Time with Clara Rottsolk, soprano
The Power of Music: A Celebration of the Handel House

House of Time’s performance will benefit the ongoing renovation of 25 Brook Street in Mayfair, London – Handel’s residence from 1723 until his death in 1759. The project seeks to return the architectural layout of the house to the way it was during the second quarter of the 18th century, including the ground floor parlor where Handel sold subscriptions and rehearsed. House of Time’s Ode to Music program will include compositions which were composed in that house.

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Wednesday, May 25th at 7:30 pm
The Church of the Transfiguration, 1 East 29th Street, Manhattan
Abendmusik
Maister Byrd, “Sweetnesse, Repose, and Recreation”
The fantasies for viols

William Byrd was one of the most prolific composers during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Byrd, along with his contemporary Thomas Tallis, was awarded a monopoly on publishing by Queen Elizabeth I and he did not disappoint. Byrd contributed to the Cantiones Sacrae and published his own collection, Songs of Sundrie Natures, Psalmes, Songs, and Sonnets, and instrumental fantasies composed for viols. His compositions make up a robust collection of works which came to define the golden age in English music. We will present fantasias in 3, 4, 5, and 6 parts.

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Baroque Masterpieces Distilled for All

www.operaessentia.org
Visit our website for details of our current One-Act by Handel
Jeffrey Mandelbaum ~ Artistic Director
Marty Jeiven ~ Executive Producer

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Highlights from "Orlando: Hero of Love"

All Donations to Opera Essentia are most welcome!

Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

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The mission of Opera Essentia is to curate one of history’s most transfixing artforms for a new, and wider, audience, performing in gardens, parks, and other accessible centers of community. We distill the largely unknown works of baroque master George Frideric Handel, arguably the most important composer for the voice, into approachable discoveries.

Access. We bring opera “outside” — literally outdoors, but more importantly — liberated from classical music’s traditional venues. Contrasting opera’s usually expensive and exclusive productions, we offer ours free of charge in Alphabet City, Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy, and other local neighborhoods which lack centers for the Arts.

Inclusion. Delivered in a concise One Act experience, and performed by a diverse company of world-class musicians, we hope to amaze and delight new generations — with these rarely-performed works by the composer of The Messiah.

Impact. Handel perfectly conveys character and emotion through deeply expressive writing for the human voice. Opera Essentia presents this vital music on visceral “gut string” instruments, weaving arias into an intimate sound chronicle — which all can enjoy.

The award winning early music ensemble Voices of Music, led by Hanneke van Proosdij and David Tayler, makes its New York City debut in collaboration with Gotham Early Music Scene.

Highlights of the program include Handel and Vivaldi arias from the operas Agrippina, Bajazet and Rodelinda with internationally renowned countertenor Christopher Lowrey.

Violinist Augusta McKay Lodge will perform Vivaldi’s iconic Grosso Mogul concerto, with the original cadenzas. Elizabeth Blumenstock and Baroque oboist David Dickey will perform Vivaldi’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe in B-flat Major. Shelby Yamin, in her Voices of Music debut, will be featured in a rarely performed violin concerto by Maddalena Lombardini. Violinists Elizabeth Blumenstock and Kati Kyme will join forces to perform the Concerto Grosso in D Major from Arcangelo Corelli’s influential Opus 6.

Thursday, October 6 at 7:30 pm

St. Ignatius of Antioch Church
552 West End Avenue (entrance on West 87th Street), Manhattan

Running time: 90 mins

Tickets:
$40 ~ Premium
$25 ~ General Admission
$10 ~ Students (with ID)

Purchase now

Tickets also available at the door

Hailed for their passion, artistry and technical brilliance, Voices of Music is currently the most popular early music ensemble in America. Under the leadership of Hanneke van Proosdij and David Tayler, San Francisco-based Voices of Music performs music from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque, drawing upon the many sources of historical performance practice.

Voices of Music is a pioneer in digital technology for the arts, and more than 80,000 people watch concerts and programming from our ensemble each day — more than eighteen million viewers a year. In addition to our acclaimed concert series in the San Francisco Bay Area, Voices of Music sponsors the Emerging Artists Program, the Junior Recorder Society and the Barbary Coast Recorder Orchestra.

Performers:
Hanneke van Proosdij and David Tayler, directors
Christopher Lowrey, countertenor
David Dickey, Baroque oboe
Elizabeth Blumenstock, Aniela Eddy, Kati Kyme, Isabelle Seula Lee, Augusta McKay Lodge and Shelby Yamin, Baroque violin
Kyle Miller and Maureen Murchie, Baroque viola
Ana Kim and William Skeen, Baroque cello
Doug Balliett, double bass
Dongsok Shin, organ
Hanneke van Proosdij, harpsichord
David Tayler, archlute

Program:

Corelli: Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 4 in D Major
Elizabeth Blumenstock, Kati Kyme, William Skeen, soloists

Handel: Voi che udite (Agrippina)
Handel: Rompo i lacci (Flavio)
Handel: O lord have mercy (Saul)

Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen: Violin Concerto Opus 2 No 1 in B flat
Shelby Yamin, soloist

Vivaldi: Oboe, violin concerto in B flat RV 548
Elizabeth Blumenstock and David Dickey, soloists

Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in D major 'Grosso Mogul' RV 208
Augusta McKay Lodge, soloist

Vivaldi: Gelido
Vivaldi: Barbaro traditor (Bajazet)

Footloose and Fancy Free: Baroque Works for Winds and Strings

Bacchanalia Baroque Ensemble closes 20th anniversary season with works by Wilhelmine Bayreuth and others

Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 7:00 PM

Our Saviour’s Atonement Lutheran Church
178 Bennett Avenue (at 189th street)
Manhattan

Tickets:
$25 ~ General Admission
$15 ~ Students & Seniors

Purchase here

Bacchanalia presents a program exploring the world of Sanssouci, Frederick the Great's summer palace. On the program are harpsichord concertos by C.P.E. Bach and Princess Wilhelmine, the Concerto in G minor for two flutes by Joachim Quantz, and the Sinfonia in Bb for orchestra by Johann Pisendel. As court musicians and composers, both Bach and Quantz would have performed these works at the palace. and Princess Wilhelmine likely wrote her concerto for harpsichord with flute obbligato to be performed by herself and her brother Frederick. Pisendel, a fine violinist and composer, was director of the orchestra in Dresden and was also the teacher of Franz Benda and Johann Graun, both musicians in Frederick's private orchestra. Come join us to hear these rarely heard works and celebrate the life and music of Sanssouci.

Program:

Wilhelmine de Bayreuth (1709–1758) Concerto in G minor 
Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (1714–1788) Concerto in D Major, WQ 43/2 
Johann Joachim Quantz (1697–1773) Concerto in G minor for 2 flutes 
Johann Georg Pisendel (1688–1755) Sinfonia in Bb 

Performers:
Karl Kawahara, Kate Goddard ~ violin
Louise Schulman ~ viola
David Bakamjian ~ violoncello
Tony Falanga ~ bass
Michael Eisenburg ~ harpsichord
Laura Thompson, David Lawrence Ross ~ flute
Sarah Davol, Emi Ostrum ~ oboe
Dirk Wels ~ bassoon
Nathanael Udell, Clinton Webb ~ horn

Highest and Curious Musicke: The Tudors

Wednesday, November 30 at 7 pm

"Your Viols were invented for these kind of Musickes, which may bee compared with the highest and curious musicke in the world." So wrote English composer Tobias Hume in his preface to the "Poeticall Musicke," a collection of 16th-century works for mixed consort, to extoll the virtues of instrumental composition in lieu of the voice, still a relatively new phenomenon in Elizabethan England. This program features some of the more experimental works of the period written with instruments in mind, alongside some of our favorites from the repertory.

St. Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church
West 87th Street and West End Avenue
Manhattan

Tickets:
$30 ~ General Admission
$15 ~ Students & Seniors

Purchase here

An Autumn Mosaic: Baroque and Contemporary Music for Winds & Strings

Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 7:00 PM

First Church of Christ, Scientist
10 West 68th Street at Central Park West
Manhattan

Tickets:
$25 ~ General Admission
$15 ~ Students & Seniors

Purchase tickets

Bacchanalia presents the world premier of Als Ik Kan (As Best I Can) by Russian-American composer Nina Siniakova — weaving ideas from the Renaissance through the Baroque eras into music for modern life. Also on the program is the concerto for two flutes by Friedrich Weidemann, a German-born composer living in England, and the concerto for flute, violin, and bassoon by Balthasar Villicus, a Czech composer and violinist. Blavet's Flute Concerto in A minor and Vivaldi's Concerto a Quattro in D minor round out this eclectic program. 

Performers:
Laura Thompson & Sang Joon Park ~ flutes
Dirk Wels ~ bassoon
Theresa Salomon & Karl Kawahara ~ violins
Louise Schulman ~ viola
Arthur Fiacco ~ violoncello
Michael Eisenberg ~ harpsichord

Program:

Balthasar Villicus (1663–1731) Concerto for Flute in G Major 
Michel Blavet (1700–1768) Concerto in A minor
Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) Concerto a quattro, RV 96  
Marieta Priuli (fl.1667) Corrente 
Nina Siniakova Als Ik Kan (2023)
Carl Friedrch Weidemann (ca.1700–1782) Concerto in D Major, Opus 2 

Presented by Gotham Early Music Scene and Musicivic Inc.

In celebration of her graduation from The Juilliard School, Historical Performance Program

with Robert Warner, harpsichord

Live Streamed from the Church of the Transfiguration (“Little Church Around the Corner”)

Friday, May 28 at 7:30 pm
On-demand until June 14

Tickets: Free; suggested donation $20

Watch here

View the PDF program

PROGRAM

Nicola Matteis Jr. (ca. 1690–1749)
Alia Fantasia in A Minor (ca. 1720)

Marco Uccellini (ca. 1603–1680)
La Luciminia Contenta, Sonata Seconda, Op. 4 (1645)

Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705–1770)
Amusement pour le violin seul, Op. 18 No. 2 (1755)

Jean-Marie Leclair (1697–1764)
Violin Sonata Op. 9 no. 3 in D major (ca. 1743)
   I. Un poco andante
   II. Allegro
   III. Sarabande: Largo
   IV. Tambourin: Presto

Louis Couperin (1626–1661)
Passacaille for Harpsichord in C major (1685)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Solo Violin Sonata in C Major, BWV 1005 (1720)
   I. Adagio
   II. Fuga
   III. Largo
   IV. Allegro assai

George Frideric Handel (1726–1728)
Violin Sonata in D major HWV 371 (ca. 1749–50)
   I. Afetuoso
   II. Allegro
   III. Larghetto
   IV. Allegro

BIOS

Praised by The New York Times for her “splendid playing,” Natalie Rose Kress is a baroque violinist based in Washington, D.C. This year she will graduate from The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance Program where her primary teachers are Cynthia Roberts, Elizabeth Blumenstock, and Robert Mealy. Natalie is a founding member of Quartet Salonnières and Musicivic Baroque – ensembles focused on bringing historically informed performances to modern audiences. As a member of the Juilliard415 orchestra, she performed side-by-side with William Christie’s Les Arts Florissants and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, as well as performed in masterclasses for Aisslinn Nosky, Kristian Bezuidenhout, William Christie, and Masaaki Suzuki. This fall she will continue her studies at the University of Maryland where she will pursue a Doctorate of Musical Arts studying with violinist, David Salness, and early music specialist, Kenneth Slowik.

Previous studies include a Bachelor of Arts in Music and in Psychology, as well as a Masters of Music from SUNY Stony Brook University where she studied with Soovin Kim, Philip Setzer, Jennifer Frautschi, and the Emerson String Quartet. At Stony Brook she was first introduced to the Baroque violin by harpsichordist Arthur Haas and was trained to play it by Baroque violinist Beth Wenstrom. In her alternate life as a modern violinist, Natalie attended the Tanglewood Music Festival as a fellow for three summers, was awarded the Jules C. Reiner Violin Prize from the Tanglewood Music Center, performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Stony Brook Undergraduate Orchestra, and performed with Yo-Yo Ma at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors.
 

A native of Pennsylvania, Robert Warner began his musical studies at an early age in piano and violin with faculty of Bucknell University. He holds bachelors degrees in both math and music from the University of Rochester, and became interested in the world of early music while exploring the harpsichord and baroque violin at the Eastman School of Music. As a graduate student at Stony Brook University, Robert studied harpsichord extensively with Arthur Haas while earning Masters degrees in both music history and performance, followed by a DMA in harpsichord performance also at Stony Brook. During this time he gave frequent recitals, acted as assistant director of Stony Brook's Baroque ensemble, and collaborated often with other musicians as a harpsichordist and baroque violinist in chamber music, opera and orchestral performances.

Upon graduating from Stony Brook, Robert was accepted into The Juilliard School's Historical Performance program, continuing his harpsichord studies with Peter Sykes. During this time he participated in projects led by William Christie, Jordi Savall, and other leading figures in the field of early music with frequent performances in New York City's Alice Tully Hall and international tours to the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Robert has participated in most of the country's top early music summer festivals, including the American Bach Soloists Academy in San Francisco and the Oregon Bach Festival's Berwick Academy. Robert now resides in New York City where he continues to be an active performer. He is currently the artistic director and harpsichordist of the New Amsterdam Consort, the harpsichordist for Voyage Sonique, and a founding member and harpsichordist of Musicivic Baroque.

May Day in Venice

Venetian instrumental music from Gabrieli to Vivaldi, also featuring the period-instrument premiere of Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw's Stucco & Brocatelle.

Friday, May 1 at 7:30 pm

St. John's in the Village
218 West 11 Street
Manhattan

Tickets:
General Admission by section
Prime seating: $45
Standard seating: $30
Students (ID): $15

Buy tickets

Visit the ensemble's website

OPERAMISSION

Handel's Rinaldo

Conductor and harpsichordist Jennifer Peterson leads a full baroque orchestra in operamission’s latest presentation, performed in the original Italian, with dramaturgical support from Stage Director, Jeff Caldwell. Countertenor Randall Scotting, in his debut role as Rinaldo, heads a vibrant cast featuring Christine Arand and Malia Bendi Merad, sopranos; Franco Pomponi, baritone; and Nicholas Tamagna and Andrew Rader, countertenors.

Thursday, June 16 at 7pm Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center, 129 West 67th Street (at Broadway), ManhattanTickets: $55-$75 (students/seniors $45) BUY TICKETS

ARTEK SPECIAL EVENT - BENEFIT CONCERT

ARTEK presents a special concert honoring former board member Ann L. Wilson, who passed away in July 2015. Six solo ARTEK singers (soprano Sarah Chalfy; mezzo-soprano Barbara Hollinshead; tenor Owen McIntosh; tenor Philip Anderson; baritone Steven Eddy; and bass-baritone Peter Becker) will perform two masterpieces of Renaissance sacred polyphony: Requiem, by Tomás Luis de Victoria and Lamentations of Jeremiah, by Thomas Tallis. In addition Gwendolyn Toth will play Mille Regretz, by Josquin des Prez, on organ. Following the concert, there will be a reception in the undercroft.

Thursday, June 16 at 7pm Immanuel Lutheran Church, 122 East 88th Street (at Lexington Avenue), Manhattan Tickets: $25 (available at the door) — For advance tickets call (212) 289-8128 BUY TICKETS All proceeds to benefit the Imannuel Lutheran Church Organ Fund