GEMS is excited to welcome Dominic Giardino as our new Executive Director!

He began on a part-time basis June 17 and will serve full-time beginning August 1. GEMS’ Founder and Chairman, Gene Murrow, said “Dom’s enthusiasm, experience in non-profit management and fundraising, success with digital media, significant achievements and innovations in our field, along with his great intelligence, outstanding people skills, stature as a period instrument performer, and warm personality will serve us well. I am very pleased with the prospects for GEMS in the future under his leadership.”

Dominic’s message to the GEMS community: “I am so excited to be joining a team that for the last twenty years has so brilliantly advocated for New York City’s deep and vibrant early music scene. Although I am a new New Yorker, I have already come to experience what this audience surely already knows — what makes our city so great is that it is a place of many voices, cultures, and expressions. It is no surprise that a genre as indefinably diverse as “early music” has enjoyed such a rich history here and continues to hold the center of gravity for our field in the United States. I am excited to discover together new ways we can build on this extraordinary legacy and how GEMS can continue fostering a community for all those who seek inspiration from sound worlds of the past. I look forward to meeting many of you throughout the coming season and hope you won’t be shy in sharing your thoughts and ideas along the way.”

More about Dominic Giardino

Dominic joins the staff of GEMS with more than a decade of experience in cultural stewardship as an administrator, musician, and public historian. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of Arizona Early Music, the Southwest’s only concert series dedicated to historically-informed performance. During his tenure, he expanded the organization’s concert and educational offerings throughout Southern Arizona and launched the Emerging Ensemble Residency — a competitive summer residency program designed to support the next generation of touring early music artists. An active advocate for the field, Dominic has served on voluntary artistic-planning committees for the Historical Keyboard Society of North America and the American Friends of Lafayette, and as Secretary of Early Music America’s Board of Directors.

As a clarinetist specializing in 18th- and 19th-century instruments, Dominic performs and teaches throughout North America and currently serves as Instructor of Historical Clarinets at the University of North Texas. His scholarly and performance interests led him to found Music of the Regiment, a period-instrument ensemble devoted to exploring the influence of military cultures on music throughout history. Dominic holds a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music in Historical Performance Practice from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague where he studied as a Fulbright grantee.

World-renowned harpsichordist and teacher of Baroque music Arthur Haas will perform The Goldberg Variations at the Bach Virtuosi Festival on Friday, May 15, at the Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church. Tickets are on sale now.

“Without a doubt, it’s one of the greatest pieces of music ever written,” says Haas. “Every single emotion, everything you can imagine about music are in those thirty variations. The piece gives you so many incredible ideas about music.”

Arthur Haas grew up in a household filled with music. Haas’s Viennese father was a trained musician; every day, Haas’s family was practicing, listening to, or talking about music. Some of his earliest memories were of musicians performing chamber music at his home. His father taught him piano, highlighting the traditional music of 19th-century composers.

“I grew up playing a lot of Bach,” says Haas, who appreciated the challenges and opportunity for expression that Bach’s music presented.

In advance of his upcoming performances of The Goldberg Variations with the Bach Virtuosi Festival (BVF), the festival asked Haas to share more about his relationship to Bach’s music.

Do you recall the first time you were particularly moved by a Bach piece?

When I was in college I saw Ralph Kirkpatrick, one of the foremost harpsichordists of the 20th century, perform Bach’s Overture in the French Style. There were tears in my eyes listening to it. It was an immaculate performance, and the music was so beautiful. I had started taking harpsichord lessons, but that convinced me to stick with it and continue to focus on playing Baroque music and Bach in particular.

You’re playing The Goldberg Variations with the Bach Virtuosi Festival. What is your favorite part about performing this composition?

Without a doubt, it’s one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. Every single emotion, everything you can imagine about music is in those 30 variations. Every time I play them, I discover something new. It’s incredibly satisfying and rewarding.

I’ve been teaching them to students for years, but I’ve only performed them for the last seven years. It was because Lewis [Kaplan, BVF founder and director] asked me. Thanks to the Festival, I’ve gotten to know this piece and perform this piece. It’s humbling to be able to play this piece for people, and it’s the capstone of my career – truly a great privilege. It’s one of the most important things I’ve ever done.

I find it to be an amazing, global piece. It’s written for harpsichord but you can hear it on piano. I’ve also heard it on the harp, the classical guitar, and in chamber ensembles. Every interpretation is going to be different. The piece gives you so many incredible ideas about music!

Come experience Arthur Haas’s interpretation of The Goldberg Variations along with other incredible performances at the Bach Virtuosi Festival in New York, May 12-19.

Robert Anderson is one of the most respected and sought-after sound engineers and teachers of audio technology in New York’s musical community. He is especially favored by early music ensembles and organizations including Abendmusik, Music Before 1800, Carnegie Hall, and many others. In addition, his pro bono advice to GEMS’s Midtown Concerts live stream production has been invaluable.

Recognizing that “immersive” artistic experiences are gaining wide popularity, Robert has designed an extraordinary project surveying early American music and venues using Virtual Reality’s visual technology coupled with his impeccable audio skills. It’s an ambitious and brilliant project, which GEMS would like to help facilitate. We invite our readers to peruse Robert’s proposal here, and offer your support. Contact Robert for more information.

Ensemble Meliora, a group dedicated to elevating lesser-known voices in early music, presents O Clarissima Mater, a celebration of Women’s History Month on Friday, March 13 at 7 pm at St. John’s in the Village Church, 224 Waverly Place, Manhattan. This concert is an exploration of women’s roles in early music history, from the church, to the salon, to the court. No tickets or reservations are required; suggested donation is $25.

Please join the ensemble for the concert and for a reception afterwards!

Ensemble Meliora is a historical performance ensemble committed to sharing early music with diverse audiences, regardless of prior experience with early music, classical instruments, or live concerts. Based in New York City with musicians hailing from Chicago, NYC, Rochester, Baltimore, and beyond, Ensemble Meliora is passionate about rediscovering forgotten works that deserve to be heard in this century. We are dedicated to introducing the public to these pieces through rigorous scholarship, the creation of new performance editions, and bringing these pieces to life in performance. We believe that the creativity of the past can inspire the imagination of the present.

In addition to our inaugural concert for the 2025 BEMF Fringe Concert series, Ensemble Meliora has presented unique programming in NYC at St. John’s in the Village Church, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, and the Juilliard Station. Most recently, Ensemble Meliora won full funding from the Juilliard Marks Center for our Women’s History Month program, to be performed on March 13th in NYC and March 14th in New Haven.

This concert is sponsored by a grant from the Juilliard Marks Center.

Connect with Ensemble Meliora:
Website
Instagram: @ensemblemeliora
Facebook: Ensemble Meliora
YouTube: @EnsembleMeliora2025
Or Email: ensemblemeliora@gmail.com

A letter from GEMS’ Founder Gene Murrow…

Dear GEMS Community Members,

As patrons of the arts, you should know about Intersection Music and Arts Inc. (IMA), a new up-and-coming 501(c)(3) non-profit music education organization. IMA does the critical work of developing the future audiences on which our musical culture depends by bringing “Children and Musicians Together.” I serve on the board of directors, along with GEMS’ Paul Ross, professor of music Orly Krasner, and the founder and director, Minda Cowen (pictures at right).

In the garden of St. John’s in the Village, Post Recital

IMA, a “Music School Without Walls,” brings high-quality music education to children throughout NYC in a variety of ways, primarily offering lessons in families’ apartments, with IMA students then performing all over the city. We also do free programming in NYC public schools, donate countless free music lessons to public schools, give scholarships for families in need, and create community outreach programs for potential budding new musicians and young audience members alike.

….and Newsflash! We have some exciting musical events lined up for our GEMS community members to bring their young friends to attend:

March 21st, IMA offers an Instrument Petting Zoo where children can listen to the children’s librarian read a music themed story, listen to a mini performance by some of our students, and then try out the violin, guitar, and piano for the first time with other interested families, guided by IMA’s expert instructors. The 53rd Street Library, 3–5 pm. Sign up is needed closer to date, and free. REGISTER HERE

July 1st, Lincoln Center, in the LeFrak Lobby of David Geffen Hall, we will have a Storytime for families as part of the Summer for the City series. This year, the theme will be celebrating America’s 250th Birthday, and we will be doing so with a performance of Americana folk music (fiddle, banjo, piccolo etc.) where children can first “Meet the Instruments” and then join in on the fun with the rhythm instruments provided. Showtimes at 11 am and 1 pm. Free and open to the public.

Happy piano player!

Do check the NYPL and Lincoln Center websites as we get closer to these dates. We will also put direct links to them in our newsletter when they occur.

If you know a “little GEM” (young person) who may be interested in learning an instrument, IMA’s Spring semester is now starting with rolling admission. For more information on instrument lessons click here or email the director, Minda Cowen at intersectionartsnyc@gmail.com for sign up info and any inquiries.

If you believe in IMA’s mission and wish to support us with a donation, click here.

Sincerely,

Gene Murrow
Chairman, Gotham Early Music Scene

Learn more about IMA here

Student learning violin at home

Siblings playing duets at home!

From (L–R) Board Members Minda Cowen, Gene Murrow, Paul Ross & Orly Krasner