Concerts
Enjoy an intimate evening with friends listening to the music of Bach and Couperin in the ambiance of Mozart’s restaurant.
Quicksilver is known for their “impeccable, soulful playing” (New York Times) and debuts on our series with their acclaimed Early Moderns program.
“One of the world’s top baroque orchestras” (Gramophone Magazine) debuts on our series this year. Experience the brilliance of Tafelmusik in a program of 18th century favorites.
A holiday staple for decades, The Early Interval returns for a Twelfth Night performance of season favorites from around the world.
The Baltimore Consort was founded to perform the music of Shakespeare's time- the tunes heard in taverns, on street corners, in the theater, and accompanying dancing.
This concert is sold out
Since its founding over 45 years ago, Sequentia has established itself as one of the world’s finest early music ensembles. Specializing in medieval music, they have recorded all of Hildegard von Bingen’s works with one of the releases selling over 1 million copies.
Sequentia founder Benjamin Bagby will be presenting a pre-concert talk at 2:30 the day of the concert.
Formed in 2006, Fior Angelico is a Columbus-based chamber chorus specializing in music of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. This will be their fifth appearance on the concert series.
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Harpsichord and recorder virtuoso Corina Marti is recognized internationally for her “strikingly superior and expressive” interpretations (Toccata), and “infallible” performances (Diapason). She leads a full life as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher, traveling regularly across Europe, North and South America, the Middle and Far East.
Her ongoing research into aspects of the repertoire and the reconstruction of Late Medieval and Early Renaissance keyboard instruments and recorders has contributed substantially to the present-day revival of these instruments. She teaches the next generation of early music performers at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, and in masterclasses worldwide.
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Since the group’s founding in 2018, Jupiter Ensemble has quickly established itself as a major force in the European early music scene. Audiences will be treated to a treasure trove of Vivaldian gems, all sung and played by exceptional musicians from a new generation of performers.
From the luscious tones of mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre (recently described in Gramophone as “utterly persuasive”), to virtuosic performance of Thomas Dunford—the “Eric Clapton of the lute”—this is a can’t-miss concert from a group that will occupy a place in the early music firmament for years to come!
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Bruce Dickey is one of a handful of musicians worldwide who have dedicated themselves to reviving the cornetto - once an instrument of great virtuosi, but which lamentably fell into disuse in the 19th century. The revival began in the 1950s, but it was largely Bruce Dickey, who, from the late 1970s, created a new renaissance of the instrument, allowing the agility and expressive power of the cornetto to be heard once again. In 2000 the Historic Brass Society awarded him the prestigious Christopher Monk Award for "his monumental work in cornetto performance, historical performance practice and musicological scholarship." In 2007 he was honored by British conductor and musicologist Andrew Parrott with a “Taverner Award” as one of 14 musicians whose “significant contributions to musical understanding have been motivated by neither commerce nor ego.”
Born and educated in Prague, soprano Hana Blažíková has achieved high acclaim as a leading specialist in the interpretation of baroque, renaissance and medieval music. She has performing with ensembles and orchestras around the world including the Collegium Vocale Gent, Bach Collegium Japan, Sette Voci, Tafelmusik among others and appeared at many important festivals including Edinburgh International festival, Salzburger Festspiele and the Utrecht Early Music Festival. She regularly collaborates with the world-class cornetto player Bruce Dickey, with whom she recorded the CD "Breathtaking" and together they continue performing this program around the world. In 2017 she appeared in major venues all over Europe and in the USA in the trilogy of Monteverdi"s operas (L"Orfeo, Il ritorno d:"Ulisse in patria, L"incoronazione di Poppea) under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner.
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Schola Antiqua is a Chicago-based professional early music collective, which prepares and performs insightful programs of pre-modern music. A group that executes ancient repertories with “sensitivity and style” (Early Music America), Schola Antiqua takes pride in providing the highest standards of performance, balanced by research on historical musics from the European Renaissance and earlier. Founded in 2000, the organization has received invitations to perform from a remarkable array of institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Morgan Library & Museum, the Newberry Library, plus other festivals, universities, and concert series across the country. The ensemble is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Lumen Christi Institute and formerly a resident artist at the University of Chicago.
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Since 1976, The Early Interval has explored and celebrated the rich history of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, inviting their audiences to experience a millennium of exciting sound worlds. The ensemble sings and performs on replica instruments unique to each period, including recorders, viols, violin, lutes, percussion and many more.
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The British vocal ensemble The Gesualdo Six has been praised for their imaginative programming and impeccable blend. From Music Web International: “Each voice is a shimmering thread that is woven into the dense tapestry of sound they create.” Formed in 2014, the group has performed at numerous major festivals in the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia and collaborated with the Brodsky Quartet, London Mozart Players, Luxmuralis, William Barton and Matilda Lloyd.
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Pianist and fortepianist Yi-heng Yang has been described as an “exquisite collaborator (Opera News), “suberbly adept (Gramophone)” and noted for her “remarkable expressivity and technique (Early Music Magazine).”
Her work spans from collaborations on period instruments with visionary artists such as the Grammy award-winning tenor Karim Sulayman, to groundbreaking and provocative explorations into Romantic and Classical performance practice with cellist Kate Bennett Wadsworth, baroque violinist Abby Karr and harpsichordist Rebecca Cypess. In May 2022, she released her first solo fortepiano album, “Free Spirits: early Romantic music on the Graf piano (Deux-Elles),” which is already receiving critical praise. Of this recording on an original 19th c Graf piano, Anne E. Johnson of Classical Voice North America writes that “Yang’s performance of these early Romantic works on one of the best instruments from that era takes us as close to the original experience as we can ever hope to come.”
Dr. Yang is on the faculty at The Julliard School.
Few instrumentalists establish themselves with such firm authority as Paul O'Dette has on the lute. In fact, one writer described him as "the clearest case of genius ever to touch his instrument.” In 1976, he became director of early music at the Eastman School of Music and has appeared on over 100 recordings, some with such prestigious company as Christopher Hogwood, Jordi Savall, Trevor Pinnock, and Gustav Leonhardt.
Dark Horse Consort is dedicated to unearthing the majestic late Renaissance and early Baroque repertoire for brass instruments. Inspired by the bronze horse statues in Venice’s famed St. Mark’s Basilica, the ensemble attempts to recreate the glorious sounds of composers such as Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz. Dark Horse often expands to include vocalists and strings to recreate the rapturous kaleidoscope that was the sound of the early 17th-century instrumental ensemble.
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East of the River was founded by internationally renowned recorder players Nina Stern and Daphna Mor. The project explores haunting and virtuosic melodies from the traditional repertoires of the Balkans, Armenia and the Middle East, as well as gems of the Medieval European classical repertory. They have performed at many festivals including Chautauqua Institute, the San Francisco and Madison Early Music Festivals, as well as Milwaukee 'Early Music Now' festival and The Academy of Early Music in Ann Arbor. The members of the ensemble have separately recorded and performed with artists such as Yo Yo Ma, Philip Glass, Jordi Savall, Sting, Natalie Merchant, Aerosmith, and many others.
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Esfahani studied musicology and history at Stanford University, where he first came into contact with the harpsichord in the class of Elaine Thornburgh. He studied harpsichord privately in Boston with Peter Watchorn before completing his formation under the celebrated Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková. Following a three-year stint as Artist-in-Residence at New College, Oxford, he continues his academic associations as an honorary member at Keble College, Oxford, and as professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Born in Tehran in 1984 and raised in the United States, he lived in Milan and then London for several years before taking up residence in Prague.
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Formed in 2006, Fior Angelico is a Columbus-based chamber chorus dedicated to the performance of early music. The ensemble specializes in music of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Fior Angelico is pleased to return for its fourth appearance on the Early Music in Columbus concert series.
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Since 1976, The Early Interval has explored and celebrated the rich history of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music, inviting their audiences to experience a millennium of exciting sound worlds. The ensemble sings and performs on replica instruments unique to each period, including recorders, viols, violin, lutes, percussion, and many more.
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Pegasus Early Music was formed in 2005 under the direction of lutenist Deborah Fox. She has performed with major early music ensembles and festivals from Newfoundland to Australia, including the Carmel Bach Festival, Glimmerglass Opera, Les Violons du Roy (Montreal), Spoleto Festival, Opera Atelier, Aradia, Tafelmusik, Concert Royal, and others. She received the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Early Music at London’s Guildhall School of Music, specializing in the improvised accompaniment practices of the seventeenth century. Pegasus Early Music artists believe that early music is a living art form, with a dynamic tradition of improvisation and innovation, a spirit of intense collaboration, and an incredible ability to communicate sophisticated human instincts and emotions. They are passionately convinced that early music can be meaningful within the context of contemporary society, and they share passionately that with audiences.
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International concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine thrills audiences with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and emotional honesty. With an infectious joy in music-making and a passion for connecting historical research to performance, Pine transforms audiences’ experiences of classical music. In addition to touring internationally as a leading classical violin soloist, Pine has uniquely been involved with historically informed performances of early music for almost three decades. Gramophone has described her as “a most accomplished Baroque violinist, fully the equal of the foremost specialists.” Pine has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s most prestigious ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Royal Philharmonic. She holds top prizes from the J.S. Bach (gold medal), Queen Elisabeth, Paganini, Kreisler, Szigeti, and Montreal international competitions.
Since 1976, The Early Interval has explored and celebrated the rich history of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music, inviting their audiences to experience a millennium of exciting sound worlds. The ensemble sings and performs on replica instruments unique to each period, including recorders, viols, violin, lutes, percussion, and many more.
Sean Ferguson holds bachelor's and master's degrees in music history from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Library Science degree from Kent State University. In Philadelphia, he studied classical guitar at the University of the Arts and was a winner of the WFLN Radio Instrumentalists Competition. He has performed on guitar and lute as a soloist, accompanist, chamber musician and opera orchestra member, including productions for Ohio State and Opera Columbus. He has worked at OCLC Online Computer Library Center and is currently president of the Columbus Guitar Society.
Karl Wohlwend performs across North America, Europe, and Asia, playing guitar in various styles and settings. The guitar’s greatest strength in its versatility, and he strives to do it all: classical concert halls, rock ‘n roll, musical theater pit orchestras, flamenco tablao, jazz clubs, and Irish pubs. He holds a master’s degree in classical guitar performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with John Holmquist. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of South Carolina, where he studied with Christopher Berg. Wohlwend served on the faculties of The Ohio State University, Capital University, Otterbein University, and Ohio Wesleyan University. He coordinated the jazz/improvisation program for the Chamber Music Connection, and served on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music’s Classical Guitar Workshop for twenty years.
Wohlwend recently accompanied mandolinist, Carlos Aonzo, completed a week-long residency with New York’s avant-garde ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, toured with Grammy-winning countertenor, Ian Howell including an appearance on Ravinia’s Rising Stars series, performed with the Flamenco Company of
Columbus at the Chataqua Festival and with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and played with clarinet legend Richard Stolzman and the Lancaster Festival Orchestra on stage and for their debut recording, Ragomania. He was twice featured as concerto soloist with the Westerville Symphony Orchestra, most recently in 2019 for the rarely-performed Concierto del Sur of Manuel Ponce. Wohlwend performs frequently as a freelance artist, teaches privately around central Ohio, and builds custom tube guitar amplifiers through his own business, The People’s Amplifier. The Outer Banks (NC) Forum for the
Lively Arts hailed his “extraordinary talent,” and the Washington, DC Guitar Society praised his “command of technique, beautiful tone, and sensitive musicianship.” Wohlwend appears on dozens of recordings, including eight CDs with the Irish bands Knot Fibb’n, Two2Many, and Dogwood Road. His second solo CD, Out of Italy, features the only recording of M.A. Zani de Ferranti’s opus 11 Capricci, and his project of 5-course baroque guitar music, Passacaglie, is the first-ever recording of the entire 90-minute cycle of the 24 passacaglias from Michele Angiol Bartolotti’s 1640 publication. He also recorded with lauded flutist, Kimberlee Goodman, in the EOS Duo, premiering Garrett Ian Shatzer’s The Frame. With Stanley Yates, he recorded two volumes of Guitaromanie, including premier recordings of arrangements and compositions by notable 19th century composer Ferdinando Carulli.
Since 1976, The Early Interval has explored and celebrated the rich history of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music, inviting their audiences to experience a millennium of exciting sound worlds. The ensemble sings and performs on replica instruments unique to each period, including recorders, viols, violin, lutes, percussion, and many more.
Philip J. Hickman is the Artistic Director of Actors’ Theatre of Columbus and has headed the company since 2015. He is a writer, director and actor and has authored several hit adaptations for the group, including Robin Hood, and King Arthur & the Sword of Britain. He most recently starred in and co-directed ATC’s 2019 production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Hickman studied medieval and early modern English literature.
Sean Ferguson holds bachelor's and master's degrees in music history from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Library Science degree from Kent State University. In Philadelphia, he studied classical guitar at the University of the Arts and was a winner of the WFLN Radio Instrumentalists Competition. He has performed on guitar and lute as a soloist, accompanist, chamber musician and opera orchestra member, including productions for Ohio State and Opera Columbus. He has worked at OCLC Online Computer Library Center and is currently president of the Columbus Guitar Society.
Nicole Simental is currently the Assistant Director of Music and Principal Organist at Saint Joseph Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Simental is a candidate for the Doctorate of Music in organ performance at Indiana University where she studied with Dr. Christopher Young. She is a consummate keyboardist, having studied piano since the age of seven, organ since the age of 10, and harpsichord throughout her undergraduate studies at Oberlin. Ms. Simental received her Masters in Sacred Music from The University of Notre Dame and Bachelor of Music from Wheaton College, and completed additional studies at Oberlin College.
In 2016 she won the Immanuel Lutheran Organ Scholar Award and she was the co-winner at the First Sursa American Organ Competition at Ball State University. Additionally, she was a semifinalist for the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. Also in September of 2016, she was awarded 1st prize at the IV International Goedicke Organ Competition at the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow, Russia. In 2018 she was a Boston Bach Prizewinner (3rd prize) at the Boston Bach International Organ Competition. She has played for the OHS Convention in 2017 and 2018 as well as the AGO Regional Convention in Grand Rapids in 2019.
Sean Ferguson holds bachelor's and master's degrees in music history from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Library Science degree from Kent State University. In Philadelphia, he studied classical guitar at the University of the Arts and was a winner of the WFLN Radio Instrumentalists Competition. He has performed on guitar and lute as a soloist, accompanist, chamber musician and opera orchestra member, including productions for Ohio State and Opera Columbus. He has worked at OCLC Online Computer Library Center and is currently president of the Columbus Guitar Society.
Ron Cook is a founding member and for thirty-eight years the director of The Early Interval. He has taught recorder at workshops and as an adjunct instructor at the Conservatory of Music at Capital University. He has taught historical harp at and served as the artistic director of of national Historical Harp Society Workshops. He is a past treasurer of The American Recorder Society and a past president of both The Historical Harp Society and Early Music America.
Janice Cook, a graduate of The Ohio State University School of Music, is a founding member of The Early Interval. A former public school orchestra teacher, she has attended early music and viola da gamba workshops across the country and is a nationally certified piano teacher with a private studio in Worthington. She serves as an adjudicator for the National Guild of Piano Teachers and is chairman of the Columbus Piano Guild Center.
>> CONCERT CANCELLED<<
Named for the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo’s Fire was founded in 1992 by the award-winning young harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell. Sorrell envisioned an ensemble dedicated to the baroque ideal that music should evoke the various Affekts or passions in the listeners. Apollo’s Fire is a collection of creative artists who share Sorrell’s passion for drama and rhetoric.
“A resplendent performance…The production belonged entirely to Ms. Sorrell, who devised the concept, which she called ‘a dramatic presentation’…exquisite moments. The magnificent chorus [sang] to breathtaking effect…” ~ New York Times
