Chatham Baroque Presents THE JOY OF BACH, April 22 and 23

April 22 and 23, Chatham Baroque will perform in The Joy of Bach, a concert honoring the late Bach scholar Don O. Franklin, whose contributions to the performance and scholarship of Bach left indelible marks on Pittsburgh and the early music community at large. Chatham Baroque will be joined by some of Franklin's favorite collaborators for this musical homage.

A pillar of the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Music, Franklin also served as president of the American Bach Society for four years and was a founding editor for Bach Perspectives. He was beloved by his undergraduate and graduate students, who in 2018 collaborated with Bach scholars from around the country to publish Compositional Choices and Meaning in the Vocal Music of J.S. Bach, a volume of essays collected as a tribute to Franklin's half-century as a "prominent leader in American Bach studies." In 1991 Franklin co-founded Pitt's popular "Bach and Baroque" series, which ran for 16 years. He also led the Heinz Chapel Choir for five years, greatly expanding their repertoire and taking them on their first international tour.

Chatham Baroque has a long history with Franklin, including participating in his "Bach and Baroque" series and collaborating on a popular Bach Birthday Bash program held every March.

"Bach is such an important composer in the Baroque world, and we have a rich history of performing his works in Pittsburgh, thanks to Franklin's legacy. For Bach's birthday we wanted to bring together a group of artists who knew him, and to perform some of Bach's most beloved works," said co-artistic director Andrew Fouts.

"We started with Cantata 170, Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlustas, our cornerstone for the program, featuring Kristen Dubenion Smith (mezzo soprano) and Justin Wallace (harpsichord, chamber organ). Then I thought of two of Bach's instrumental concertos that would highlight the talents of oboist Kathryn Montoya, and violinist Emily Eng."

The Joy of Bach program will feature instrumental and vocal works by the Baroque composer, including the gorgeous cantata Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust for alto, oboe, strings and continuo (BWV170); the Concerto for Two Violins (BWV1043); and the Concerto for Oboe and Violin (BWV1060r).

Chatham Baroque artistic directors Andrew Fouts (violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba) and Scott Pauley (theorbo) will be joined by an exceptionally talented group of guest musicians including:

• Recognized for her "velvety legato and embracing warmth of sound" (Washington Classical Review) and "lyric-mezzo of uncommon beauty" (The Washington Post), mezzo-soprano Kristen Dubenion-Smith enjoys an active performing career in oratorio and sacred vocal chamber music, specializing in music of the medieval, renaissance and baroque eras. In addition to her work as a concert soloist, she was the first woman to be offered a position in the Choir of Men and Boys/Girls at the Washington National Cathedral and performs regularly with Cathedra, Chantry, the Washington Bach Consort and the Grammy-nominated Clarion Choir. She is the co-founder of Eya: Ensemble for Medieval Music.
• Baroque oboist Kathryn Montoya appears with a variety of orchestral and chamber music ensembles, including the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Tafelmusik, the Wiener Akademie, Pacific Musicworks, and Apollo's Fire. Recent projects include the Globe's Tony award-winning productions of Twelfth Night on Broadway, concerts and master classes in Shanghai, and tour and Grammy award-winning recording Charpentier: La couronne de fleurs - La descente d'Orphée aux enfers with the Boston Early Music Festival. Montoya has been broadcast on NPR's "Performance Today" and can be heard on the Erato, Naxos, CPO, NCA, Analekta, and Dorian Sono Luminus labels.
• Alice Culin-Ellison is a versatile historical performer with professional experience in music from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and modern eras. Primarily a violinist, she also plays viola, Medieval vielle and rebec and Renaissance violin and viola and has studied Baroque dance. She is a co-founder of Incantare: an Ensemble of Violins and Sackbuts and was previously the artistic director of Bourbon Baroque. Her professional engagements also include Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Apollo's fire, Chatham Baroque, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, and Charlotte Bach Akademie. As a soloist, she has led opera productions of Handel's Acis and Galatea and Purcell's King Arthur.
• As both a violist and baroque violinist, Emily Eng enjoys a diverse musical life in chamber ensembles and orchestras with either gut or steel at her fingertips. Her work has included engagements with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Ballet Orchestra, Academy Concert Series, Soundstreams, the Canadian Opera Company, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Eng spent three consecutive residencies in a hut at the Banff Centre, and from 2003 to 2004, she was co-artistic director of Parkdale People's Concerts, a chamber music series at the Gladstone Hotel.
• Swiss violinist Chiara Fasani Stauffer plays music ranging from the Baroque to the twenty-first century and has performed across three continents, including with Apollo's Fire, the Washington Bach Consort and the Sebastians. She has appeared on "A Prairie Home Companion" as part of the East 4th Street Quartet, recorded a critically-acclaimed jazz album with saxophonist Bobby Selvaggio's Transcendental Orchestra, and performed live on radio station WCLV as part of the new music group FiveOne Experimental Orchestra. She is the co-founder and artistic director of Time Canvas, a chamber music group committed to bringing innovative music to people across a broad section of society.
• A music theorist and performer specializing in the 17th and 18th centuries, Paul Miller teaches at Duquesne University, and his research has been published in an array of academic journals. As a performer, he has appeared at the Metropolitian Museum of Art in New York City, the Library of Congress, the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., the Darmstadt International Festival for New Music, the Bethlehem Bach Festival and the Hawai`i Performing Arts Festival, as well as with ensembles such as El Mundo and Tempesta di Mare and with collaborators including Grammy-nominees Richard Savino and Jory Vinikour.
• Tracy Mortimore enjoys a diverse career performing extensively on modern and historical double basses and violone. As an Early Music specialist, Mortimore has worked with Santa Fe Pro Musica, Washington Bach Consort, Musica Pro Rara, Rebel, Tafelmusik, Opera Atelier, Toronto Consort, Wolftrap Opera, NYSEMA, Pegasus, Chatham Baroque, Folger Consort, Apollo's Fire, Clarion and Aradia Ensemble - with whom he has made over 45 recordings on the Naxos label. He is also active in the world of free improvised music and contemporary classical music, both as performer and as a composer.
• Justin Wallace leads a multifaceted career as a harpsichordist, organist, and composer. Based in Pittsburgh, he performs with Chatham Baroque, The Dukes Music, Quantum Theatre, Music Mundana, Pittsburgh Camerata, and at Shadyside Presbyterian Church, where he has been Assistant Organist since 2013. His playing on historical keyboards has brought him to Charleston, SC; Birmingham, AL; Quito, Ecuador; Leipzig, Germany; and Royaumont Abbey, where he studied with acclaimed French harpsichordist Blandine Verlet. Justin's compositions have been performed nationally and broadcast on American Public Media's Pipedreams. He holds degrees from Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music..

Chatham Baroque

The Joy of Bach

Saturday, April 22, 7:30 PM, Calvary Episcopal Church, Shadyside
Sunday, April 23, 2:30 PM, Calvary Episcopal Church, Shadyside

Tickets are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors (65+), and $20 for students. Subscribers and advance ticket buyers will receive a link to an on-demand video of the program following the live performance. For tickets and info, visit chathambaroque.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.