Parthenia Viol Consort to Present AN ELIZABETHAN CHRISTMAS at the Church Of Saint Luke In The Fields

Parthenia, New York's premiere viol consort, will present An Elizabethan Christmas concert on Sunday, December 8 at 4:00 PM at The Church of Saint Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street in Manhattan.

Following a long tradition of music for Christmas, the viols of Parthenia present an array of songs, dances and carols from Elizabethan England. Along with music by Thomas Morley, Anthony Holborne, Thomas Ravenscroft, Dr. John Bull and Tobias Hume, this concert will feature a wide variety of music by the master composer of England's Golden Age, William Byrd. Guest artist will be Elisa Sutherland, mezzo-soprano.

Elisa Sutherland is a core member of Ekmeles, a sextet dedicated to exploring microtonal tuning and extended vocal techniques, as well as Alkemie, an ensemble made up of medieval specialists that celebrates the vibrant and timeless sounds of the past and present. This season, she joins as a full-time member of the Choir of Trinity Wall Street. She has appeared in art song recitals with the Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) and Philadelphia's Lyricfest, as well as with Roomful of Teeth, Blue Heron, and Bach Akademie Charlotte. She is an invaluable member of many of the top vocal ensembles in the country, including The Crossing, TENET Vocal Artists, Lorelei, Ampersand, Variant 6, and Seraphic Fire.

Parthenia is a consort of viols dedicated to both early and contemporary music. Parthenia has performed in concerts and festivals across America including Bargemusic, Music Before 1800, Maverick Concerts, The Rockport Chamber Music Festival, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Miller Theatre and the Yale Center for British Art, and in Europe at the Regensburg Tage Alter Musik. The ensemble produces its own concert series in NYC, collaborating regularly with the world's foremost early music specialists including Piffaro, Julianne Baird, Paul O'Dette, Blue Heron and ARTEK. Parthenia actively commissions and premieres works by today's composers including Eleonor Sandresky, Richard Einhorn, Phil Kline, Frances White, Max Lifchitz, Will Ayton, Nicholas Patterson and Kristin Norderval. Parthenia's latest CD Nothing Proved, on the MSR Classics label, features music by Hildegard von Bingen, Frances White, Kristin Norderval, and Tawnie Olson. The consort is represented by Shirley Hunt, GEMS Live! Director of Booking and Artist Representation.

Parthenia's members are Beverly Au, Lawrence Lipnik, Rosamund Morley and Lisa Terry.  They are currently the Early Music Ensemble in Residence at Stern College for Women.