The Dryden Ensemble Announces Venue Changes and Free Lute Concert

Due to a burst pipe and water damage at Miller Chapel on the Princeton Theological Seminary campus, the Dryden Ensemble announces new locations for its February and March events in Princeton. They will present lutenist Daniel Swenberg in a free concert entitled "Three Centuries of Lutes" on Sunday, February 16 at 3:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Church, located on 50 Cherry Hill Road off Hwy. 206 in Princeton, New Jersey. Admission is free. On March 13th and 14th, the ensemble presents their largest undertaking to date: a production of Bach's St. John Passion at All Saints' Church, located at 16 All Saints Road in Princeton. Both venues have plenty of parking. Tickets for the St. John Passion are $45 for general admission and $10 to students with an ID. They may be purchased at the door or online at http://www.drydenensemble.org.

The program "Three Centuries of Lutes" is subtitled "The Conversation: Everything you wanted to know about lutes, but were afraid to ask." Lutenist Daniel Swenberg will demonstrate some of his favorite lutes and early guitars and perform music written for each of them, guiding the audience through the thicket of lutes, strings, and national styles. His menagerie includes the Renaissance lute, the transitional lute, Baroque lutes, early guitars, and the theorbo. The program includes music from Italy, England, France, and Germany by composers Francesco da Milano, John Dowland, Vincenzo Galilei, Robert de Visée, Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Henry Purcell, and others. In addition to performing regularly with the Dryden Ensemble and many other groups throughout the United States and Europe, Mr. Swenberg teaches in the Historical Performance program at the Juilliard School, has performed on Broadway in Farinelli and the King, and with the Metropolitan Opera, where he currently playing in their production of Handel's Agrippina.

The Dryden Ensemble's 25th Anniversary Season concludes with an intimate production of Bach's St. John Passion using a choir of eight singers, as Bach did, and a small orchestra of 18th-century instruments: March 13 and 14 at 7:30 pm at All Saints' Church in Princeton and March 15 at 3:00 pm at Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury.