Chatham Baroque Presents ART OF THE TRIO

To kickoff the 2023-24 season, Chatham Baroque, will present their annual Art of The Trio concert, a program that explores the idea of "modern" music for the esteemed ensemble's instruments - violin, viola da gamba, and theorbo - from the from the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 21st centuries. The concert will take place in Pittsburgh from October 6 through 8, and aims to remind audiences that "all music was once new music," as stated by NPR broadcaster John Zech in his closing remarks after every episode of Composers Datebook.

The talented trio is composed of Chatham Baroque's Andrew Fouts (violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba) and Scott Pauley (theorbo & baroque guitar). The program features early innovators for their instruments Diego Ortiz and Giovanni Kapsperger, the 17th-century modern style of Dario Castello and Isabella Leonarda, and the florid fantastic style of Antonio Bertali and Heinrich Schmelzer. The program also includes the poignant 21st century work "for Emily" by Pittsburgh composer, David Stock, which was composed especially for Chatham Baroque in memory of its founding violinist, Emily Norman Davidson.

"Our annual Art of the Trio program is always a highlight for me," said co-artistic director Andrew Fouts. "It is an opportunity to custom tailor a program of music uniquely suited to our trio and the combination of instruments we play. This year we spotlight fantastic compositions of the 17th and 21st centuries that reflect the modernity of their respective times. Music we love that showcases contemporary ideas of composition, novel ways of writing for our instruments, and that most importantly, is beautiful, interesting, and makes our hearts sing."

Fouts, who has been performing with Chatham Baroque since 2008, has been noted for his "mellifluous sound and sensitive style" (Washington Post) and as "an extraordinary violinist" who exhibits "phenomenal control" (Bloomington Herald-Times). In addition to Chatham Baroque, he regularly appears with The Four Nations Ensemble, and Apollo's Fire. He has taught at the Madison Early Music Festival and the Oficina de Música de Curitiba, Brazil, and can be heard on recordings with Chatham Baroque, American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque, Apollo's Fire, Musik Ekklesia, and Alarm Will Sound.

Halverson holds a doctoral degree in Early Music Performance Practice from Stanford University and continued her studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. A native of Duluth, Minnesota, Patty is a founding member of Chatham Baroque. Recent collaborations outside of Chatham Baroque include concerts with Four Nations, The Rose Ensemble, Empire Viols, J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Sixth Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Bach passion performances with Baldwin-Wallace University, the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Pauley joined Chatham Baroque in 1996. He obtained a doctoral degree in Early Music Performance Practice from Stanford University. He has performed in numerous Baroque opera productions as a continuo player, both in the USA and abroad. He performed in Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, with the acclaimed British ensemble, the English Concert. In 2016 Scott traveled to Argentina for the Festival Internacional de Música Barroca "Camino de las Estancias," in Córdoba.

The program, which launches the Chatham Baroque 23/24 Concert Series, will be held in Pittsburgh from October 6 through 8. The October 6 premiere will be held at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale at 7:30pm and will be preceded by a tour of the Millvale murals of Maxo Vanka and a conservation lecture/demonstration at 6pm. The October 7, 7:30 p.m. and October 8, 2:30 p.m. performances will be held at Hicks Memorial Chapel on the campus of The Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

To learn more about the 23/24 season, please visit www.chathambaroque.org.

Subscription and single tickets are available at www.chathambaroque.org/23-24-concert-series/.

Each year, Chatham Baroque presents a series of captivating, historically informed performances, drawing from a vast repertoire of classical music styles, eras, and locales from the Medieval Period through the early 19th Century.

As one of the country's leading period instrument ensembles and early music presenters, each season features several concerts with the distinguished Chatham Baroque ensemble with artistic directors Andrew Fouts (violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba), and Scott Pauley (theorbo and baroque guitar) as well as concerts by renowned touring ensembles specializing in music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical period.

 Chatham Baroque concerts are performed with period instruments, which are restored or replica versions from the time when the music was written. Concerts are held in a variety of settings across Pittsburgh from churches to concert halls, and performers actively engage audiences with lively commentary and insights into the music. To learn more, please visit www.chathambaroque.org.

Since 1991, The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka was established to conserve and protect the nationally recognized Maxo Vanka murals within St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh for permanent public exhibition. Enabling the immigrant artist's "gift to America" will serve as an enduring catalyst for community engagement and education, inspire social and cultural dialogue, celebrate diversity, and forge connections through reflections on the extraordinary American experience.

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