Body & Soul: Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione – A Turning Point in Music
The Cast for Rappresentatione
Paulina Francisco, Anima
Anicet Castel, Corpo
Paul Max Tipton, Mondo, Tempo, Anima Dannata
Pablo Bustos, Intelletto
Jermaine Woodard Jr., Consiglio
Benjamin Rauch, Piacere
Salome Sandoval, Angel Custode, Anima Beata
Jennifer Tyo Oberto, Vita Mondana
Sarah Fay, Amy Eisen & Sarah Bleasdale, Anime Beati (ensemble)
Igor Ferreira & Will Doreza, Compagni di Piacere
Joseph Klebanoff & Jim Barrett, Anima Dannata (ensemble)
Joseph Klebanoff, Uno del Choro
Crescendo Period Instrument Orchestra
Samuel Motter, Cornetto
Adam Dillon & Bodie Pfost, Sackbut
Rachel Begley, Dulcian, Recorder
Edson Scheid (concertmaster) and Jude Ziliak, Violin
Nicole Divall, Viola
Larry Lipnik & Alice Robbins, Viola da gamba
Heather Miller Lardin, Violone
Hideki Yamaya, Theorbo, Guitar
Salome Sandoval, Guitar
Christa Patton, Harp, Recorder
Daniel Meyers, Percussion, Recorder
Juan Mesa, Organ
Soloists for “O che nuovo miracolo” Sarah Fay, Salome Sandoval, Soprano, Mary Verdi, Mezzo Soprano
Crescendo Chorus (°Section Leader)
Soprano:
Louise Brown, Donna Castaner°, Kathy Drake*, Emily Elliot, Kathleen Friend, Sarah Fay°, Paulina Francisco°, Sarah Melcher, Margaret O’Brien°, Roberta Roll (Body Work), Salome Sandoval°, Joy Wyatt
Alto:
Pat Barton, Sarah Bleasdale°, Traudi Chiaravalotti, Amy Eisen°, Camilla Fallon, Debby Mark, Susan Pettee, Benjamin Rauch°, Mary Sullivan, Mary Verdi
Tenor:
Pablo Bustos°, Jay Crawford-Kelly, Igor Ferreira°, Gordon Gustafson, Joseph Klebanoff°, Matthew Kreta°, Peter Perkins°
Bass:
Adrian Anderson, Jim Barrett°, Anicet Castel°, Brian Farrell, Will Doreza°, Andy Kettler, Tom Schindler, Paul-Max Tipton°, Michael Wise, Jermaine Woodard Jr.°
Christine Gevert, Direction
Chorus and Stage Manager
Amy Eisen
Body Work and Movement for Chorus
Roberta Roll
Costumes and Props
Amy Eisen, Donna Marie Castaner
Sara Silling, Marilee Wagner
Prop Master
Mike J. Castaner
Pronunciation Coach and English Translation for Musicians
Randy Orzano
Program
“O che nuovo miracolo” by Emilio de’ Cavalieri (c. 1550–1602)
From “La Pellegrina” Intermedii et concerti (Giacomo Vincenci, Venice 1591)
Libretto by Laura Guidiccioni (1550-1599)
The performance of this work is in memory of Regina Hawkey • by Mary Verdi
“Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo” by Emilio de’ Cavalieri (c. 1550–1602)
Libretto by Agostino Manni (1548–1618)
ACT I
~ Intermission ~
ACT II
ACT III
Instrumental interludes are interspersed throughout “Rappresentatione”.
They are excerpts and arrangements of the following works:
Adriano Banchieri (1568-1634) – Sonata Terza – Fuga Grave
Andera Falconieri (1585-1656) – Battalia in C
Claudio Merulo (1533-1604) – Toccatta I touno primo
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) – Sinfonia to Act 5 and “Moresca”“Moresca”of L’Orfeo,
Sinfonia Scene 1 of Ballo delle Ingrate
Cristofano Malvezzi (1547-1599) – Sinfonia “La Pellegrina”
Luca Marenzio (1553-1599) – Sinfonia à 5
Salamone Rossi (1570-1630) – Sinfonia prima, Sinfonia terza La Cecchina, Sinfonia quinta (1613)
Gregorian chant “Dies Irae”
“O fortunato Giorno” by Cristofano Malvezzi (1547-1599)
From “La Pellegrina” Intermedii et concerti (Giacomo Vincenci, Venice 1591)
Libretto by Laura Guidiccioni (1550-1599)
Learn More About All of the Performers
Soprano Paulina Francisco, Anima, is a versatile and engaging interpreter of Baroque and early Classical music. Recent reviews have celebrated her as a soprano of “agility, impact, and vibrant projection” (ClassyKey) who “preserves a finesse of delivery allowing one to savor the ornamentation and agility” (Olyrix).
Paulina is a winner of the 11th edition of Le Jardin des Voix with Les Arts Florissants, and is a soloist in their internationally renowned production of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, with staging and choreography by Mourad Merzouki. Other highlights from the 2023-2024 season include a Young Artist Residency and Kennedy Center debut with Opera Lafayette, singing the role of Thalie in ,Les Fêtes de Thalie with Christophe Rousset, singing the title role in John Eccles’ Semele with American Baroque Opera Company, a series of chamber recitals for the Washington Bach Consort, and a summer festival performance with Vox Luminis.
Paulina enjoys an international career of chamber music, solo singing, and opera, and has sung at major festivals and halls throughout the world. In recent seasons she has worked with conductors William Christie, Paul Agnew, Chrisophe Rousset, and Lionel Meunier, and with chamber music ensemble throughout North America, including TENET Vocal Artists, Bach Akademie Charlotte, Washington Bach Consort, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, La Chapelle de Québec, and the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra. She was a finalist in the 2022 Aria Borealis Bodø Competition (Norway) and the 2021 Handel Aria Competition (United States).
Anicet Castel, Corpo, bass-baritone, began his musical studies at the age of three, consecutively practicing keyboards, clarinet, violin, and harp. He achieved a master of classical literature and philology at La Sorbonne, concurrently pursuing his musical practice, singing at Orléans Music Academy. He specialized in early repertoire, graduating in baroque singing at Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles in 2010, and in ancient music studies at Paris Conservatoire in 2015. In France and over Europe, Anicet Castel performs regularly as a choir member and a soloist, with famous baroque ensembles such as les Arts Florissants, le Concert d’Astrée, le Poème Harmonique, Accentus, Namur chamber choir, Sagittarius, les Cris de Paris. His collaboration with recognized conductors such as William Christie, Emmanuelle Haïm, Vincent Dumestre, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Laurence Equilbey, Christophe Rousset, and others has taken him to renowned halls (opéra Garnier, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Center, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Palau de la Musica Catalana).
Pablo Willey-Bustos, Intelletto, tenor, holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in vocal performance from the Eastman School of Music. He has appeared in concert as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion with the Voices Ensemble; in the title roles of Handel’s Joshua and Judas Maccabaeus; and in Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings with the Fort Street Presbyterian Chorale. Other highlights include Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Ton Koopman; Carissimi’s Jephte with Crescendo; and Handel’s Messiah with both the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Windsor Symphony. Operatic engagements include Alfred in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, the Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, with performances at the Opera Theatre of Weston, Vermont. Pablo’s discography includes recordings of J. S. Bach’s Lutheran Masses and Advent Cantatas with the Publick Musick Baroque Orchestra and Chorus (Musica Omnia). In 2024 he made his debut at Bach Fest Leipzig, performing as both ensemble member and soloist with the Malaysia Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. David Chin. That same year he sang a solo recital with Chilean art song and poetry at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Barcelona Festival of Song. Pablo teaches at both the Eastman School of Music and Nazareth University in Rochester, NY. He also serves as Music Director at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester.
Virginian baritone & recording artist, Jermaine Otis Woodard Jr., Consiglio, is soaring through an eclectically versatile performing career as a soloist, section leader of church and concert choirs, and background singer for R&B, Folk, Soul, Rock, and Country performer Javier Colon. His current roster portfolio includes CONCORA, Voce Inc., Voices of Concinnity, Cathedral of Saint Joseph’s Schola Cantorum/Cathedral Quartet, Berkshire Opera Festival, and Composer’s Choir. Woodard actively serves as Baritone Section Leader and Soloist at Asylum Hill Congregational Church, Crescendo Inc, and the Hartford Chorale; additionally offering scholarship to the board of governors for the Hartford Chorale and Consonare. Woodard is regularly committed to cantorial leadership and ministry at Sacred Heart Parish Bloomfield, University of Saint Joseph, and Cathedral of Saint Joseph. Some noteworthy previous engagements include solo roles for Duruflé Requiem, Mount Holyoke College; Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Mystic River Chorale; Jerod I. Tate’s Shell Shaker: A Chickasaw Opera, Mount Holyoke College; J.S. Bach’s Magnificat, BWV 243 and Handel’s Messiah, Waterbury Symphony Orchestra; Fauré’s Requiem, The Hartford Chorale; Chilcott’s St. John Passion, Asylum Hill Music & Arts; and Pärt’s Passio. He was the baritone soloist for the world premiere of In Search of the Bridges by John Meyers, commissioned by Crescendo in 2023. Some of his most recent engagements as a soloist are: the world premiere of An American Requiem by Edward Tyler, CONCORA; and harpentier’s Te Deum, Music Worcester. He can be heard on the following recordings: Awaiting Golden Light, Voices of Concinnity; Breadth of Blossoms, Fare Ye Well, Hartford Chorale; Andrey Stolyarov’s A Sonic Tapestry – Home.
Benjamin Rauch, Piacere, is a versatile countertenor and educator, known for his performances and teaching alike. He spent a year singing soprano with the GRAMMY® Award-winning ensemble Chanticleer, performing on major concert stages across the United States, Europe, and Japan, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Vienna’s Musikverein. Solo engagements include Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Kodály’s Missa Brevis, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Handel’s Jephtha. He has appeared as a soloist with ensembles including Chanticleer, Terpsichore Ensemble, Crescendo, New Haven Chorale, The Greater New Haven Community Chorus, New Britain Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Opera Theater, and Mnemosyne Choir and Orchestra. Benjamin currently teaches commercial voice and ear training #raucheartraining at The Hartt School, University of Hartford, maintains a private voice studio, and is the founder and artistic director of VIP (Vocal Intensive Program), a ten-day summer festival for singers. Also at home in musical theater, he has served as music director for over 20 productions throughout the northeast. Having completed his 200-hour yoga teacher training at West Hartford Yoga, he specializes in teaching yoga for singers. IG: @benjaminrauch
Salome Sandoval, Angel Custode, Anima Beata. Multifaceted artist Salomé Sandoval (SaSa) sings and accompanies herself with lutes, early and classical guitars, in multilingual, creative and innovative programs,ranging from Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque to 20th century repertoires. Her performances often include a combination of visual arts, dance, theater and music as a protagonist. Originally from Venezuela, SaSa holds a GPD in Early Music voice and lute from Longy, as well as MA from MTSU and a BM from IUDEM, both in classical guitar. In addition to her appearances in masterclasses, radio shows, theater, movie soundtracks and television, SaSa is an award winner in several music competitions. She has sung and played in various ensembles and choirs in Venezuela and the US, she is an active music teacher and has given masterclasses in classicalguitar in NY , MN and Mexico. SaSa has collaborated in CD recordings with distinguished organizations and has two of her own. Her recent collaborations include Raleigh Camerata, Boston Camerata, El Mundo and the Newberry Consort, as well as her own group El Fuego Early Music Ensemble. Youtube: @salomesandoval and @elfuegoearlymusic
Jennifer Tyo Oberto, Vita Mondana. Soprano Jennifer Tyo Oberto sings throughout New England as a soloist, professional chorister and church musician. Appearances include performances with Crescendo Vocal Ensemble and Chorus, Westchester Choral Society, Hudson Chorale, Arcadia Players, Hampshire Choral Society, Quabbin Valley Pro Musica, Keene Chorale, and Novi Cantori. She has also been a featured artist in both The Brick Church Music Series in Old Deerfield, MA and the Chamber Music at Wistariahurst Series in Holyoke, MA. A performer who enjoys new music as well as old, Ms. Oberto was involved in both workshop performances and the fully staged world premieres of composer Eric Sawyer’s operas Our American Cousin and The Garden of Martyrs at the Academy of Music in Northampton, MA.
Edson Scheid, Violin, concertmaster, has been praised for his “polished playing” (The Strad) and for being a “virtuoso violinist” (The Boston Globe). His performance of Strauss’s song Morgen at Carnegie Hall alongside Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d’Oro was described as follows: “The concertmaster, Edson Scheid, proved a worthy foil as violin soloist” (The New York Times). A native of Brazil, Edson Scheid is based in New York City. He performs on both modern and period instruments with many ensembles in the United States, and frequently tours in Europe, Asia, North and South America with such ensembles as Les Arts Florissants and Il Pomo d’Oro. Edson Scheid has been featured live in-studio on In Tune from BBC Radio 3, and his recording of Paganini’s 24 Caprices on the baroque violin for the Naxos label has been critically acclaimed: “Far from being mere virtuoso stunts, Scheid’s Caprices abound in the beauty and revolutionary spirit of these works” (Fanfare Magazine). His most recent solo album, “On Paganini’s Trail… H. W. Ernst and more”, has been released under the Centaur label. Early Music America praised Edson Scheid for taking “his time through these works, letting them breathe without losing sight of execution or musicality…”
Edson Scheid holds degrees from the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, the Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School, where he was the recipient of a Kovner Fellowship. He is a two-time winner of the Historical Performance Concerto Competition at Juilliard, and a recipient of the Broadus Erle Prize at Yale. www.edsonscheid.com
Jude Ziliak, Violin, is known to audiences across North America as a charismatic and scholarly exponent of the baroque violin. First violinist of Sonnambula, frequent leader or soloist with American Bach Soloists, and a core member of Clarion and the Blue Hill Bach Festival, he has also appeared with Les Arts Florissants, The English Concert, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, among others, and often appears in recital with noted collaborators including David Schulenberg, Nicola Canzano, and Elliot Figg. A dedicated teacher, Jude has served on the faculty of New York’s Special Music School since 2015 and directs the Clarion Collegium Week workshop each June. He studied baroque violin at Juilliard and modern violin at Rice and Boston University. When not performing or teaching music, he is a JD candidate at the Syracuse University College of Law.
Nicole Divall, Viola, was a core member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra from 2005 to 2020. She has held the position of Principal Viola with the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Cleveland-San Jose Ballet, Cleveland Opera, and Sydney Philharmonia. Nicole is currently a core member of the Four Nations Ensemble and has appeared as Guest Principal with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and more recently, Handel & Haydn Society, Orchestra of St Luke’s, Atlanta Baroque, Philharmonia Austin, and Albany Symphony. Since her return to the US in 2021 Nicole has appeared as soloist with New York Baroque Incorporated, at the Baldwin Wallace University Bach Festival, and with Apollo’s Fire on the Viola and Viola D’Amore. She was Principal Viola of Apollo’s Fire from 1998-2004 and very happily resumed her tenure in that position in 2021.
Lawrence Lipnik, Viola da gamba, performs with many acclaimed early music ensembles and is a founding member of the viol consort Parthenia and vocal ensemble Lionheart. He has served as gambist and recorder player for staged opera productions including Monteverdi’s Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria at Wolf Trap and Telemann’s Orpheus with the New York City Opera, and has prepared an authoritative edition of Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto, commissioned by the Juilliard School. Recent performance highlights include concerts with lutenist Paul O’dette of Dowland’s complete Lachrimae at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, concerts at the Berkeley Festival, appearances with the Venice Baroque Orchestra, the Indiana University Historic Performance Institute at the Bloomington Early Music Festival, and early opera residencies at Carnegie Mellon University. He is a contributor to The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Contemporary Dramatists, and The Cambridge Guide to the Worlds of Shakespeare, as well as the journal Comparative Drama.
Alice Robbins, Viola da gamba, has performed widely on baroque cello, viola da gamba and vielle in numerous chamber ensembles, including the Early Music Quartet (Studio der frühen Musik), Smithsonian Chamber Players, Boston Camerata, Opera Lafayette, the Folger Consort and the Oberlin Consort of Viols. She is a founding member of Arcadia Players, performing with them for over 30 years and was also a founding member of Concerto Castello, an international quintet specializing in the music of the early 17th century. A member of the Five College Early Music faculty at Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges, Robbins earned her degrees at Indiana University and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where she was a student of Hannelore Mueller. She has recorded for Telefunken, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Smithsonian and Gasparo records, as well as for many radio productions.
Heather Miller Lardin, Violone, is principal bassist of the Handel + Haydn Society, directs the Temple University Early Music Ensemble, and co-directs the Philadelphia-based Classical period instrument ensemble Night Music. Recent engagements have included Boston Early Music Festival, Tempesta di Mare, Choral Arts Philadelphia, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Staunton Music Festival, and Brandywine Baroque. This summer Heather serves as faculty for a Symposium for Women & Non-Binary Bassists at the Curtis Institute of Music, Amherst Baroque Academy, and the Viola da Gamba Society of America Conclave. She makes her home in her native Philadelphia suburbs, where she started playing double bass in 6th-grade orchestra.
Sam Motter is a cornettist, recorder player, improviser, and specialist in the music of the 16th and 17th centuries from Bloomington, Indiana. As a multi-instrumentalist, Motter holds a bachelor’s degree in jazz saxophone, a M.A. in musicology, and an M.M. in historical performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with historical performance luminaries including Clea Galhano, Kris Kwapis, Bruce Dickey, Frithjof Smith, and Jeremy West. He has been active as a performer and teacher in the Midwest and beyond for the past decade plus, collaborating with artists including Brent Wallarab, Michael Spiro, and Wayne Wallace, and appearing on the Grammy-nominated album Canto América. In the historical performance community, Motter has performed as far afield as the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. as well as with Musica Transalpina in Los Angeles, the Oriana Singers in Chicago, Ars Perpetuum, the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, and professional choral and instrumental ensembles around the Midwest.
Adam Dillon, Sackbut, is a spirited performer, administrator, and researcher. He has performed on historical trombones of all shapes and sizes across the United States and Canada. Adam has studied at McGill University, Indiana University, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and the University of North Texas. He has presented original research at the International Medieval Renaissance Conference in Uppsala, Sweden, and Munich, Germany. In today’s performance, Adam is playing an alto sackbut after Hieronimus Starck (Nuremberg 1670) made by the Egger Workshop in Basel, Switzerland.
Bodie Pfost, Sackbut, holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in historical trombone performance from Boston University, awarded in January 2022. Based in Providence, Rhode Island, he maintains an active freelance career throughout New England and beyond. Specializing in historical performance, Bodie has appeared with renowned ensembles including Teatro Nuovo, Philharmonie Austin, ARTEK, the Clarion Choir, the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, and Ensemble VIII. He brings a deep passion for the sackbut and early trombone repertoire, while also embracing music from all eras of trombone history. In addition to his instrumental work, Bodie is an enthusiastic vocalist, always on the hunt for the lowest bass parts he can sing. Originally from California, Bodie earned his undergraduate
degree from Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt). He served as principal trombonist of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra for several seasons before pursuing a Master of Arts in musicology at the University of Oregon. His thesis, The Trombone in A: Repertoire and Performance Techniques in Venice in the Early Seventeenth Century, is available online.
Rachel Begley, Dulcian, Recorder, performs as a soloist and with ensembles across North America, and has been hailed for her virtuosic and sensitive playing on both recorders and historical bassoons. Based in the New York area, she has performed in almost all the city’s major performance venues for classical music, in addition to appearances with groups throughout the tri-state area and beyond. Recent engagements include The Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Opera Festival, Apollo’s Fire, Newberry Consort, Tempesta di Mare, Dallas Bach Society, Bach Vespers, The Clarion Society, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Play of Daniel at The Cloisters, American Classical Orchestra, Symphonie des Dragons, Boston Early Music Festival, and Early Music New York. Her recording credits include both recorder and dulcian, on recordings of renaissance and baroque music as well as soundtracks including Disney’s “Casanova”, the Warner Brothers documentary, “The Mystery of Dante”, a modern adaptation of “Macbeth”, and the Showtime series “The Twelfth Victim”. Rachel holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Recorder and Early Music from SUNY Stony Brook, and has worked in the Early Music Institute of Indiana University as a Visiting Scholar. She is the Founding Music Director of the North American Virtual Recorder Society, and teaches at workshops and festivals across the country in addition to her online and in-person teaching in the New York Tri-State area.
Christa Patton, historical harpist and early wind specialist, has performed throughout the Americas, Europe, and Japan with many of today’s premier early music ensembles including Piffaro the Renaissance Band, Early Music New York, Boston Camerata, The King’s Noyse, Folger Consort, Newberry Consort, Apollo’s Fire, Parthenia, ARTEK and Chatham Baroque to name a few.
As a Baroque harpist specializing in 17th century opera, Christa has performed with New York City Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Atelier, and the Opera Theater of Saint Louis. Recent projects include Cantos y Suspiros, a collaboration with soprano Camila Parias performing 17th century Spanish music housed at the Hispanic Society in New York City. Also her medieval duo with Dongmyung Ahn called Duo Custos exploring instrumental traditions of the middle ages.
As an educator and scholar, Christa has served on the faculty of Rutgers University and the Graduate Center at CUNY. She is also the director of the Baroque Opera Workshop at Queens College, a workshop specializing in period-specific performance practice of 17th century musical drama. She is a popular clinician of early repertoire sharing her knowledge in workshops and conferences.
Hideki Yamaya, is a performer of lutes, early guitars, and early mandolins based in Connecticut, USA. Born in Tokyo, Japan, he spent most of his career in the West Coast before settling in New England, where he is a freelance performer and teacher. He has a B.A. in Music and an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studied with Robert Strizich, and an M.F.A. in Guitar and Lute Performance from University of California, Irvine, where he studied with John Schneiderman. He also studied with James Tyler at University of Southern California and with Paul Beier at Accademia Internazionale della Musica in Milan, Italy. In demand both as a soloist and as a continuo/chamber player, Hideki has performed with and for Portland Baroque Orchestra, Portland Opera, Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Opera, Oregon Bach Festival, Astoria Music Festival, Folger Consort, Connecticut Early Music Festival, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. He is one half of the Schneiderman-Yamaya Duo and is the artistic director of Musica Maestrale, an early music collective based in Portland, Oregon. He is also recognized as an effective communicator and teacher, and has given masterclasses and workshops at Yale University, University of California, Santa Cruz, Montana State University, Oregon State University, and Aquilon Music Festival. A prolific recording artist, Hideki’s playing could be heard on Profil, Hänssler CLASSIC, and Mediolanum labels. His recordings have received glowing reviews from Early Music America, Classical Guitar Magazine, and the Guitar Foundation of America.
Chilean-American keyboardist Juan Andrés Mesa holds both a Master of Music degree in organ and harpsichord performance and a PhD in Music Theory from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Dr. Mesa has performed solo organ and harpsichord recitals across the US, Canada, Chile, and Argentina, and collaboratively with In Stile Moderno, MIRYAM, the University of Notre Dame’s Children’s Choir, Exordium ensemble of Bloomington IN, and Crescendo ensemble of Lakeville, CT, among others. Recent engagements include collaborative performances for the Bloomington Early Music Festival (BLEMF), the Quincy Choral Society, and Boston’s Society for Historically informed Performance (SoHip) concert series. Juan is currently College Organist and Associate Professor of Music Performance (organ) at Wheaton College in Norton, MA, Director of Music and Organist at St Leonard’s Church in Boston’s North End, as well as Music Minister at the Roslindale Congregational Church.
Dan Meyers is a versatile and engaging Multi-Instrumentalist, performer of both classical and folk music. His credits range from premieres of contemporary chamber music, to headlining a concert series in honor of Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival, to playing Renaissance instruments on Broadway. He is a founding member of the early music/folk crossover group Seven Times Salt, and in recent seasons has been a guest artist with the Folger Consort, Hesperus, the Newberry Consort, DÜNYA, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, Severall Friends, Henry Purcell Society of Boston, Amherst Early Music, the 21st Century Consort, Ensemble Origo, Musica Maestrale, Xacarilla, and In Stile Moderno. Dan also plays traditional Irish music with the band ISHNA, and eclectic Mediterranean fusion with his ensemble Zafarán. He has taught historical wind instruments for the Five Colleges Early Music Program in MA, Tufts University, and festivals and workshops around the US. www.danmeyersmusic.com
Christine Gevert, conductor, holds a master’s degree in organ and early music performance from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hamburg, Germany. After earning a bachelor’s degree in music theory from the Conservatorio Nacional de Chile, she studied choral and orchestral conducting in Berlin and harpsichord in London. She has taught at the Berliner Kirchenmusikschule, the Universidad de Chile, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile.
While conducting and performing in Europe and South America, she also recorded for Carpe Diem and Alerce. She has led master classes and workshops in early music, harpsichord, and baroque vocal technique at music festivals in Germany, Chile and the U.S., and has taught historic keyboards at the Berlin Church Music School in Germany, and locally at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. Ms. Gevert has appeared at the Washington Early Music Festival, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Fringe concerts of the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Amherst Early Music Festival. In recent years she has given solo harpsichord recitals at the Early Music Festival in Narol, Poland, at the historic Auditorium Wanda Landowska near Paris, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Beat Festival. She performed at the International Festival of American Renaissance & Baroque Music at the Chiquitan Missions in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. She has authored and published more than eighty historical basso continuo realizations with the Swiss music publisher, Amadeus Verlag. The founder and artistic director of Crescendo and her own baroque ensemble Les Inégales, Christine is currently music director at Trinity Episcopal Church, Lime Rock, CT.
Crescendo and its programming
Crescendo is a national-award-winning music performance organization. For more than fourteen years, Crescendo has presented concerts year-round in northwestern Connecticut, the Berkshires, and the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. The organization is based at Trinity Church Lime Rock in Lakeville, CT.
Founder and Artistic Director, Christine Gevert, is celebrated for her innovative approach to programming and performance. Crescendo’s audiences are often rewarded with programs of rarely-heard and newly discovered works. Often Ms. Gevert uses original manuscripts to make her own performing editions for chorus, soloists and orchestra because there are no existing published editions. Frequently our programs feature early and contemporary music works alongside each other, creating a contrast for the listener. Eight new works have been commissioned for our chorus and vocal ensemble. Crescendo has presented ten U.S. premieres.
Crescendo’s innovative programming relies on a local base of dedicated and talented auditioned amateurs and professionals who make up the Crescendo Chorus and Crescendo Vocal Ensemble. Crescendo has its own Period Instrument Orchestra and Andean Ensemble, comprised of professionals from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Hartford. These instrumentalists and the internationally recognized soloists who regularly collaborate with Crescendo bring the performances to a level comparable to the best ensembles in the country. Instrumental music ensembles and concerts with vocal soloists have been part of Crescendo’s programs since the beginning. Some of the performers have been: Julianne Baird (Philadelphia) soprano, Nicholas Tamagna (New York) countertenor, Peter Sykes (Boston) and Władysław Kłosiewicz (Warsaw, Poland), harpsichord, Chris Bellsucio (Boston), natural trumpet, Tricia van Oers, recorder, I Fagiolini Renaissance Vocal Ensemble (London, UK), L’Orchestre de Chambre Francaise (Paris, France), Peter Lekx (Montreal) baroque violin, Duo Alturas (Hartford) charango, viola and guitar, and Duo Les Inégales, traverso and harpsichord.
We are strongly committed to educational outreach―to our own singers, our audiences and local students. Talented local high school singers and young musicians are coached by Ms. Gevert as part of our “Young Baroque Artist Program”, and often play a part in our performances. She and members of the chorus visit local schools to work with students.
Artistic Director Christine Gevert is celebrated for her innovative approach to programming and performance: In 2014 Crescendo won the prestigious Chorus America / ASCAP Alice Parker Award. Today’s programming reflects some of the diversity and scope of music that Crescendo is known for.
Musicians of Crescendo’s Latin American Ensemble
