May 2024
Arcadia Players, the western Massachusetts-based Early Music ensemble, has named Andrus Madsen as its new Artistic Director, beginning this May. Madsen is an active performer on the organ, harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano. He is the founding director of Newton Baroque and also performs with the Boston-based vocal ensemble Exsultemus. Madsen is known for his eloquent Baroque-style improvisation and for his inventive programming, striving to bridge the barriers between audience and performers. He succeeds Andrew Arceci, who led Arcadia Players for the past two seasons and is departing due to increasing commitments abroad.
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Jon Solins, President of the Board of Directors of Arcadia Players, noted that Madsen’s extensive knowledge of historical performance and the roles its original practitioners played in their society was especially attractive to the Board, along with his collaborative approach and his dedication to developing the ensemble, building on Arcadia Player’s roots in western New England. Solins said, “We’re looking forward to working with Andrus to plan our upcoming season, and we believe his vision and enthusiasm will help create ever-more exciting and accessible programs for the music lovers of our area.”
Andrus Madsen holds degrees from Brigham Young University and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned a doctorate in harpsichord performance and literature. His teachers include Arthur Haas, Ton Koopman, Peter Sykes and William Porter, and he has taught and led masterclasses at Eastman, Boston University, University of Texas and many other institutions. He is the founder and director of Newton Baroque and is an active private teacher who also serves as music director at several churches and synagogues in the greater Boston area. His recordings include a reconstruction of the Vespers from 1701 by Johann C. F. Fischer, on Toccata Classics, and Keyboard music of Johann Pachelbel on Raven CD Recordings.
About Arcadia Players (www.arcadiaplayers.org)
Founded in 1989, Arcadia Players is a professional ensemble of musicians specializing in historical performance practice and dedicated to presenting music of the past in a fresh light for audiences old and new. We offer a series of concerts each year in communities around western Massachusetts and beyond, bringing together artists and audiences from throughout the region to engage listeners and showcase the work of area performers. Arcadia Players is in residence at the Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
