Virtuoso countertenor and cornettist Michael Collver joins El Dorado Ensemble (Carol Lewis, Karen Burciaga, Mai-Lan Broekman, James Peretta and Alice Mroszczyk, violas da gamba; Olav Chris Henriksen, vihuela and archlute) for a concert of music by Cabezón, Milan, Guerrero, Ortiz, Vasquez, Falconiero, and others.  The concert will take place at 3:00 pm at the newly renovated Somerville Museum, One Westwood Road (at Central St.), Somerville, MA. Admission is $20 general admission, $15 students, seniors, and Museum members. Tickets are available at the door.  Ample street parking is available, and the Museum is now ADA compliant. For further information, call (617) 666-9810 or go to www.somervillemuseum.org.

During the Renaissance, the Spanish empire stretched from South America to southern Italy.  Within this vast territory, many musical styles prevailed, which led to an exciting fusion between local fashions and high art, both in vocal and instrumental music.  El Dorado Ensemble will perform a selection of villancicos, recercadas, canzonas and dances, among others.  There will be some beautiful instrumental variations by Antonio de Cabezón and his son Hernando, as well as vihuela solos by Pisador and Milán, and Mr. Collver will sing some lovely and seldom-heard vocal music by Andrea Falconiero.

Countertenor and cornettist Michael Collver is well known for his performances with Ensemble Sequentia of Cologne, the Empire Brass Quintet and the Boston Camerata. He is a founding member of Project Ars Nova (P.A.N.), an ensemble specializing in the music of the late Middle Ages, and has concertized and recorded extensively in Europe and the United States.  He is co-author of A Catalog of Music for the Cornett.  Lutenist Olav Chris Henriksen and viola da gambist Carol Lewis are also frequent collaborators with ensembles in the U.S. and abroad, including Capriccio Stravagante (Paris) and the Boston Camerata.