Established as charitable communities for the needy in the fourteenth-century, the Venetian Ospedale Grandi served as convents, orphanages, and hospitals for the sick. By the seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries, these institutions also became famous for their highly gifted all-female musical ensembles, attracting audiences from all over Europe. The Ospedale della Pietà achieved particular notoriety because of its resident violinist, composer, and teacher, Antonio Vivaldi. Heartland Baroque (Martie Perry and David Wilson, baroque violins; Keith Collins, dulcian; Barbara Krumdieck, baroque cello; William Simms, baroque guitar and theorbo presents an imaginative journey heralding the composers and teachers of the Ospedale that came before Vivaldi, and who gave inspiration and influence to him and his colleagues. Music for baroque violins, dulcian, baroque cello, theorbo and baroque guitar by Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690) and Johann Rosenmuller (1619-1684) will be featured, along with their Venetian contemporaries. Readings from historical texts about the Foundling Hospitals, and poetry inspired by them will also paint vivid portraits of the lives of these composers and the women who studied under their tutelage.