BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_YorkBEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:1148@earlymusicamerica.org DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260325T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260325T190000 DTSTAMP:20260128T173137Z URL:https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/events/les-touches-mccrane-kashmere- gardens-houston-public-library/ SUMMARY:Les Touches @ McCrane-Kashmere Gardens (Houston Public Library) DESCRIPTION:This is the second of our FREE appearances with the Houston Pub lic Library (HPL) system for the Spring 2026 season. This will not only be an Early Music Month event but also part of the Bach In The Subways movem ent\, which is dedicated to its grassroots mission of expanding public acc ess to Classical music in celebration of Johann Sebastian Bach’s birthda y.\n\n The McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library is based in Kash mere Gardens\, which is a historically African-American neighborhood situa ted in the Northeast region of the Greater Houston area.\n Our repertoire will consist of various arrangements involving the viola da gamba for Joh ann Sebastian Bach's works as part of the Bach In The Subways movement.\n Repertoire will focus on 3-4 part viol consort\, occasionally featuring o ther variations in the consort such as viol duets and voice and viol. All vocals will be sung by Les Touches member Jocelyn Ursua\, a trans woman wh o has been vocally training as a tenor\n Brief lectures and opportunities for a petting zoo will be provided for a hands-on experience for audience members to learn more about the viola da gamba and to understand its role in the world of early music.\n\nVisit the HPL website provided in this pa ge to register your attendance for FREE!\n\n___\n\nAbout Les Touches\n\n Founded in 2011 by Pedro Funes-Whittington at the Jacobs School of Music a nd the Early Music Institute at Indiana University\, Les Touches is a viol consort whose core repertoire includes the works of many of England’s m ost prominent early music composers such as William Byrd and John Coprario \, as well as the works of composers whose work deserves wider recognition \, such as George Jeffreys and Peter Phillips. The ensemble has performed across the United States\, working with groups such as Texas Early Music P roject and the South Dakota Chorale\, and continues to pursue collaboratio n with other musicians and ensembles. In 2014\, Les Touches held its inaug ural season in Texas and began a partnership with Viols of Houston\, with whom they provide outreach programs in local schools. In 2015\, Les Touche s was named one of the 10 finalists in the York Young Artist International Competition.\n Les Touches continues to share their passion for the viol and make its fascinating consort repertoire\, as an aspect of early music \, accessible to their general community in the Greater Houston region of Southeast Texas.\n Since the debut of their most recent revival in 2024\, they were featured in a performance/lecture presentation hosted by Early Music America at the Chamber Music America 2025 Conference at Rice Univers ity.\n\n This presentation consisted of a repertoire of 4-part consort pi eces from a range of composers from Jenkins to Coperario\, intertwined wit h brief lectures about the history of viol performance and appearances fro m local grade school viol program Viols of Deer Park\n\n\n Les Touches is currently partnered with the Houston Public Library system — their most recent collaboration was a free performance/lecture series hosted at 11 b ranch locations for the library’s "Summer Reading For Adults” program. \n\n This presentation followed a similar format to the CMA conference\, consisting of repertoire for 3-part consort\, voice and viol\, and violin with viol consort featuring a guest appearance from Baroque violinist Nadi a Lesinska.\n This series was offered for free to the general public of G reater Houston and received grant support from the Viola da Gamba Society of America and individual donors.\n\n\n Les Touches’ current revival co nsists of the following members:\n\n Pedro Funes-Whittington: treble/teno r/bass viol\n Elisabeth Ellison: bass viol\n Matt Dunn: tenor/bass viol\ n Jocelyn Ursua: treble/tenor/bass viol\; vocalist (tenor)\n\n\n\n \; ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/wp-content/upl oads/2026/01/Les-Touches-HPL-Spring-2026-Series-1-731x1024-2.jpg CATEGORIES:Concerts,Early Music Month Events LOCATION:McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library\, 5411 Pardee St\, H ouston\, TX\, 77026\, United States GEO:29.806243;-95.316647 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=5411 Pardee St\, Houston\, TX\, 77026\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=McCrane-Kashmere Gar dens Neighborhood Library:geo:29.806243,-95.316647 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Chicago BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR