Les Touches presents Tears of Sorrow and Joy

This is our first FREE major program in the month of March (part of our Early Music Month program) dedicated to the wide spectrum of emotions featured in works written for viol consort and voice and viol by prominent English composers.

• Repertoire will focus on 3-4 part viol consort, occasionally featuring other 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 who has been vocally training as a tenor.

___

About Les Touches

• Founded in 2011 by Pedro Funes-Whittington at the Jacobs School of Music and the Early Music Institute at Indiana University, Les Touches is a viol consort whose core repertoire includes the works of many of England’s most 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 Project and the South Dakota Chorale, and continues to pursue collaboration with other musicians and ensembles. In 2014, Les Touches held its inaugural season in Texas and began a partnership with Viols of Houston, with whom they provide outreach programs in local schools. In 2015, Les Touches was named one of the 10 finalists in the York Young Artist International Competition.
• 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.
• 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 University.
  • This presentation consisted of a repertoire of 4-part consort pieces from a range of composers from Jenkins to Coperario, intertwined with brief lectures about the history of viol performance and appearances from local grade school viol program Viols of Deer Park
• Les Touches is currently partnered with the Houston Public Library system — their most recent collaboration was a free performance/lecture series hosted at 11 branch locations for the library’s “Summer Reading For Adults” program.
  • 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 Nadia Lesinska.
  • This series was offered for free to the general public of Greater Houston with financial support from the Viola da Gamba Society of America and individual donors.
• Les Touches’ current revival consists of the following members:
  • Pedro Funes-Whittington: treble/tenor/bass viol
  • Elisabeth Ellison: bass viol
  • Matt Dunn: tenor/bass viol
  • Jocelyn Ursua: treble/tenor/bass viol; vocalist (tenor)