EMA FEATURES & PRESS RELEASES
In Scenic Southern Oregon, a Baroque Orchestra Thrives
If you know anything about Southern Oregon, it might be for Crater Lake or the Oregon Shakespeare Festival or the fabulous pinot noirs and chardonnays. But the Jefferson Baroque Orchestra has been going steadily for three decades. Under new leadership, the ensemble is poised to become one of the leading period instrument groups on the West Coast.
Sawney Freeman, Black Composer & Fiddler
He was born into slavery, described as a fiddler when he tried to escape, and was emancipated in his mid-20s. Sawney Freeman's Musician's Pocket Companion may be the earliest published music by a Black composer in the United States.
Edmond Dédé, America’s First Black Opera Composer
Next Week, New Orleans' OperaCreole and D.C.'s Opera Lafayette collaborate on a world premiere, 138 years after the music was written. Edmond Dédé fled antebellum New Orleans for France, where he was a successful conductor and composer. But his grand, four-act opera "Morgiane" was never performed, till now.
EMA at 40: Musings on Our Beginnings
At an early EMA board meeting, Thomas Forrest Kelly recalls 'serious discussion of whether we wanted to be the American Dairy Council (lobbying association for the professional field), or the Rah-Rah Association of Enthusiasts (focused on amateurs). EMA, after 40 years, has still perhaps not quite figured that out, and creative discussions continue.'
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EMA RECORDING & BOOK REVIEWS
Nevermind’s Goldbergs, a Garden of Musical Colors
In this imaginative and deeply satisfying new recording, the French period-instrument quartet named Nevermind finds the chamber music in Bach's Goldberg Variations. Surprisingly, harpsichordist Jean Rondeau and his three colleagues find truths in the music that beyond the reach of the original.
Tempesta di Mare’s Fasch Fascination
The original voice of Johann Friedrich Fasch is finally reaching today's listeners, thanks to Philadelphia's Tempesta di Mare. The ensemble's latest recording, volume 4 in a series, offers modern-day premieres of Fasch's playful, bouncy, and dramatic music. Our reviewer writes: 'I find it impossible to tire of this joyous journey.'
Lucrezia Tells Her Own Story
Four exceptional singers, backed by the ensemble Les Paladins and keyboardist Jérôme Correas, offer four celebrated cantatas on the harrowing tale of Lucretia, covering her emotional states, from rage to sorrow to silence.
Espresso Shots with Apollo’s Fire
It's easy to speculate that J.S. Bach was tired of the daily grind as Cantor of the Thomasschule in Leipzig and found Zimmermann's Coffeehouse a space to refresh his creative drive. Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo's Fire scored a 2024 hit with their "Bach's Coffeehouse," debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Classical charts, as they celebrated the fun and flair of music by Bach, Telemann, and Vivaldi — fit for café life.
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COMMUNITY NEWS & PRESS RELEASES
DYNAMIC TRACKS COMPOSED BY NIEL GOW - ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURES IN TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH MUSIC“the world’s only period-instrument rock band” - San Francisco Classical Voice“achingly delicate one moment, punchy ...
Celebrated harpsichordist Jean Rondeau returns to San Diego, this time with his ensemble Nevermind, to present their brand-new transcription of the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, by Johann Sebastian Bach. With ...
Sunday, March 9, 2025, Good Shepherd Church 152 West 66th Street, NYC (near Lincoln Center) 4:30 to 6:30pm, Costumes admired but not required. The New York Baroque Dance Company cordially ...
Beverley & East Riding Early Music Festival returns for their 37th festival with a celebration of the Georgian heritage of this historic English town. Friday 23– Sunday 25 May 2025 ...
Ricercar Consort, led by virtuoso gambist Philippe Pierlot and featuring noted soprano Céline Scheen, will explore the Virgin Mary’s sorrow in a moving program of music by Marini, Monteverdi, Cima, Merula, Rossi, Sances, ...
