Organization Member
Contact Information
(929) 445-8613‬
[email protected]https://www.alkemie.org
Brooklyn, New York
Type of Organization
Performing Ensemble
About
Alkemie exists to explore and share the life-affirming and alternative perspectives to be experienced in the sounds of centuries past. Comprised of singer-performers playing over a dozen instruments (including vielles, harps, psaltery, gittern, recorders, douçaines, and percussion), the ensemble has a particular interest in the porous boundaries between the court and folk music of the Medieval period. Grounded in historical performance practice and fed by a love of experimentation, Alkemie’s performance on the Indianapolis Early Music Festival in June 2018 was lauded as “enchanting” and “indicating [the] future health of the field of early music.”
Founded in 2013, Alkemie is based in Brooklyn and also performs nationally; since 2018 they have maintained a partnership with the Medieval Studies program at Fordham University. In addition to growing a series in NYC, Alkemie has been presented by the Amherst Early Music Festival, Arizona Early Music Society, Cambridge Society for Early Music, Capitol Early Music Series, Five Boroughs Music Festival, Johns Hopkins Program in Arts, Humanities & Health, Music Before 1800, and the European Early Music Network virtual Early Music Day festival. Alkemie also curated, recorded, and composed the music for the videogame Pentiment.
Alkemie’s members are also committed to the lively teaching of medieval and Renaissance performance practice and history. Alkemie has been in residence at Fairmont State University and has created workshops and educational outreach programs for the Capitol Early Music Series, Ramaz High School (NYC), and at Fordham University. Alkemie members teach collegiate and amateur students at Case Western Reserve University, Fordham University, the Strathmore Arts Center, Amherst Early Music Festival, Pinewoods, the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin, and through the Early Music Access Project.
This season, Alkemie celebrates its tenth anniversary with a live concert of the music from Pentiment, two album releases (A Fine Companion and Love to My Liking) and its first large-scale commissioning project (A Worthy Mirror – 11 new settings of female troubadour texts by female and non-binary composers).
Alkemie’s 2023-2024 season:
Pentiment Live
November 4, 2023 – at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn, NY
A Fine Companion (with Freelance Nun) – album release concert
January 11, 2024 – at The Sultan Room in Brooklyn, NY
Call Me Marie (with Chapter House)
January 29, 2024 – at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA
A Worthy Mirror
February 25, 2024 – at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NY
March 23-April 7, 2024- – Virtual release
Love to My Liking – album release concerts
April 13, 2024 (afternoon) – at the Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, NY
April 13, 2024 (evening) – venue TBA
