Check back throughout the summer as we add more presentations, workshops, and events. A detailed daily schedule of EMA Summit presentations and events will be available mid-Summer 2024.
Although his name has been largely forgotten today, Josef Beer (1744-1812) was a crucial figure of the development of the clarinet and its repertoire. While investigating the biography, repertoire and compositions of this musician, Maryse Legault has discovered many astonishing performance practices that can shift the way we approach late classical and early romantic repertoire. This presentation attempts to investigate historically informed clarinet playing at the turn of the 19th century by taking Josef Beer’s performance characteristic as a starting point to reflect on our current practice.
Presenter: Maryse Legault
One of the only Canadian women performing on period clarinets, Maryse Legault has been recognized for her impressive finger technique challenging historical performance standards, her daring choices of repertoire, as well as the flexibility and expressiveness of her interpretations. Her critically acclaimed debut solo album “Around Baermann”, dedicated to music written by and for the nineteenth-century clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Baermann, has been launched in June 2023 on the label Leaf Music.
In this interactive workshop, participants will be invited to reflect on their individual journeys as musicians, including the challenges of maintaining an artistic career and identity in the face of often challenging economic circumstances. We will discuss the role of privilege in the arts, including exploring the concept of survivorship bias and how that has shaped both our institutions and, in many cases, our mindset. We will discuss concrete actions that can be taken to navigate career changes and unforeseen life events while still honoring one’s identity as an artist.
Presenter: Genevieve McGahey
Genevieve McGahey is a performer, scholar and emerging leader in the early music field. She writes and organizes around issues affecting working artists and aims to promote collaboration, equity and sustainable economic practices that honor mental health and the humanity of all. Founder and chief artistic director of the DC Singer Collective, she increasingly enjoys the opportunity to explore and bring to life performances and other programming that contribute to artist and audience well-being – more at www.dcsingercollective.com.
A standard label for Paraguayan Early Modern religious art, Barroco hispano-guaraní was further promoted in Paraguayan music histories, turning the act of tracing the ‘South American Baroque’ into a means of epistemic colonization. Since the 1990s, Barroco hispano-guaraní has become part of Paraguay’s early-music movement, conferring prestige and status on its musicians and audience. Can we expunge this music of its colonizing legacy? Perhaps not, but re-framing it as European is a crucial move towards a more ethical ‘revival’.
Presenter: Camila Corvalan Ocampos
Camila Corvalán Ocampos is a viola and viella player from Paraguay and a third-year PhD student at Goldsmiths University of London. In her research project entitled ‘Practicing Authority: Colonialism and Western European Art Music in Paraguay’ she looks at the use of music as a colonizing tool in the Paraguayan Province and how Western European art music reinforced European power and authoritarianism in the region, leaving aside Indigenous practices.
Chiara Margarita Cozzolani’s dramatic dialogue, Maria Magdalene stabat, presents an opportunity to explore staged presentation of sacred theatrical music. Its context in a long history of liturgical drama and convent theater, as well as its obvious operatic thematic references suggest that this work could very well have been intended for full staging in the context of the mass or as a performance and social diversion for the female monastic community at the convent of Santa Radegonda.
Presenter: Katie Sucha
Katie Sucha is a Ph.D. candidate in historical musicology at Case Western Reserve University and the program manager for the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Michigan. Her interests include the study and performance of music by early women composers, and her dissertation examines nuptial imagery in convent music of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Based on a three-year collaboration of Spirituals with viols based on the keyboard arrangements of later Black composers (H.T. Burleigh, Moses Hogan, Margaret Bonds, Roland Hayes, Nolan Williams Jr., William L. Dawson). This presentation includes a brief history of Spirituals, a discussion of how Spirituals reveal the Greek “doctrine of the affections,” and how subsequent Black composers arranged and codified Spirituals in music literature.
Presenters: Michael Walker and Alchymy Viols
Countertenor Michael Walker II is celebrated as a brilliant soloist and versatile chamber musician, praised for his “luminous tone, weighted with pathos.” With a passion for celebrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and access within the classical arts, Michael has distinguished himself as a leading advocate and performer in the field.
Noted for the beauty of her playing as well as for her versatility, violinist Allison Edberg Nyquist is one of the preeminent performers of the baroque and classical violin and viola. She has been praised by The Chicago Sun Times as “impeccable, with unerring intonation and an austere beauty.”
Erica Rubis is a versatile performer on the viola da gamba whose work ranges from renaissance viol consort to improvising and co-creating new music. She is a member of Alchymy Viols, Les Ordinaires Trio, and also plays with Bourbon Baroque, Catacoustic Consort, Echoing Air, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and North Carolina Baroque Orchestra.
Stephanie Newberry Hall actively performs as a freelance harpist. A native Texan, Stephanie began performing professionally in 2004, and acted as principal harpist of the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with various orchestras in Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.
Philip Spray performs, records and arranges for/with period instrument ensembles and publishers across the country. He co-founded the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra under Barthold Kuijken and later Musik Ekklesia whose first recording The Vanishing Nordic Chorale was part of a 2011 Grammy nomination for Best Classical Producer.
We will also have a reed organ player and another viol player TBD. Regular players were not available for these dates.
Pacific Northwest-based Trío Guadalevín presents a lecture performance which describes and illustrates its programming philosophy: HEP, or Historically Enculturated Performance. The Trio’s music traces the transmission of culture through trade, conquest, and immigration (forced and chosen), from the ancient Mediterranean regions to Mexico. By linking music from the past to current traditional practices, the ensemble honors the cultural connections we all share as they challenge colonial-based perceptions of genre and folk-vs-art categorizations. The direct result of Trío Guadalevín’s programming philosophy is a broadening of the early-music repertoire.
Presenter: Trío Guadalevín – Antonio Gómez, Abel Rocha, and August Denhard
Percussionist Antonio Gómez has studied across Latin America and in Morocco, Spain and Italy. He designs arts education programs and curricula as the Associate Director of Education at Tacoma Arts Live and has produced performing arts and curricular content for universities and PBS.
Abel Rocha is a Mexico City-born folklorist, singer and multi-instrumentalist who performs music of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Chile and Argentina. He is a foundational member of groups including Correo Aereo and Los Flacos and was recently the subject of the KCTS 9 Seattle Emmy-nominated documentary, Los Artistas.
August Denhard performs on lute, theorbo, baroque guitar, oud and vihuela. He is a founder of the Eurasia Consort, and has appeared with Baroque Northwest, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, and Chicago Music of the Baroque, among others. Since 2000 he has served as Executive Director and Artistic Director of Early Music Seattle.
In this U.S. launch of Early Music in the 21st Century (Oxford University Press), editor Mimi Mitchell will speak about the book’s conception and its call for “performers, academicians and pedagogues” to “rethink, reevaluate and reboot” the movement. This volume contains seventeen essays by a diverse group of young and established voices from across the globe who offer exciting, positive and challenging thoughts about how we can reimagine the early-music movement in this new century. Examples from the five main headings – Methodological Viewpoints, (Non) Historical Instruments, Pedagogical Perspectives, Transformative Technologies, and Revisiting History – will be presented.
Presenter: Mimi Mitchell
Mimi Mitchell enjoys a dual international career as a musician and as a musicologist, and each of these professions informs the other. She received her B.M. and M.M. from Rice University, a chamber music diploma from the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and was awarded her Ph.D in musicology at the University of Amsterdam. She is a senior lecturer and Masters Coordinator at the Amsterdam Conservatory.
Much has been written about musica ficta in renaissance vocal music, but considerably less has been said about note alteration and accidentals in instrumental music from the late-16th and early-17th centuries. This lecture will explore the use of accidentals and a kind of ‘musica ficta’ found in early modern instrumental music through a comparative analysis of the repertoire, and propose a systematic approach for determining what accidentals are necessary. When there are discrepancies, do we ‘correct’ the music to fit our contemporary ears, or are there clues in the original sources that could guide us towards a more historical approach?
Presenter: Alyssa Campbell
Alyssa Campbell is a baroque violinist and violist based in NYC and a founding member of The Fooles, an ensemble specializing in the early modern repertoire. She studied baroque violin at Juilliard’s historical performance program and at The Royal Conservatoire of The Hague as a recipient of EMA’s Margriet Tindemans Early Strings Scholarship.
A lecture performance dedicated to uncovering and exploring the musical connections between the East and West during the 18th century. Repertoire by Corelli and Pedrini played on a silk-strung violin, as well as a Chinese opera selection that was wildly popular in the court, played on erhu.
Presenter: Alexandra Calabro and Kevin Lubin
Alexandra Calabro is a Baroque violinist and musicologist based in New York City. She maintains an active freelance career around the tristate area. She attended LIU Post and Queens College.
Kevin Lubin is originally from New York, but is currently attending the Longy School of Music as a harpsichord fellow. He is an active composer as well, and his opera, “Four Jewish Women Playing Mahjong” has received praise.
“La St. Georges” is a beginning-level workshop where participants will learn the basic structure of the contredanse dedicated to “Mr De B. St-George,” which the presenters believe to be Joseph Bolonge, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. This dance was published as part of a collection of social dances in Paris in 1764 when Bologne was making his reputation as a fencer. The construction of this dance is unique with its shifting orientations. This lesson with live music is welcoming to beginners and intermediate dancers alike. Wear comfortable clothing!
Presenter: New York Baroque Dance Society – Julia Bengtsson and Catherine Turocy
Swedish-born Julia Bengtsson has choreographed over 20 ballets, operas and films for venues including Carnegie Hall, UN Headquarters, Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, and Alvin Ailey Dance Center. In 2021 Julia Bengtsson was the first dance artist to be awarded a position in Early Music America’s Emerging Professional Leadership Council, and she performed as an EMA Emerging Artist in 2022 at the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition.
Catherine Turocy is recognized as one of today’s leading choreographer/reconstructors and stage directors in 17th- and 18th-century period performance, in the US and abroad. She has been decorated by the French Republic as a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters and has received many other awards, among them a BESSIE in New York City for sustained achievement in choreography. Internationally Ms. Turocy has worked with conductors Nicholas McGegan (Festival Orchestra of Goettingen and Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco), the late Sir Christopher Hogwood (Academy of Ancient Music in London), Sir John Eliot Gardiner (English Baroque Soloists in London), Philippe Herreweghe (La Chapelle Royale in Paris) and Wolfgang Katschner (Lautten Compagney in Berlin). A founding member of the Society for Dance History Scholars and the Dance Studies Association, Ms. Turocy has lectured on period performance practices around the world and has contributed articles to numerous books and journals.
Many historical performers know there is a connection between aurally transmitted European traditional dance music styles and early music, yet musicians interested in exploring these styles often do not know where to begin. Guided by research processes that the Berwick Fiddle Consort has developed over the past six years, this workshop offers a safe and fun space to engage with aural learning. Participants will explore practices and skills necessary for researching aural music traditions and performing aurally transmitted music in a way that honors traditional performance practices. We encourage all participants to bring an instrument (A=415) or sing along.
Presenter: The Berwick Fiddle Consort – Lydia Becker and Julia Connor
Boston-based violinist and fiddler Julia Connor is a co-founder of both the Berwick Fiddle Consort, which performs historical folk music on period instruments, and Room to Spare, which composes and performs original music blending jazz, classical, and folk traditions. Recent highlights include performances at the Boston Early Music Festival, GBH Radio Boston, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Pegasus Early Music, residencies at Avaloch Farm, and teaching at the Panama Jazz Festival.
French-American violinist Lydia Becker unites historical performance practices with creativity and curiosity. Based in New York City, she freelances throughout North America and Europe, and co-leads traditional music sessions at the Juilliard School. Her 2024 season includes performances with The English Concert, Paul O’Dette, ARTEK with Enrico Gatti, Berwick Fiddle Consort, and the Academy of Sacred Drama.
In the year 2021 in Mexico, a series of historic commemorations were organized by the government and different civil society organizations that implied revisionist ideas, which had consequences on society’s opinions on their identity and current human rights conditions in the country. Based on the research results obtained, we make a series of recommendations for best practices to foster inclusion within cultural management areas.
Presenter: Alvaro Ibarra
When English composer and soprano Elizabeth Turner died in 1756, The London Evening Post wrote that her “extraordinary Genius and Abilities in Musick, make her justly lamented by all Lovers of Harmony.” Prominent musicians subscribed to Turner’s works, and she performed on prestigious concert series across London. Despite her tremendous accomplishments, Turner’s work has largely been neglected in contemporary scholarship. In this lecture-performance, I contextualize Turner’s career and demonstrate the ways her 1756 collection of “Six Lessons for the Harpsichord” are particularly well-suited to teaching the precise skills an advanced mid-century student would have needed to become an accomplished harpsichordist.
Presenter: Paula Maust
Dr. Paula Maust is a performer, scholar, and educator dedicated to fusing research and creative practice to amplify underrepresented voices and advocate for social change. She is the author of Expanding the Music Theory Canon (SUNY Press, 2023) and is an early modern area editor for Oxford University Press’s Women, Gender, and Sexuality Revision of Grove Music Online. Paula performs extensively as a harpsichordist and organist in the Washington, D.C. area and is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.
Presentado en español con PowerPoint en inglés / Presented in Spanish with PowerPoint in English
The presentation delves into the decline and restoration of José Mauri Esteve’s heritage, a prominent Spanish-Cuban musician. It emphasizes the critical editing of his works, the reconstruction of damaged scores, and the interpretative analysis connected to the social contexts of his time, as well as a historiographical reconsideration for historically informed performance. His transatlantic cultural identity and the impact of classical and liturgical music on his compositions are considered, reflecting the cultural dynamism of 19th-century Cuba. The restoration methodology ranges from textual treatment to the retrieval of historical contexts, highlighting the diversity and richness of his musical contributions.
Research supported by:
Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Poitiers – CERMUS / Centre d’études et de Recherches Musicales
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation®, funded by the Research Grant
Presenter: Javier Soriano
Javier Soriano is a musicologist and cornettist of Cuban origin, educated at the University of Arts of Cuba and at the Pôle Supérieur Aliénor de Poitiers in Musicology, musical education, and ancient music respectively. He currently serves as a professor of musical education, analysis, and ensemble practice of ancient music at the Conservatoire of Poitiers and is a researcher at the University of Arts of Havana and the Center for Musical Studies and Research. He has been appointed as a member of ARTEMIS from the European Association of Conservatoires (evaluation of academic programs in Europe). As a performer, he has participated in several festivals such as Rezonanzen at Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Music before 1800, and the Oratoire du Louvre in Paris.
This presentation will follow the journey of a unique partbook of Salamone Rossi’s HaShirim Asher Lishlomo through the inscriptions and lives of its Ashkenazi Jewish owners over the course of two hundred years. This new research into the history of musical literacy amongst Ashkenazi Jews illuminates the soundscape of Ashkenazic life in early modern Europe, as well as the transformation of the cantorial profession into that of a musical specialist.
Presenter: Matthew Austerklein
Matt Austerklein is the Cantor of Temple Beth El in Rochester, NY. He also is a PhD Candidate in Jewish Studies (ABD) at Halle-Wittenberg University in Germany, where he is currently writing his dissertation about the musical professionalization of Ashkenazi cantors in early modern Europe. Matt writes weekly on Jewish music topics at mattausterklein.substack.com.
Soirees (or “academias”) were a form of social and intellectual interchange that became fashionable among the rising bourgeoise of the 18th century. The whole spectrum of musicianship could be found in them, from the curious amateur up to the most revered virtuoso. This lecture-recital follows this social phenomenon in Spain and how it enacted the ideals of the Enlightenment through the diffusion of social labels and the dissemination of knowledge. The chamber group Wit’s Folly will illustrate with performance examples by composers who partook and wrote for these gatherings, such as Ataide y Portugal, Canales, Ferandiere, and Boccherini.
Presenter: Wit’s Folly – Guillermo Salas-Suárez, Phaik Tzhi Chua, Jonathan Goya, and Jane Leggiero
Guillermo Salas-Suárez (violin) holds a DMA in Historical Performance from CWRU. He has served as concertmaster with Bourbon Baroque, American Baroque Opera Co., Lumedia Musicworks, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and performed with Apollo’s Fire and The Newberry Consort.
Phaik Tzhi Chua (violin) is currently pursuing a DMA in historical performance practice at CWRU. She has performed with Salon/Sanctuary Concerts, New York Continuo Collective, and Manhattan Opera Studio.
Jonathan Goya (viola) is a PhD student in Musicology at CWRU and director of its Collegium Musicum ensemble. Jonathan’s research integrates the histories of music pedagogy, theory, publishing, and economics to illuminate the ways that material concerns have inspired and constrained artistic choices.
Jane Leggiero (cello) recently completed the DMA program in Historical Performance Practice at CWRU. Her final research project focused on music written for viola da gamba in the late 18th century. She was a member of the Governor’s Musick at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.
This presentation will discuss the Music History Globetrotting Project (MHGP), a new user-friendly and easily modifiable open-access online resource that helps students and teachers engage with global music histories. The MHGP highlights significant practices and spaces of music performance across time and the globe using a variety of multimedia elements. This focus decenters works and composers and emphasizes the embeddedness of musical practice in local soundscapes and venues. Unlike some pedagogical resources that support curricular diversity, the MHGP does not segregate different types of music by topic, region, or other conventional categories (e.g., notated vs oral traditions).
Presenter: Devin Burke
Devin Burke is an Associate Professor of Music History at the University of Louisville. His research focuses on the intersections of early modern opera and visual culture, the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau, and music history pedagogy and performance.
