About

Dedicated to re-engaging modern audiences in historically informed performance, the Chicago-based ensemble New Comma Baroque features violinist Matthew C. Cataldi, flutist Leighann R. Daihl, gambist Phillip W. Serna, harpsichordist Emily J. Katayama and a variety of other collaborators celebrating cultural diversity through our rich musical heritage in the concert hall and beyond. Advocating a strong sense of cultural context as well as community and educational outreach, New Comma Baroque works in close conjunction with Illinois’ first period-instrument public school Baroque orchestra at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL as well as other programs. Please join us in a vibrant and new way of experiencing Baroque music.

MATTHEW C. CATALDI, Baroque violin

Performing throughout the United States and Europe, MATTHEW C. CATALDI  has performed a full range of solo, chamber, and orchestral works.   He has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras and whose solo period instrumental performances have been reviewed as “sweet and well-judged” (Cross Palms) and met with”clarity and strength” (Chicago Classical Music).  His period performances can be heard on WFMT’s Live Music Monday’s and he has recorded for Cedille & Naxos Records.  He is also a Heid Music Artist. Matt acquired his interest in period music when he first started to study performance with Stanley Ritchie at Indiana University in Bloomington.  His interest furthered along with chamber studies with Mary Springfels at Northwestern.  He is a core member of the Baroque Band and has served as their Concertmaster for the past two years.  Performing with other period ensembles like the Callipygian Players, Rockford Bach Ensemble, and Chicago Opera Theatre, he has similarly participated in the U.S.  premiere of La Buona Figola (The Good Servant Girl), a comic period opera by Niccolo Piccini and is one of the founding members of New Comma Baroque.  As a guest lecturer, he as brought aspects of period performance practice to the classroom at Columbia and Lake Forest Colleges and has even brought these aspects to modern groups such as the Renovo String Orchestra, a group which he also directs. Matt received a Master’s degree in Violin Performance from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Indiana University.  His is the recipient of numerous grants, fellowships, and scholarships at the local, state and national levels.  His principal teachers have included Gerardo Ribeiro, Ilya Kaler and Davis Brooks.

LEIGHANN R. DAIHL, Historical flutes

LEIGHANN R. DAIHL, historical flutist, has concertized throughout central Europe as well as the United States both as a soloist and as a collaborator of chamber and orchestral music. Holding numerous degrees in both modern and historical flutes from DePauw University, Indiana University, and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Ms. Daihl performs on modern flute, Baroque flute, and Classical flute. Ms. Daihl has worked under such notable conductors as Barthold Kuijken, Jeanne Lamon, Jacques Ogg, Stanley Ritchie, Harry Bicket, and Peter Kooij. Ms. Daihl frequently performs with groups such as Chicago’s Baroque Band and the Bach and Beethoven Ensemble and her performances have been broadcast on Chicago’s Classical Radio Station WFMT, 98.7. As well as freelancing, Ms. Daihl is an avid teacher and gives masterclasses on Historical Performance Practice.

Leighann Daihl performs on a Baroque flute (after Grenser, 18th Century) by Alain Weemaels of Brussels, Belgium, 2009.

EMILY JANE KATAYAMA, historical keyboards

EMILY JANE KATAYAMA maintains a diverse career as a solo and collaborative performer, educator, and lecturer. She holds a Master of Music degree in harpsichord performance from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Edward Parmentier, and a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music (Wheaton, IL). A dedicated chamber musician, Emily is a founding member of the period ensembles New Comma Baroque and Antiqua Baroque Consort. She has also played continuo with the International Chamber Artists and the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra chamber players. In her work as a solo harpsichordist, Emily performed the dedicatory recital at the Lectures in Church Music for Concordia University Chicago’s harpsichord bequeathed from the estate of musicologist Dr. Victor Mattfeld. She has also presented recitals for the Academy of Early Music in Ann Arbor, as well as for the Harpsichord Clearing House’s series at the Boston Early Music Festival. A member of Early Music America and the Historical Keyboard Society of North America, Emily owns and performs on her 1977 William Dowd French single manual harpsichord. Eager to reach new audiences, Emily contributed for two years to Michigan Harpsichord Saturday, an educational community event featuring performances, lessons, and discussion to increase knowledge and appreciation of the harpsichord and early music. She continues to promote historical performance practice through her frequent collaborative lecture-recitals. Emily currently serves as the Director of the Piano Academy at North Central College (Naperville, IL), and teaches on the faculty of the Preparatory and Community Piano Program at Concordia University Chicago, in addition to maintaining an independent piano studio and serving as a church musician.

Emily Katayama performs on a single-manual harpsichord by William Dowd, Boston, 1977.

PHILLIP W. SERNA, viola da gamba

PHILLIP W. SERNA performs on double bass with numerous Midwest orchestras as well as on violas da gamba with period-instrument Early Music ensembles including Ars Antigua, the Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, the Callipygian Players, the Chicago Early Music Consort, Duo fantaisie en Echo, Harmonie, Madison Bach Musicians, the Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, the Newberry Consort, the Oriana Singers, the Second City Musick, the Secret of the Muses, the Spirit of Gambo – a Chicago Consort of Viols, and many others. In performance, Phillip has appeared on Chicago’s 98.7FM WFMT, Wisconsin Public Radio, Milwaukee Public Radio and WUIS NPR and can be heard on CD releases from Clarion, Cedille, Soundbyte and Varèse Sarabande Records. On viol, Phillip appears as a recitalist performing old and new works for viol and as an orchestral concert soloist.  In addition to teaching privately in the greater Chicago-area, Phillip is instructor of double bass and viola da gamba at Valparaiso University. Phillip is the founder and music director of the Early Music outreach program Viols in Our Schools, Early Music America’s Outreach Award recipient of 2010. Phillip has been a recipient of Viola da Gamba Society of America Grants-in-Aid to Young Artists and featured at the Gamba Gamut, a VdGSA-hosted showcase at the 2007 and 2011 Boston Early Music Festivals. Phillip holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Masters and Doctorate degrees from Northwestern University School of Music where he studied viola da gamba with Newberry Consort founder Mary Springfels. Phillip continues to study the viol at workshops and master classes with instructors including Erin Headley, Wieland Kuijken, Catherina Meints, Gail Ann Schroeder, Christel Thielmann and Brent Wissick.

Phillip Serna performs on a 7-string bass viol ‘Natalia La Reveuse – The Dreamer’ (after Colichon) by Jane Julier, Devon, UK, #129, 2007.

GUEST ARTISTS

CYNTHIA BLACK, Guest Artist, Baroque Viola & Viola

A native of Dallas, Texas, CYNTHIA BLACK enjoys performing and studying as a modern and baroque violist. Cynthia first began her musical studies at age four at the piano with her mother, and also briefly studied organ with Christina Harmon. She started studying viola at ten with Louise Rossi, and continued her studies with Barbara Sudweeks through high school. After recently completing undergraduate studies with Robert Vernon at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Cynthia is now pursuing a Master of Music with Lynne Ramsey. She regularly performs throughout Northeast Ohio in chamber ensembles and orchestras appearing on stage with her colleagues in concert halls, churches, hospitals, and bars. Cynthia has been a member of the CIM/Case Western Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Julie Andrijeski for three years, and recently performed at the Boston Early Music Festival as part of the Young Performers’ Festival. She regularly performs with CityMusic Cleveland, and has appeared with Apollo’s Fire and Pegasus Early Music (Rochester, NY).

MELANIE S. BOOKOUT, Guest Artist, viola da gamba

MELANIE S. BOOKOUT is an associate professor of music at IPFW. Dr. Bookout’s dissertation on the twelve-tone vocal works of Anton Webern won the Distinguished Dissertation Award in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Dr. Bookout has performed on the viola da gamba in international venues in England, Germany, and Thailand, and she performs in and directs concerts in national, regional, and local venues. In the fall of 2012, she is co-producing (along with Steve Sarratore) a Cage retrospective (C[oll]age: John Cage at One Hundred) and will be performing music from the time of Shakespeare, along with lutenist Robert Margo, at Assumption College (Worcester, MA) in December, 2012. She has published articles in the Viola da Gamba Society Newsletter and is a member of Eleganza Baroque Ensemble, Thyme Consort, and she has appeared with the Fort Wayne Bach Collegium and Fort Wayne Philharmonic.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Viola da Gamba Society of America.

Melanie Bookout performs on a 7-string bass viol (after Colichon) by Roger Rose c.1995.

RUSSELL BOOKOUT, Guest Artist, viola da gamba, lute & theorbo

Although an Engineer by training, RUSSELL BOOKOUT thoroughly embraced historical musical performance after taking up the lute some 35 years ago. Though focused currently on viola da gamba and lute performance, his instrumental repertoire also includes a wide variety of other early instruments including recorders, theorbo, baryton, and baroque guitar. Concerts in recent years have included venues in Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, and Germany.

Russell Bookout performs on a 7-string bass viol (after Colichon, c.1691) by Roger Rose c.2002 and a 10-course lute is by Bernard Lehman of Rochester, NY (c.1982).

JERRY FULLER, Guest Artist, violone

JERRY FULLER began studying the double bass at age 16 and was invited to join the Lyric Opera of Chicago orchestra three years later. Within two years he was promoted to first desk of the double bass section in addition to performing with the Santa Fe Opera. Mr Fuller has also served as solo double bass of The Musikkollegium Winterthur Switzerland. While in Europe, Mr. Fuller became interested in historically-informed performance practice and has achieved international recognition for his work with period instruments. A Chicago Artists Abroad grant recipient, Mr. Fuller’s performances in London, Rome, Geneva and Edinburgh have been broadcast worldwide. In addition, Mr. Fuller has performed at the Ravinia and the Aspen Music Festivals and both the Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals. His recordings on the Musical Arts Society, Cedille and Centaur labels have been hailed by both critics and colleagues. Mr. Fuller also writes on period instruments and performance practice for The Strad, Double Bassist, and Bass World magazines, serves on the editorial board of the Online Journal of Bass Research and is webmaster for the Double Bass and Violone Internet Archive. Mr. Fuller served as an officer of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Bassists 1990-1996 and has appeared as a guest artist with the American Bach Soloists of San Francisco, the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston and the Newberry Consort of Chicago.

He is principal double bassist of The Baroque Band as well as the period instrument forces for Chicago Opera Theater. In addition he is Director of both ArsAntiguaPresents.com and the Midwest Young Artists Early Music Program for which he was awarded the Early Music America Outreach Award for Excellence in Early Music Education in 2009.

MARILYN FUNG, Guest Artist, violone

MARILYN FUNG, graduated from the Eastman School of Music, the Juilliard School, and received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the Windsor Symphony, Nota Bene Baroque, Bach Collegium Fort Wayne and performs with many other orchestras and chamber groups in southwestern Ontario, Michigan and Indiana. She has participated in the Bloomington Early Music Festival, the Grand River Baroque Festival and the Ann Arbor Academy of Early Music series. She is a founding member of Michigan Baroque, performed with the Bach Institute at Valparaiso University, Milwaukee’s Ensemble Musical Offering, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, Talisker Players and the Waterloo-based Greensleaves, with which a CD “Polish Popular Music of the 17^th Century” was released in 2009.

LISETTE KIELSON, Guest Artist, Baroque recorders

LISETTE KIELSON has appeared as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player in France, New York, and throughout the Midwest. Enthralling audiences with her innovative programming and distinctive musicianship, she has been described by the media as “sparkling with life” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) and with “dazzling natural technique and brilliant interpretation…performing with true character and style” (Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace). Lisette has performed with such Chicago-area ensembles as Ars Antigua, Baroque Band, Callipygian Players, Chicago Opera Theater, Haymarket Opera Company, Lyric Opera, Music of the Baroque, and at the Bach Institute at Valparaiso University and Peoria Bach Festival. Founder and Artistic Director of L’Ensemble Portique, Lisette has released recordings of Bach and Boismortier with Centaur Records as well as three CDs under her own LEP Records. Her recordings are played nationally and have received enthusiastic reviews from American Recorder, American Record Guide, and Audio Video Club of Atlanta. Lisette holds Bachelor and Master Degrees in flute performance from Indiana University and a post-master’s Diploma in recorder performance from The Royal Conservatory of The Hague, The Netherlands. She directs the Collegium Musicum at Bradley University, teaches on the faculty of the Whitewater Early Music Festival, and leads workshops and master classes throughout the country. President of the American Recorder Society from 2008-2012, Lisette currently serves on the ARS Board of Directors, and as Associate Director of the Recorder Orchestra of the Midwest.

PETER LEKX, Guest Artist, Baroque Viola & Viola

A native of Ontario, Canada, PETER LEKX performs regularly on period violin and viola as well as medieval strings. Currently residing in Cleveland, Ohio, his is artistic director of Burning River Baroque. He has performed with various groups including Baroque & Beyond, Bourbon Baroque, Cambridge Concentus, Cascata, Kentucky Baroque, Mallarmé Chamber Players, Music for a While, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and Quicksilver. Known also for his exciting interpretations of contemporary music on modern viola, he is an active performer in small chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout New England and the Midwest. Peter completed his Performance Diploma at Boston University. He also holds both a Masters degree (Penn State University) and a Bachelors degree (Wilfrid Laurier University) in Viola Performance.

LAURA OSTERLUND, Guest Artist, Baroque recorders

LAURA OSTERLUND  is a graduate of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. In 2007, she moved from the suburbs of Chicago to Montreal in pursuit of a Bachelor of Music degree with major concentrations in Early Music Performance and Music History. Since then, she has worked as a research assistant for McGill University’s Distributed Digital Music Archives and Libraries Lab, developing projects such as Optical Music Recognition for Plainchant (OMR) and Single Interface for Music Score Searching and Analysis (SIMSSA). She has taught courses on the theory, history, and performance of medieval and renaissance music at the Whitewater and Madison Early Music Festivals. She also performed at the Montreal Medieval Festival with Ensemble Scholastica in their 2012 production of Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum. In 2010 and 2011, she held solo vocalist positions at Trinity Memorial and St. Columba’s Anglican churches in Montreal; she also maintained an early music concert series at Montreal’s Villa Medica Rehabilitation Hospital from 2011-2012. As a special project, she recorded renaissance music for Ubisoft’s game Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.

Laura is an active musician throughout Montreal and Chicago and an avid member of the movement to promote early music performance, pedagogy, research, and appreciation throughout North America. Her focus is on polyphonic music from the 12th through 16th centuries–in particular, period compositional and improvisational practices. In 2011, she was awarded Early Music America’s prestigious Barbara Thornton Memorial Award, which she hopes to apply toward future graduate studies in Europe. Laura is currently based out of Chicago, Illinois, where she works as a writer for the early music radio program Harmonia and a choral scholar for Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church. In her free time, she writes reviews for the American Recorder Society magazine and program notes for North American early music ensembles.

JOEL SPEARS, Guest Artist, theorbo

JOEL SPEARS is an active lutenist, theorbist, and guitarist based in the Chicago area. He has performed both as a soloist and with ensembles of varying sizes, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, Seraphic Fire, Ars Antigua, Bella Voce, Music of the Baroque, The Chicago Early Music Consort, Scholars of Cambrai, and Heroic Bard. In addition to playing for numerous live radio broadcasts on 98.7-WFMT, he has appeared at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall, the Bach Week in Evanston Festival, and the Handel Week Festival. Joel recently collaborated with composer Scott Gibbons on his soundtrack for the multimedia event, “Les Noces de Louis XIV” held at Versailles. As a lecturer and performer, he has appeared numerous times at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Madison Early Music Festival, and as Guest Artist and Lecturer at Grand Valley State University. Joel is currently Lute Instructor at the Music Institute of Chicago, and Artistic Director of The Early Music Series at the Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake, Illinois.