About

“…the players threw themselves into all this with gusto…”
“A collaboration with Illinois’ New Comma Baroque led to lively, intense performances.”

– John W. Barker, Isthmus, The Daily Page

As artists-in-residence at Emmanuel Episcopal Church of LaGrange, the Chicago-based New Comma Baroque is dedicated to re-engaging modern audiences through historically-informed performance and features violinist Matthew C. Cataldi, flutist Leighann Daihl Ragusa, gambist Phillip W. Serna, and harpsichordist Emily J. Katayama. Emphasizing a strong sense of cultural context and diversity in the concert hall and beyond, New Comma Baroque’s performances demonstrate colorful, spirited, dynamic and collaborative programming – always thinking outside the ‘Bachs.’ Committed to community engagement and educational outreach, New Comma Baroque works closely with Illinois’ first period-instrument public school Baroque orchestra at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL. Embark on a vibrant, new and electrifying ways of experiencing Early Music with New Comma Baroque – bold historically-informed performance. Period.

New Comma Baroque has performed for many established concert series including the Academy of Early Music, the Allen County Public Library Series, Chicago’s Taste of Polonia, Early Music at the Byron Colby Barn Series, Gotham Early Music Scene’s Midtown Concerts, Harper College’s Cultural Arts Series, the Illinois Philharmonic’s Summer Music at Ravisloe Series, 98.7FM’s Live from WFMT, the Musical Offering’s Music on Madison Series, the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center’s Mainstage Series, Peoria Bach Festival, the Quigley Center’s Second Saturday Concert Series, SoHIP: the Society for Historically Informed Performance, and many others.

MATTHEW C. CATALDI, Baroque violin

Matthew Cataldi - Baroque violinPerforming 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 DAIHL RAGUSA, traverso

Leighann Daihl - historical flutes

LEIGHANN DAIHL RAGUSA, 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. Ragusa performs on modern flute, Baroque flute, and Classical flute. Ms. Ragusa has worked under such notable conductors as Barthold Kuijken, Jeanne Lamon, Jacques Ogg, Stanley Ritchie, Harry Bicket, and Peter Kooij. Ms. Ragusa 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, Mrs. Ragusa is an avid teacher and gives masterclasses on Historical Performance Practice.

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

EMILY JANE KATAYAMA, harpsichord

Emily J. Morlan - historical keyboardsEMILY 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 with Summa cum laude honors in piano performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music (Wheaton, IL). A dedicated chamber musician, Ms. Katayama is a founding member of the period ensemble New Comma Baroque and the Antiqua Baroque Consort, and has also performed with the Fox Valley Orchestra and International Chamber Artists. Notable solo harpsichord recitals include for the Academy of Early Music series (Ann Arbor) and the Harpsichord Clearing House’s series at the Boston Early Music Festival. Ms. Katayama was also a participant in the WFMT Bach Keyboard Festival 2015. Ms. Katayama was a faculty member of the Madison Early Music Festival 2015, and a featured lecturer at the Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association’s Baroque Festival 2014, as well as the Fox Hills Music Teachers Association’s Baroque Festival 2017. Ms. Katayama currently serves as the Director of the Piano Academy at North Central College (Naperville, IL), and has formerly taught on the faculty of the Preparatory & Community Piano Program at Concordia University Chicago, and served as a church musician and choral accompanist. She currently maintains an independent private piano studio. Ms. Katayama is a member of Music Teachers National Association, the Naperville and Chicago chapters of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Early Music America.

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

PHILLIP W. SERNA, viola da gamba

Phillip W. Serna - viola da gambaIn addition to his double bass career as soloist, orchestral performer and chamber musician, PHILLIP W. SERNA has emerged among the nation’s leading advocates of the viol – the viola da gamba. Co-founding the historical-performance ensembles Black Tulip, New Comma Baroque, ViolMedium,  and the Spirit of Gambo – a Chicago Consort of Viols, he’s appeared across the United States with groups ranging from the Burning River Baroque, the Chicago Early Music Consort, Les Touches, the Newberry Consort, and many others. He can be heard on WFMT Chicago, Wisconsin Public Radio, Milwaukee Public Radio, and on releases from Clarion, Cedille, and Varèse Sarabande Records. Holding Masters and Doctoral degrees from Northwestern University, Phillip teaches at Valparaiso University, North Central College, the Music Institute of Chicago, the J.S. Bach Academy of Music and is assistant director of Illinois’ first public-school period-instrument program at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Phillip has served on the faculties of the Madison Early Music Festival, the Whitewater Early Music Festival, and is the music director of Viols in Our Schools earning him Early Music America’s 2010 Laurette Goldberg Award for Early Music outreach.

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

AMY BEARDEN, Guest Artist, alto

Amy Bearden - altoAMY BEARDEN holds a masters degree in Early Music Voice from the Early Music Institute of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. There, she studied voice with Paul Elliott, a renowned tenor and founding member of the Hilliard Ensemble. At Indiana, Amy focused on Medieval and Renaissance music studying both history and performance. In Chicago, Amy is the Artistic Director and Founder of The Marion Consort, a premier early music ensemble. In addition to Marion, Amy is a sought after choral artist who has performed with Texas Early Music Project in Austin, Texas and is on staff of the Amherst Early Music Festival in New London, Connecticut. Amy also holds a Bachelors degree in Music Education from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Currently, Amy teaches K-8 General Music in the McKinley Park neighborhood of Chicago.

MELANIE S. BOOKOUT, Guest Artist, IPFW Baroque, viola da gamba

Melanie S. Bookout - 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 lutanist 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, IPFW Baroque, viola da gamba, lute & theorbo

Russell Bookout - viola da gamba, lute & theorboAlthough 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).

MARIKA FISCHER HOYT, Guest Artist, Wisconsin Baroque, Baroque viola

Marika Fischer Hoyt - Baroque violaMARIKA FISCHER HOYT concertizes extensively on both modern and baroque viola. She is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and principal violist of the period-instrument Madison Bach Musicians and of the Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, IN. Before moving to Madison in 1999 Marika played with many orchestras and string quartets around the country, including the Richmond (VA), Charleston (WV) and Des Moines (IA) Symphonies. Marika earned her B.A. in Music from Smith College, graduating Cum Laude, and her M.M. in Viola Performance from the Indiana University School of Music. Her musical training also includes a year at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, Germany, two years at the Mannes College of Music in New York City, one year at IU’s Early Music Institute, where she studied with noted baroque violinist Stanley Ritchie, and five summers at the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival in Putney, VT, where she was coached by faculty from New England Conservatory. Her major teachers include violists Kim Kashkashian, Csaba Erdélyi, and Abraham Skernick.

ERIC FISHER, Guest Artist, violone

ERIC FISHER is a doctoral student in the Historical Performance Institute of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, studying viola da gamba with Wendy Gillespie. A native of Houston, Texas, Eric has performed in solo, chamber, and orchestral concerts in Italy, Russia, and throughout the United States on the viola da gamba, violone, vielle, lirone, and double bass. Eric holds a Master’s degree in double bass performance and pedagogy from the University of Houston and a Bachelor’s degree in double bass performance from the University of North Texas. Eric has worked as a private bass instructor throughout the Houston area and has been on faculty at Stephen F. Austin State University and Lone Star College in Houston, Texas, where he currently teaches online courses.

JERRY FULLER, Guest Artist, violoneJerry Fuller - 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 - violoneMARILYN 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 17th Century” was released in 2009.

Marilyn Fung performs on a g-violone (after G.P. Maginni, Brescia c. 1610) by John Pringle, 2005.

SARAH E. HUEBSCH, Guest Artist, Baroque oboe

Sarah Huebsch - Baroque oboeSARAH HUEBSCH performs on historical and modern oboes throughout North America. Sarah has played with the National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra (Washingoton, DC), Ensemble Lipzodes (Quito, Ecuador), Bourbon Baroque (Louisville), Fort Wayne Bach Collegium, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Callipygian Players (Chicago), Bach and Beethoven Ensemble (Chicago) as well as regional modern orchestras in Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois including the Evansville Philharmonic, Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, and Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. Sarah has been a fellow at Music Academy of the West and the Bowdoin International Music Festival and has participated in festivals in Santa Fiora (Italy), Aspen, New London, Oberlin, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Toronto, among others.

An enthusiastic teacher and outreach advocate, Sarah received fellowships in performance outreach from the New England Conservatory, where she taught and organized programs throughout New England. A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, the New England Conservatory, and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Sarah continues doctoral work in the Early Music institute at IU.

Sarah Huebsch performs on a Baroque oboe (after J. Bradbury, London, ca. 1720) by Randy Cooke, 2013.

LISETTE KIELSON, Guest Artist, Baroque recorders

Lisette Kielson - Baroque recordersLISETTE 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 Violin & Viola

Peter Lekx - Baroque violin & viola

PETER LEKX performs across the Unites States and Canada as a soloist and chamber musician on Baroque violin and viola as well as modern viola and medieval strings. Originally from Niagara, Ontario, he currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio, where he is artistic director & co-founder of Burning River Baroque. Praised for his ‘expressive, energetic playing & sensitive, exuberant manner’ and ‘his deft skills in ornamentation’, Peter has performed with numerous early music groups, including Baroque & Beyond, Bourbon Baroque, Cambridge Concentus, Cascata, Kentucky Baroque, Mallarmé Chamber Players, Music for a while, New Comma Baroque, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, Quicksilver and Wisconsin Baroque. Peter toured Japan with Cambridge Concentus, performing Bach’s St. Matthew Passion under the baton of Joshua Rifkin.

In performance, Peter has appeared in broadcasts on WCRB and WGBH in Boston, MA; MPBN Maine; WDAV Davidson, NC; WPSU & WVIA Pennsylvania; WUIS Springfield, IL; and KPBX Spokane, WA. Known also for his exciting interpretations of contemporary music on modern viola, he has premiered numerous solo, chamber and orchestral compositions, and performed in chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout New England and the Midwest. As a teacher, Peter maintains a private studio in the Cleveland area, has taught courses and been guest lecturer at several universities, and is on the violin faculty of the Amherst Early Music Festival.

Peter attended Wilfrid Laurier University, Penn State University and Boston University for his Bachelors and Masters in viola performance, as well as Chamber Music and Performance Diplomas. Engagements in 2014 include concerto performances with North Carolina Baroque Orchestra and Northwestern University, as well as performances on the SoHIP early music series in Boston, the Berkeley Early Music Festival (Young Performers & Fringe series), the Amherst Early Music Festival and Vancouver Early Music Festival.

Peter performs on Baroque violin by Eugene Holtier, 2011 and Baroque violas by John Newton and Warren Ellison (after Andrea Guarneri), 2007.

ERIC MILLER, Guest Artist, Wisconsin Baroque, Baroque violoncello & viola da gamba

Eric Miller - Baroque violoncello & viola da gambaERIC MILLER, gambist and cellist, plays viola da gamba and baroque cello with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble and Eliza’s Toyes, and has appeared with the Madison Bach Musicians, and Ensemble Musical Offering. During the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Eric performed on cello with American Players Theater in the production of The Gift of the Magi. Also an accomplished trumpeter and able improvisor, Eric collaborates with musicians from all walks of life in numerous musical settings. With degrees from Northern Illinois University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his primary cello studies have been with Marc Johnson of the Vermeer Quartet and Parry Karp of the Pro Arte Quartet. A passionate educator trained in the Suzuki approach, Eric maintains a large cello and trumpet studio in central Madison alongside his wife, Sue Ellen Dubbert, a dedicated piano teacher. Eric has also served as an orchestra teacher for the Madison Metropolitan School District since 2009.

LAURA OSTERLUND, Guest Artist, Baroque recorders

Laura Osterlund - Baroque recordersLAURA 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.

Laura Osterlund performs on a Baroque alto recorder (after Steenbergen) by Jean-Luc Boudreau, ca. 2005.

JESSICA POWELL EIG, Guest Artist, Guest Artist, viola da gamba

Jessica Powell Eig - viola da gambaJESSICA POWELL EIG is a freelance musician based in Washington, DC., specializing in double bass, violone and viola da gamba. In recent seasons, she has appeared with The Bach Sinfonia, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra, and the New Orchestra of Washington, among others. An ardent chamber musician, Jessica has presented recitals throughout the United States, most recently at the June 2013 International Society of Double Bassists conference in Rochester, NY, with Phillip Serna.

In addition to her work as a performer, Jessica is active as a teaching artist and clinician. She is the director of the Viola da Gamba Society of America Young Players Workshop and her writing on classroom outreach has appeared in Early Music America. She maintains a private studio of approximately fifty piano, cello, double bass and viola da gamba students, and has received grants to support her music education projects from Early Music America, the Viola da Gamba Society of America, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

In 2010, Jessica completed a DMA in double bass performance at SUNY-Stony Brook, as a student of Joseph Carver and Kurt Muroki, where her research focused on the music of Sofia Gubaidulina. She received her earlier training at CCM, Eastman and Juilliard, studying with Albert Laszlo, James VanDemark, and the late Homer Mensch. She is currently pursuing further private study in historical bass with Rob Nairn.

KELSEY A. SCHILLING, Guest Artist, Baroque bassoon

Kelsey Schilling - Baroque bassoonKELSEY A. SCHILLING completed his studies in historical bassoons at Indiana University with Michael McCraw. He has performed with ensembles such as the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Bourbon Baroque, Fort Wayne Bach Collegium, Handel Choir of Baltimore, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Mallarmé Chamber Players, Music City Baroque, Musica Angelica, Opera Lafayette, Seattle Baroque, Washington Bach Consort, Washington National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra as well as other period orchestras throughout the country. He has appeared in the Magnolia Baroque Festival (North Carolina), Staunton Music Festival (Virginia), Bloomington Early Music Festival, International Double Reed Society Conference (Ithaca, New York), International Young Artist’s Presentation – Historical Winds (Antwerp, Belgium), Berkeley Festival and Exhibition (California) with ¡Sacabuche! and in music festivals throughout Brazil and in Ecuador with Ensemble Lipzodes.

In 2009, Mr. Schilling was selected to play principal in a masterclass on Bach’s B minor Mass under the direction of Sigiswald Kuijken in Antwerp; he was the only American selected. He has recorded for IU Press and Dorian Sono Luminus, including the Grammy nominated CD The Vanishing Nordic Chorale with Musik Ekklesia. Recently, Mr. Schilling performed the Mozart bassoon concerto with the IU Classical Orchestra.

Kelsey Schilling performs on a Baroque bassoon (after HKICW, ca. 1700), Mountain Maple, Guntram Wolf, 2001.

KATHERINE SHULDINER, Guest Artist, viola da gamba

Katherine Shuldiner - viola da gambaKATHERINE SHULDINER graduated from Oberlin Conservatory in viola da gamba performance under the tutelage of Catharina Meints. She has performed with Chicago based ensembles such as BBE: Bach and Beethoven Ensemble, Vox 3 Collective, and continues to perform with The Newberry Consort. Nationally, Katherine has performed with Washington Bach Consort, La Follia Austin Baroque, as well as performing Bach’s Saint Matthew’s Passion with Bel Canto Chorus and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. Katherine is becoming a fixture in the Chicago baroque music scene, performing with Chicago based musicians such as Rachel Barton Pine, Mark Shuldiner, David Walker, and more. Ms. Shuldiner served a two year term on the board of the Viola da Gamba Society of America and was chosen to perform in the first Early Music America’s Young Performers Festival during Boston Early Music Festival. When Katherine is not performing, she enjoys teaching the viola da gamba to children and adults alike. She has taught at Madison Early Music Festival, Whitewater Early Music Festival, and throughout the year teaches the viol at Nettlehorst Elementary School in Chicago.

JOEL SPEARS, Guest Artist, theorbo

Joel Spears - theorboJOEL 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.

Joel Spears performs on a 14-course theorbo in A (after Venere) by Michael Schreiner, 1997.

ANTON TENWOLDE, Guest Artist, Wisconsin Baroque, Baroque violoncello

Anton TenWolde - Baroque violoncelloANTON TENWOLDE cellist, was born in the Netherlands where he studied with Sylvain van Amerongen, cellist with the The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra (Residentie Orkest). While earning his degree in Applied Physics at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, Anton performed with Ton Koopman, and toured with the Netherlands Student Chamber Orchestra and the Netherlands Student Baroque Orchestra. In 1973 he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked for 28 years as a Research Physicist and Project Leader at the Forest Products Laboratory. For many years he played principal cello with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble and regularly performs with the Madison Bach Musicians and the Fort Wayne Bach Collegium.

EMILY THOMPSON, Fort Wayne Baroque Soloists, Baroque violinEmily Thompson - Baroque violin

Violinist EMILY THOMPSON is an adjunct professor of violin and fine arts at Indiana Wesleyan University. She has music performance degrees from Indiana University’s Early Music Institute (M.M) and Bowling Green State University (B.Mus). She is a member of the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra and has played in professional orchestras throughout the region. She has performed with pop artists including Ben Folds, Manhattan Transfer, and multiple tours with Mannheim Steamroller. She also performs on baroque violin in the Bach Collegium Fort Wayne. She is a founding member of the 17th Century Praise Band, specializing in Lutheran sacred music of the early baroque. In 2012, she made her Carnegie Hall debut with Soprani Compagni. She is an experienced violin teacher and serves as the director of the IWU Suzuki Violin program and the social media secretary of the Suzuki Association of Indiana.

JASON THOMPSON, Fort Wayne Baroque Soloists, Baroque violin

Jason Thompson - Baroque violinBaroque violinist JASON THOMPSON is a professor of music at Indiana Wesleyan University where he has been on faculty since 2006. There he teaches violin and viola, conductors the IWU Orchestra and Opera, and teaches Music History. As a conductor, Mr. Thompson directs the Fort Wayne Baroque soloists, a period instrument ensemble that performs throughout northern Indiana. In addition, he is serving as the interim conductor for the Symphony on the Lakes in Winona Lake and has served as cover-conductor for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Mr. Thompson was formerly the conductor and music director of the Guilford Town Band, a semi-professional wind ensemble that he founded in 2000. As a violinist, Mr. Thompson has performed with professional orchestras throughout Indiana and Ohio, and has worked with many renowned conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Larry Rachleff, Michael Stern, Joseph Silverstein, Frederick Fennell and Joann Faletta. He has also performed with many renowned popular artists such as Manheim Steamroller, the Supremes, Sandi Patty, and the Gaither Vocal Band. In 2011, Mr. Thompson had the privilege of touring with Soprani Compagni culminating in a performance at Carnegie Hall. As a Baroque violinist, Mr. Thompson performs regularly with the Bach Collegium Fort Wayne, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra and Bourbon Baroque.

Originally from Connecticut, Mr. Thompson came to the Midwest to study both violin and conducting at Indiana University. There he studied violin with Yuval Yaron and Ilya Kaler, Baroque violin with Stanley Richie and conducting with David Effron. Mr. Thompson then attended Bowling Green State University for a master’s degree in orchestral conducting. He studied with Emily Freeman Brown, also serving as her teaching assistant and assistant conductor of the Bowling Green Philharmonia. Mr. Thompson is currently in the process of completing a Doctor of Music in Ensemble Direction from Indiana University’s Early Music Institute.

RUSSELL WAGNER, Guest Artist, viola da gamba

Russell Wagner - viola da gambaRUSSELL WAGNER began his studies in early music performance at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. As a founding member of Musica Camerata, he toured throughout the Midwest and made appearances on The Prairie Home Companion Show and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He is a frequent performer in Chicago’ early music community including appearances with The Newberry Consort, Bella Voce, The Forces of Virtue, The Second City Musick, and the Catacoustic Consort. Wagner is a leading restorer of cellos in this country, working from his studio, Chicago Celloworks.

MAX H. YOUNT, Guest Artist, Wisconsin Baroque, harpsichord

Max Yount - historical keyboardsMAX H. YOUNT, organist, harpsichordist and composer, is Emeritus Professor and former Chair of the Department of Music at Beloit College where he taught music history and theory of all levels; he still teaches organ, harpsichord and composition at the college. He has taught courses in Easterrn European Folk Music, Women in Music, American music, and performance practice. As past Dean of the American Guild of organists, Madison chapter, and past President of the Midwestern Historical Keyboard Society (MHKS), he has presented many recitals and papers at meetings of the latter and at the American Musicological Society, Midwest Chapter. He has made several concert tours of Germany as organist and harpsichordist. At home his many performances as soloist and in ensemble have recently included concertos (Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg, and Poulenc’s Concert Champêtre) with area orchestras. Yount is Director of Music and organist of First Congregational Church in Beloit, where he organizes a concert series, MUSICA MAXIMA, which presents international and local artists. He serves as the harpsichordist of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble. In 2009-2010, Yount served as harpsichordist in PROJECT RAMEAU, with baroque violinist, Edith Hines, and viola da gambist, Eric Miller, in performing all five of Rameau’s Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts in Madison and Beloit, Wisconsin, and at the University of Iowa.

With B. Mus. From Oberlin College and M. M., and D.M. A. from Eastman School of Music, he has studied organ with Fenner Douglass and David Craighead, harpsichord with Isolde Ahlgrimm and Louis Bagger, and composition with Louis Mennini.

Recent compositions have included Duo for violin and harpsichord, performed at the MHKS meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota in April 2007; Symphony in Three Movements, performed by the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra in March 2007; three pieces premiered in January 2006, including Concerto for harpsichord, broadcast over Wisconsin Public Radio; and Sonata for flute, gamba and harpsichord performed at the MHKS meeting at Northwestern University in 2004. A new organ work, Our God, Our Help, was premiered in October 2007.