FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Jacqueline Mention
jmention@centrum.org
360.385.3102 – ext.118
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ptcentrum/6284
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CENTRUM’S PORT TOWNSEND CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
HAS ITS FINAL CONCERT OF THE SERIES
Baroque Virtuosi to feature Masterworks of the Baroque Era
PORT TOWNSEND, WA – April 9th, 2012 – The Port Townsend Chamber Music
Festival’s Joseph F. Wheeler Celebration Series, presented by Centrum, has its third and
final concert of the series on Sunday, April 22nd at 2 p.m. with a performance in the
Wheeler Theater in Fort Worden State Park entitled “Baroque Virtuosi,” The concert
features an ensemble comprised of some of the West Coast’s finest period instrument
players including violinists Ingrid Matthews and Janet Strauss; Shirley Hunt, viola da
gamba; soprano Phoebe Jevtovic Rosquist; and Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival
Director, Lucinda Carver, harpsichord. The program features masterworks of the
Baroque era (1685- 1750) including those of Bach, Handel, Buxtehude, Strozzi and
Vivaldi.
Carver, an early music specialist who teaches harpsichord at the University of Southern
California will perform two Bach sonatas, the Sonata in B minor for Violin and
Harpshicord with Matthews, and the Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord with
Hunt. Widely considered Baroque music’s greatest master, J.S. Bach composed both
works after he traveled to Berlin in 1719 to purchase a harpsichord for Prince Leopold.
These sonatas set themselves apart from their contemporaries with their prominent
featuring of the harpsichord, which joins the other instruments as an equal partner instead
of the role of accompanist.
Also featured in Sunday’s program are works by German-British composer, George
Frediric Handel (thought by Beethoven to be the greatest of all his predecessors) and
Danish composer Dietrich Buxtehude. Handel’s Trio Sonata for Two Violins and
Continuo will be performed by violinists Strauss of LA’s Musica Angelica Baroque
Orchestra and Matthews, music director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra. Soprano
Jevtovic Rosquist will sing his Cantata ‘O qualis de coelo sonus’. Both Handel and Bach
wanted to succeed Buxtehude in his role as the Director of St. Mary’s Church in Lubeck,
Germany, but neither one wanted to marry his daughter as that was a condition for the
position. Buxtehude’s ‘Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt’ will showcase the talents of Hunt
and the viola da gamba. The viola da Gamba resembles the modern daily cello although it
has six strings and has frets like a guitar.
Rounding out the concert are Antonio Vivaldi’s ‘La Follia’ and Barbara Strozzi’s
Serenata ‘Hor che Apollo.’ Vivaldi, in interpreting the classic Follia form, brings to it
variations that are showier and more extroverted than those of other Baroque composers.
Strozzi, one of the only female composers of her time, is considered one of the creators of
the Baroque cantata. A cantata, derived from the Italian word meaning ‘to sing’ is a
vocal composition with instrumental accompaniment. An example of the genre will be
sung by Jevtovic Rosquist with Handel’s ‘Oqualis de coelo sonus.’
Centrum’s Artistic Director for Chamber Music, Lucinda Carver, has been featured as
pianist and harpsichordist in solo and chamber music recitals including the Carmel Bach
Festival, the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, and the Prince George Music Festival. She
received her doctorate in musical arts from the Thornton School of Music at the
University of Southern California where she currently teaches piano, harpsichord and
conducting. She served as music director of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra from
1991 to 2002.
Music Director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Ingrid Matthews, one of the mostrecorded baroque violinists of her generation. She has served as concertmaster for
orchestras such as the New York Collegium, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra,
and Musica Angelica in Los Angeles. Matthews is currently on the faculty of Cornish
College of the Arts in Seattle.
Phoebe Jevtovic Rosquist’s repertoire spans from the medieval to the contemporary,
with a specialty in the baroque era. Among Rosquist’s varied collaborations are the
baroque ensemble La Monica, medieval ensemble Cançonièr, art song with celebrated
pianist Robert Thies, and early music and dance with Italy’s visionary Art Monastery
Project. She received her Master of Arts degree in Early Music Performance at the
University of Southern California and has edited a book of 17th century solo songs by
Tarquinio Merula that is scheduled to be published by A&R Editions in 2012.
Performing on viola da Gamba for the Chamber Series concert is Shirley Hunt, who
appears with period-instrument ensembles, modern orchestras, and chamber ensembles of
all kinds, including the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the American Bach Soloists,
Musica Pacifica, Agave Baroque, Sonoma Bach, and the cello duo Bradamante. She
received her Master of Music degree from the USC Thornton School of Music in May
2008. Hunt’s principal teachers have included Ronald Leonard, William Skeen, Phoebe
Carrai, Mary Springfels, and Hans Jensen.
Baroque violinist Janet Worsley Strauss is a principal member of Los Angeles-based
Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra and often appears with Seattle Baroque, Portland
Baroque Orchestra, and Trinity Consort (Portland, OR). Holding a Bachelor of Music
degree in performance from the University of Southern California, Strauss is co-founder
of the Los Angeles-based chamber ensemble Angeles Consort. She has recorded for
Koch, Centaur, and Loft Recordings.
The Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival’s Joseph F. Wheeler Series honors the late
Joseph F. Wheeler, Founding Director of Centrum, and continues the tradition of
chamber music in the shoulder season that was established by Wheeler and Centrum
Board member Leah Hammer and the Chamber Music Society of Port Townsend.
Tickets are available now at the Centrum website at www.centrum.org, or by phone at
800.746.1982 between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM, PST, Monday through Saturday, or
between the hours of 6 AM and noon on Sunday (a processing fee applies). Remaining
tickets will be available at 1pm the day of the performance at the Wheeler Box Office.
The Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival is sponsored in part by the Washington
State Arts Commission, Rick and Debbie Zajicek, James and Nelly Tretter, and Ken
Snider.
Centrum, in partnership with Fort Worden State Park, is a gathering place for artists and
creative thinkers from all cultures, and in all phases of their development; for students of
all ages and backgrounds; and for audiences seeking extraordinary cultural enrichment.
Centrum promotes creative experiences that change lives. For more information, log onto
www.centrum.org