Thursday, February 20, 2025 @ 1:15pm – 2:00pm (EST)
Online and in-person

Hesperus celebrates its reincarnation as an Early Music Improv Collective with a program spotlighting the largest surviving collection of instrumental pieces before 1450, the Faenza Codex. The concert will feature performances of ten of the original French, Italian, and English original pieces, their ornamented Faenza versions, and the musicians' own improvisations in Faenza Codex-style.

About Hesperus

"Engaging stage presence, backed by programs put together with exceptional imagination…irresistible!" (The Washington Post). Since 1979, Hesperus has been making connections between the rich musical past and curious contemporary audiences through its collaborations with film, dance, mime, theater, and world music. In April 2024, Hesperus reincarnated as an Early Music Improv Collective—15 specialists in Medieval through Baroque "spontaneous composition."

https://tinachancey.com/performer/hesperus/

About Tina Chancey, viol, vielle, rebec, & kamenj

http://tinachancey.com/

About Daniel Meyers, recorders, bagpipe, flutes, sackbutt, & percussion

https://danmeyersmusic.com/

About Cameron Welke, lute

Cameron Welke spends most of his time explaining to well-meaning strangers that the lute is, in fact, quite a different instrument from the flute. He brings a passionate curiosity and a deep creative drive to all manner of historical plucked instruments, which he plays with "expert technical dexterity, consummate phrasing and endearing expressivity" (Chestnut Hill Local). Past and current engagements include performances with the Washington Bach Consort, Tempesta di Mare, the Aston Magna Festival, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Early Music City, and Hesperus. In 2022, he gave the first lute masterclasses to ever take place in the Dominican Republic through La Foundation de Conciertos de la Villa de Santo Domingo. He explores repertoire for two baroque lutes in Duo Silvio with duo partner Richard Stone; the two gave the modern premiere of Stone's reconstructions of lute duets by Sylvius Leopold Weiss in the fall of 2019. Cameron began his musical life as a classical violinist and a rock and jazz guitarist. He holds a B.M. in classical guitar performance from Belmont University, where he studied with Francis Perry and John Pell, and a M.M. in historical performance on lute and theorbo from the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Richard Stone. He currently teaches lute at Grinnell College and lives in Richmond, VA.

https://www.cameronwelke.com/