Whidbey Island Music Festival | Ensemble Artifice: A garden of musical delights

• Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano
• Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin
• Cynthia Miller Freivogel, baroque violin
• Elisabeth Reed, viola da gamba
• Farley Pierce, viola da gamba
• John Lenti, theorbo
• Katherine Heater, harpsichord

Ensemble Artifice returns with a garden of musical delights from the 17th Century. Inspired by Johann Pachelbel's collection Musikalischer Ergötzung ("Musical Delights"), Ensemble Artifice explores the singular beauty of this wonderful repertoire. Even if you've never been to a classical or early music concert, you know Pachelbel from his famous Canon in D. If you love the Canon in D, you'll love the soul stirring beauty of this repertoire for soprano, violins, violas da gamba, and continuo from Buxtehude, Becker, Tunder, Rosenmüller, Bernhard, and Weichlein.

This program will receive 2 performacnes: Saturday, July 22 at Coupeville High School; and Sunday, July 23 at St. Augustine's in-the-Woods Episcopal Church. Both performances take place at 3pm.

About Whidbey Island Music Festival

http://whidbeyislandmusicfestival.org/

About Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano

https://pacificmusicworks.org/profile/danielle-reutter-harrah/

About Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin

Baroque violinist Tekla Cunningham delights in bringing the music of the baroque, classical and romantic eras to life with vivid and expressive historically informed performances.

Praised as "a consummate musician whose flowing solos and musical gestures are a joy to watch", her performances have been described as "ravishingly beautiful" and "stellar". Her greatest musical love is music of the baroque and chamber music of all stripes, though she can’t seem to quit Johannes Brahms. She is co-artistic director of Pacific MusicWorks in Seattle, artist-in-residence at the University of Washington and founder and director of the Whidbey Island Music Festival.

Tekla plays regularly as concertmaster and principal player with the American Bach Soloists. Her new release 'Stylus Phantasticus' with Pacific MusicWorks is delighting critics. "Tekla is a marvel…an endlessly songful bird". Early Music America describes the recording as "played with verve, the music presented here reaffirms the old notion that instrumental music can have the flair of any theatrical spectacle. … a stellar vessel for the boldest showmanship".

Tekla plays on a violin made by Sanctus Seraphin in Venice in 1746.

About Cynthia Miller Freivogel, baroque violin

https://www.cynthiafreivogel.com/

About Elisabeth Reed, viola da gamba

http://elisabethreed.com/

About Farley Pierce, viola da gamba

Farley Pearce is a performer on both the various sizes of viola da gamba and the baroque cello. As a cellist he has performed widely in the Southeastern region of the US, most notably with the Spoleto Festival, with whom he has also played in Italy. For five years he was a member of the Charleston Pro Musica, and he has performed as a recitalist in Brazil and Uruguay. Since moving to San Francisco Farley has been an active free-lance performer with many of California’s orchestras and chamber ensembles. In the Bay Area he has performed on viola da gamba, violone, and baroque cello with Magnificat, the Jubilate Baroque Orchestra, the Sex Chordæ Consort of Viols, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Airs and Graces, and many other period instrument groups.

About John Lenti, theorbo

http://magnificatbaroque.com/john-lenti/

About Katherine Heater, harpsichord

https://music.berkeley.edu/people/katherine-heater-3/