Six-piece ensemble will perform at Gallatin River Gallery on Aug. 22
ARTS COUNCIL OF BIG SKY
BIG SKY – The Arts Council of Big Sky is pleased to present another Schwer-Toepffer Soirée when it welcomes a performance from Baroque Music Montana on Tuesday, Aug. 22, at the Gallatin River Gallery. The event is an intimate concert featuring renowned musicians from around the country performing a program called the Fairest Isle.
Tickets are $30 per person and are available at bigskyarts.org. Tickets include light appetizers and wine before the performance. The doors open at 6 p.m. with the concert starting at 7 p.m. The income generated from ticket sales help pay for the event, but the cost of the artists is underwritten by the Arts Council’s Schwer-Toepffer Memorial Fund, created by longtime local supporters Roger Schwer and Marjie Toepffer. The fund focuses on the love and deep appreciation for classical music in its many forms.
Attendees will be whisked away on a journey to the British Isles. Eighteenth century England was a melting pot of traditional and cutting-edge arts, where folk melodies blended with new French and Italian forms. These themes will be explored in the music of Purcell, Handel, Oswald, Jones and others. Bringing together dance tune song arrangements and courtly sonatas, this program truly has delights in store for everyone.
Performers include Carrie Krause on the baroque violin; Anna O’Connell, harp; Nate Helgeson, baroque bassoon; Annabeth Shirley, cello; and John Lenti, theorbo. Special guest performer will be Cape Breton violinist David Greenberg, who for more than three decades has enjoyed a double career as a Baroque violinist and Cape Breton fiddler. His fluency and experience in these two genres makes him uniquely qualified to interpret the wild music of 18th-century Scotland. He has performed, taught, and recorded primarily in North America and Western Europe, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East. David has performed with Tafelmusik, Red Priest, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, Concerto Caledonia, Apollo’s Fire, Ensemble Caprice, La Nef, Toronto Consort, Seattle Baroque, Les Voix Humaines, Chris Norman, Suzie LeBlanc, Doug MacPhee, and Musica Pacifica. He has performed as guest soloist/director with several orchestras, including the Calgary Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Nova Scotia.
Founded by Bozeman’s Carrie Krause, Baroque Music Montana performs works by celebrated composers of the Baroque, as well as many pieces rarely or not heard since the eighteenth century. Some manuscripts are readily available in digital archives, and some require a great deal of sleuthing to unearth. BaMM’s musician roster rotates based on desired instrumentation for repertoire performed in intimate spaces similar to which the music was originally intended, and often on period instruments. Using historical instruments and referencing original manuscripts, iconography, and historical writing fuels commitment to the music and inspires fresh interpretation. Rather than recreating something old, the aim is to make each performance of this day, of this space, existing because of these musicians and this audience. Based in Bozeman, it provides a performance platform for both local artists and visiting professionals who have deeply invested in fruitful historical performance.
For more information please visit bigskyarts.org or call 995-2742. The Arts Council is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1988 with a mission to enrich the community through artistic experiences.
