1. Art and Diseño

Houston Early Music Festival Presented By
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Susan Schmaeling | 713.349.0780 office
Monica Rhodes | 979.285.8512 cell |
| 713.253.2799 cell | [email protected]
[email protected]
HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL CELEBRATES
HOUSTON’S DIVERSE AND ROBUST ARTS SCENE
Local organizations team up in February 2015 to showcase Houston’s innovative Early Music programming
HOUSTON, TX – (January 6, 2015) – Italian love songs and one of the most recognizable and beloved
Baroque works are just a few of the many presentations for the Houston Early Music Festival (HEMF),
which will take place February 12-15, 2015 at venues across the city.
In its third year, HEMF 2015 is sponsored by partner organizations Ars Lyrica Houston, Bach Society
Houston, Houston Early Music, Mercury – The Orchestra Redefined and Piping Rock Singers. HEMF will
feature five main-stage performances and an inaugural Young Artist Showcase program, which highlights
current student period-instrument ensembles from Texas university and college music programs.
Seeking to capitalize on the local growth of early music programming and period-instrument expertise,
HEMF is an international platform for showcasing Houston’s growing talent pool and flourishing early
music organizations. A longtime goal of Artistic Directors Matthew Dirst (Ars Lyrica) and Antoine Plante
(Mercury), the success of the first two festivals encouraged partner organizations to expand on the previous
format and focus the festival into an extended-weekend event in February 2015.
Featured HEMF soloists include a number of local and international early-music experts and recording artists
including celebrated mezzo-sopranos Ellie Jarrett Shattles and Jennifer Lane; internationally renowned
countertenor John Holiday; Grammy–nominated conductor Matthew Dirst; conductor Antoine Plante;
conductor Rick Erickson; and California’s Renaissance ensemble, Ciaramella. The festival includes a wide
array of Baroque and Renaissance repertoire including music from Handel, Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Scarlatti,
Bach, as well as intricate song and dance from the Fifteenth century.
The combined efforts of five distinctive and innovative early music organizations provide an excellent
educational platform and multiple opportunities to bring greater awareness to Houston’s extraordinarily
diverse and robust arts scene.
2015 HEMF MAIN-STAGE EVENTS
Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 7 pm | Banchieri Banchetto: Cibo, Entrattenimento e Bevande
[Banchieri Banquet: Food, Entertainment and Drink] An evening of participatory entertainment
(singing encouraged) features a gourmet Italian dinner, flowing champagne and wine plus a comedie
musicali! The Bell Tower on 34th. Tickets $75, $100, $125 or a Festival Pass Plus (see below for
details). For more information visit www.pipingrocksingers.com
Friday, February 13, 2015 at 8 pm | Handel’s Water Music (Mercury) One of the most elegant
and beloved works ever written. Free pre-concert lecture at 7:15 pm with Dr. Gregory Barnett,
Associate Professor and Chair of Musicology at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University
providing insights and historical context into Handel’s work in the Green Room at Wortham Center.
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center. Tickets and information: www.mercuryhouston.org or 713533-0080
Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 7:30 pm | Love Letters (Ars Lyrica Houston) Italian love songs
by Monteverdi, Vivaldi and Scarlatti featuring countertenor John Holiday and mezzo-soprano Ellie
Jarrett Shattles. "A Moment with the Artists" at 7 pm on Zilkha Hall stage: a behind the scenes
preview presented by Artistic Director Matthew Dirst and the soloists. Hobby Center for the
Performing Arts. Tickets and information: www.arslyricahouston.org or 713-315-2525
Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 3 pm | Houston Early Music presents Ciaramella - Make a Joyful
Noise Fifteenth century instrumental music. Pre-concert lecture at 2:15 pm with ensemble members.
First Evangelical Lutheran Church. Tickets and information: www.houstonearlymusic.org
Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 6 pm | Music for Celebration (Bach Society Houston) Music by
Bach and Handel are featured in this joyous program. Pre-concert lecture at 5:15 pm featuring Dr.
Gregory Barnett, Associate Professor and Chair of Musicology at the Shepherd School of Music,
Rice University. Christ the King Lutheran Church. Tickets and information:
www.bachsocietyhouston.org
2015 HEMF ANCILLARY EVENT
Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 5 pm | Young Performer’s Showcase Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center
for the Performing Arts. FREE ADMISSION
INFORMATION ON TICKETS AND DISCOUNTED FESTIVAL PASSES
Individual tickets to concerts are available through respective organizations.
Discounted Festival Passes are available via phone at 713-533-0080. Options include
4 Concert Festival Pass for $120 - save up to $50 (includes Mercury, Ars Lyrica Houston, Houston
Early Music and Bach Society)
3 Concert Festival Pass for $90 – save up to $45 (includes choice of three out of the following four:
Mercury, Ars Lyrica Houston, Houston Early Music and Bach Society)
Festival Pass Plus for $195 (includes four concerts plus ticket ($75 value) for Piping Rock Singers’
Banchieri Banquet performance event). Best Available Seating.
WHAT IS EARLY MUSIC?
Early Music is music from the mid-18th century and before, music from the Baroque, Renaissance and
Middle Ages. From the Gregorian chant to Bach’s organ works, Handel’s operas, and Vivaldi’s concertos, it
is the most beautiful and exciting music from our Western heritage. Early music experts strive to revive
forgotten masterpieces of past eras and give us a glimpse of how this music was performed: “what are those
angels singing and playing in medieval paintings…what did queen Elizabeth I dance to, what entertained
Louis XIV at dinner?” (Forrest Kelly, Thomas. Early Music: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press,
2011. Print.) Early music is performed on historical period instruments (or their replicas) because they produce
livelier and more authentic sounds than their modern equivalents.
ABOUT ARS LYRICA HOUSTON
Founded in 1998 by harpsichordist and conductor Matthew Dirst, Ars Lyrica Houston is a Texas-based
ensemble that performs world-class Baroque music on period instruments. Ars Lyrica’s world premiere
recording of J.A. Hasse’s Marc Antonio e Cleopatra brought the ensemble its first Grammy nomination for
“a thrilling performance that glows in its quieter moments and sparkles with vitality” (Early Music America).
Ars Lyrica’s distinctive programming, drawn from the rich chamber and dramatic repertories of the 17th and
18th centuries, “sets the agenda for imaginative period instrument programming in Houston,” according to
the Houston Chronicle. The ensemble’s first commercial release, on Naxos International, features the world
première recordings of Alessandro Scarlatti’s La Concettione della Beata Vergine and Euridice dall’Inferno.
This disc brought international recognition to the ensemble: Gramophone, the leading journal of the classical
recording industry, praised this CD for its “exemplary skill and taste,” and Ars Lyrica’s musicians for their
“impassioned performance” of never-before recorded works. Ars Lyrica’s latest Sono Luminus recording of
Domenico Scarlatti’s comic intermezzo La Dirindina and his chamber cantata Pur nel sonno was released in August 2012. For
more information, visit www.arslyricahouston.org.
ABOUT BACH SOCIETY HOUSTON
Houston’s Bach Society was founded in 1982, long before the current burst of popularity of early music.
Today Bach Society Houston thrives as both a performing and a presenting organization. Many of the
season’s events are offered to the public at no charge, with a free will offering accepted (Bach Vespers and
Organ & Voice events).
Bach Choir Houston is the in-house professional vocal ensemble, which performs in a Bach Vespers series as
well as in the Abendmusik concert series presenting larger-scaled works. A chamber music series and an
Organ & Voice series highlighting Christ the King Lutheran Church’s magnificent Bach organ comprise the
presenting role of the Bach Society. The Bach Society also maintains close ties with Leipzig’s St. Thomas
Church (where Bach did his mature work) and has brought to Houston the St. Thomas Boys’ Choir and other
pre-eminent German Baroque ensembles, conductors, and soloists. This variety of musical events is
remarkable for both its density and its diversity. Now under the direction of Rick Erickson, the organization
is poised for new growth.
The Society’s mission is to present the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in exemplary, historically-informed
professional performances, along with the music of his predecessors, contemporaries, and successors who
were influenced by him and constitute his legacy. For more information, visit www.bachsocietyhouston.org.
ABOUT HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC
Houston Early Music is a chartered non-profit organization whose purpose is to present historically informed
performances of early music from the European traditions and other world cultures in concerts featuring
internationally renowned vocal, instrumental and chamber musicians. In addition, the group reaches out to
new and diverse audiences through a cross-disciplinary educational program on the elementary, secondary,
college and community levels that reflects the issues and concerns of the community as a whole.
As the city’s only presenting organization dedicated to covering the large historical span of early music in all
of its forms, Houston Early Music epitomizes a movement that has swept the world of classical music.
Formed in the mid-1960s as Houston Harpsichord Society, the group is one of the oldest early music
presenters in the country. Over the years the concert repertoire has been expanded to include performances
ranging from Gregorian chant to presentations on original instruments of the music of Classical era. In
recognition of this evolution, the organization changed its name in 1997 to Houston Early Music. For more
information, visit www.houstonearlymusic.org.
ABOUT MERCURY – THE ORCHESTRA REDEFINED
Mercury, formerly known as The Mercury Baroque Ensemble, was founded in 2001 with the goal of
enriching and entertaining Houston audiences. Today, that ensemble has blossomed into a chamber
orchestra, reaching thousands across Houston and garnering critical acclaim around the world through its
innovative and accessible performances, domestic and international tours, and groundbreaking music
education programs.
Now in its 14th season, the orchestra presents more than 50 concerts throughout the year and reaches over
20,000 people every season. With performances around the greater Houston area, including a world-class
series at the Wortham Center, Mercury has begun to extend its reach beyond the concert hall into diverse
communities with its new Neighborhood Series and Family Series. Mercury is now the second largest
presenter of orchestral music in Houston, second only to the Houston Symphony. In September 2010,
Mercury made its European debut with five critically acclaimed performances of Lully's opera Armide in
Paris.
Mercury is redefining the orchestra’s role in the community under the artistic leadership of Antoine Plante.
Through its vibrant and inspiring performances, education programs, and world-class music on period
instruments, Mercury is celebrating its commitment of making the power and passion of music accessible to
all. For more information, visit www.mercuryhouston.org.
ABOUT PIPING ROCK SINGERS
The Piping Rock Singers were formed in 1995 by a group of like-minded Houstonian church choir musicians
who love the repertoire of the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The organization is directed by Kevin
Clarke and dedicated to increasing the familiarity, understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the wealth
of beautiful sacred and secular music composed from c. 900 to 1750. The Piping Rock Singers presents
several concerts per year to diverse audiences in a wide variety of venues. Although a significant portion of
its repertoire is performed a cappella, period instrument accompaniment is included where appropriate. Many
of the organization’s concerts include an educational component and some feature detailed lectures on the
group of works being performed. The Piping Rock Singers also make recordings, focusing on lesser-known,
rarely heard music from those periods. For more information, visit www.pipingrocksingers.com.
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The 2015 Houston Early Music Festival is generously funded in part by a grant from the City of Houston
through Houston Arts Alliance and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
For high resolution images and / or individual artists’ bios, please contact Susan Schmaeling at
[email protected].