"Baroque Cello vs. Viola Da Gamba! A Natural Selection of Solo Music from the 17th-18th Centuries"

Whether new to the world of Historical Performance or a frequent visitor, you are invited to enjoy a brief yet varied look at the Baroque cello and viola da gamba as solo instruments. Heather Vorwerck (performer with Bach Collegium San Diego), with the assistance of keyboardist Ruben Valenzuela (Musical Director of BCSD), will perform solo and accompanied works for cello and viol by J.S. Bach, D. Gabrielli, Sainte-Colombe and Marais. Ms. Vorwerck will talk a bit about each instrument's distinct musical evolution and explore why the cello survived while the viola da gamba was destined for extinction. You will be welcome to see the instruments close up and ask questions after the performance.
The performance will take place at 2pm on Sunday May 19 at the San Diego Museum of Art (Hibben Gallery) and is free with museum admission. It is part of the Old Masters of Music and Art series, presented jointly by the San Diego Museum of Art and the San Diego Early Music Society.

Heather Vorwerck, Baroque cello and viola da gamba, performs regularly with Bach Collegium San Diego and has recently played with Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra. She has performed with San Francisco Bay Area ensembles Galileo Project and the California Bach Society, as well as Apollo's Fire (Cleveland) and as gamba soloist with the Rotterdam Baroque Orchestra. Ms. Vorwerck is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory where she was the recipient of the E. Russell Award for Excellence in Historical Performance and was a student of Catharina Meints. She studied with Jaap ter Linden and Anneke Pols at the Royal Conservatory in The Netherlands. (vorwerck-cello.com)

Ruben Valenzuela, harpsichord, is the Music Director and founder of Bach Collegium San Diego. Under his artistic direction, BCSD has brought to the San Diego community highly acclaimed, historically informed premiers of music from the Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical eras. He has led the ensemble on several international tours to the Festival Internacional del Órgano Barroco in Mexico City, and most recently to Bolivia for the IX Internacional de Música Renacentista y Barroca ‘Misiones de Chiquitos’.  As a musicologist, he has conducted research at the Centro Nacional de Investigación, Documentación e Información Musical, Carlos Chavez (CENEDIM) and presently at the Archivo del Cabildo of Mexico City Cathedral.  He is the Director of Music & Organist at St Peter's Episcopal Church, Del Mar. (bachcollegiumsd.org)

Sacred and secular vocal music of the German Renaissance.

Elisabeth Marti, soprano
Constance Lawthers, soprano
Penelope Hawkins, mezzo-soprano
John Peeling, tenor
Phillip Larson, bass

Enfin la Beauté :: airs & graces of the heart

Favorites Amy White, voice, and Dominic Schaner, lutes, will return with secular love songs of the late Renaissance & early Baroque featuring French airs de cour and Italian passaggi, graced with lute solos from the French royal court and the Roman papal court.

San Diego classical guitarist Fred Benedetti will present a program of early music for transcribed for the guitar. For information about Fred, visit www.fredbenedetti.com