NOTE: Registration for this workshop is now closed. If you would like to be placed on a waiting list, email us at info@capitolearlymusic.org.
You can still receive the benefit of the Ravensong Players’ insights by attending the workshop as an auditor. See here for details and registration
A Baroque Ensemble Workshop with
Ravensong Players
Join the members of Ravensong Players (Margot Rood, Margaret Owens, Sarah Cunningham, Kevin Payne, and Leon Schelhase) for a workshop that will inspire your baroque ensemble playing and programming. Try out their suggestions for incorporating tunes, ideas, and themes from vocal music into your performance, whether your ensemble is purely instrumental or includes a singer.
Saturday, October 7, 2023, 9:30 am- 4:30 pm
Saint George’s Episcopal Church | 915 N. Oakland | Arlington, VA
Singers, Recorders, Flutes, Oboes, Violins, Violas, Harpsichords, Cellos, Violas da Gamba, Baroque Guitars, Archlutes, and Theorbos. . . . We welcome advanced and upper intermediate singers and instrumentalists who are comfortable playing one on a part, and experienced with baroque ensembles.
When registering for the workshop, let us know about your playing experience. We’ll use this information to form compatible ensembles and notify you of your placement after registration closes. We anticipate forming four or five ensembles of three to five performers each. Depending on the instrument mix among registrants, we may have all-recorder ensembles, with the continuo line played on bass recorder. We will provide music for your ensemble or, if you wish, it may choose its own piece to be coached on.
The day will be divided into four or five class sessions with a lunch break and breaks between classes. The first class is a presentation by the Ravensong Players on the time-honored – and liberating – tradition of adapting repertoire written for combinations other than a group’s own instrumentation. They will focus on ways of incorporating vocal music selections into your repertoire. What types of tunes (arias, songs, other vocal forms) are appropriate for your ensemble? How does it work to incorporate these alongside movements from sonatas and suites? How do you find the repertoire?
In the following sessions, each student ensemble will have three coaching sessions, with each session led by a different member of Ravensong Players. The coaches’ feedback will include not only comments on your performance of your selected piece, but also suggestions of other repertoire that might enhance your performance. They may even have some music for you to try out. You will play with the same ensemble throughout the workshop and, by the end of the day, you will have been coached by three different teachers. Depending on the number of registrant ensembles, the schedule may also include a session for practice or auditing another class.
Apply early! After SEPTEMBER 8, 2023, we will form ensembles and will accept registrations after that date only on a space-available basis.
TUITION
Regular Rate – $110 | Late Registration (after September 8, 2023) – $120 | Student Rate – $55
CANCELLATION POLICY: All but $10 refundable until September 8. Refunds thereafter only because of illness. If you are feeling ill, please do not attend the workshop.
COVID POLICY: Participants must provide a negative covid test (rapid antigen or PCR) taken within 24 hours of the beginning of the workshop. Masks are optional but strongly encouraged.