Early Music America Fall 2006 35

THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH conjuresimages of a smoky industrial past

and a gritty football team. While thisrough-around-the-edges characterizationpersists, it is not a true reflection ofwhat Pittsburgh has become in the post-industrial era. Today, after decades ofclean-up that led to the nickname Ren-aissance City, the skies are fair, and therivers, which used to be so clogged withindustrial sludge that they would period-ically catch fire, now run clear and havenew bike trails running beside them.Industries such as healthcare, biotech-nology, banking, and robotics havereplaced the once-proud steel mills.Pittsburgh is still a down-to-earth place,but its brawny image masks its morerefined side, which has always beenthere in the form of a thriving artscommunity.Pittsburgh boasts one of the healthi-

er small markets for historical perform-ance in the country, although the earlymusic community may be something ofa secret to those outside western Penn-sylvania. In fact, the area is home to oneof the country’s most venerable earlymusic presenting organizations, a world-class Baroque chamber ensemble,churches and universities dedicated tohistorical performance, and a supportiveall-classical radio station, as well as dedi-cated amateurs, supporters, and funders.While Pittsburgh and surrounding

Allegheny County are known for theiraging populations, early music tends toattract a mixed crowd of students, GenXers, baby boomers, and seniors. Thedifference in demographic is noticeablebetween the audiences found at a typicalmainstream classical music concert andthose attending an early music concert.A typical classical concert in Pittsburgh

will attract a lot of seniors. But a grow-ing number of young people are attend-ing early music concerts, says EllenGozion, managing director of ChathamBaroque. “It’s a sign of the strength ofthe scene here.” Ann Mason, executive director of the

Renaissance and Baroque Society ofPittsburgh (R&B) agrees, “It’s a come-as-you-are atmosphere,” she says. “Peo-ple don’t feel intimidated.” Mason spec-ulates that the growth in early musicaudiences in Pittsburgh is fueled by thepresence of two high-caliber universitiesand a large tech sector. “This tends to attract the sort of person who isinterested in early music.”While Pittsburgh has seen growth on

many fronts in historical performance,the scene remains dominated by twoentities: R&B and Chatham Baroque. Ifthis were the wine business, the formermight be described as an importer of

fine wines, while the

latter might be called the region’s bestvintner, whose products are enjoyedlocally and also exported.

The importerThe Renaissance and Baroque

Society of Pittsburgh presents eightconcerts per year, most of which takeplace in Oakland’s Synod Hall. Synod’srobust audiences and resonant acousticmake Pittsburgh a favorite destinationfor professional ensembles such as theBaltimore Consort, Piffaro, Ex Umbris,and The Chris Norman Ensemble,among others. Mason says that R&B isgrowing, with an increase in audience of30 percent over last year. “That is a tes-tament to the types of programs we’reable to bring here. Innovative program-

EarlyMusic inPittsburghBy Scott Pauley

In Pittsburgh, “R&B” means the Renaissanceand Baroque Society: executive director Ann Mason (inset) with the ensembleQuadriga Consort, featured on the presenting organization’s 2006-07 season.

Like imported and home-grown wine, early music is consumed with pleasure in the “Renaissance City”

36 Fall 2006 Early Music America

ming has allowed us to grow.”Last season, some of those innova-

tive programs included the Robin HoodProject, in which Hesperus accompaniedthe 1922 silent film with music from thecourt of Henry VIII, and a returnappearance by the British group RedPriest, an ensemble that pushes theenvelope of virtuosity, programming,and pyrotechnics. Robert Johnson, anattorney and vice president of R&B’sboard, says Red Priest is “kind of aBaroque circus—a great crowd pleaserand audience draw.” Last season’s pro-grams ranged from Richard Egarr’s inti-mate harpsichord recital of J.S. Bach’sGoldberg Variations to larger-scale per-formances of 17th-century music forbrass, strings, and continuo performedby Spiritus Collective.Founded in 1968 by a group of vol-

unteers, R&B now has a full-time execu-tive director and a large board of direc-tors. During the 1980s, the organizationsported its own resident ensemble,Music’s Re-creation, which was formallyin residence from 1984-88. John Dor-nenburg, viol player and founding mem-ber of Music’s Re-creation, says “Thesewere major growth years for the R&B –the residency doubled the number ofconcerts in a season from four to eight.”

When Music’s Re-creation migrated westto the San Francisco Bay area, R&Breturned its focus to presenting concertsof both American and foreign earlymusic ensembles.“R&B tries to cover it all – Medieval,

Renaissance, and Baroque music,” saysJohnson. “There are a variety of groups,styles, and historical periods. We try tohave a mix of instrumental and vocal orsmall choral groups across a wide timespectrum.”In addition to their concert series,

many visiting R&B artists engage inlocal outreach activities. This year theparticipating groups will perform at TheChildren’s Institute (a center for specialneeds children), Youth Learning in aFun Environment (an after school pro-gram for disadvantaged kids), and selectPittsburgh area schools.The 2006-2007 season promises

more innovative programming: TheChris Norman Ensemble will bring anew program based on the writings of18th-century flutist, writer, and travelerOliver Goldsmith. Mason says sheappreciates the way Chris Norman’sband is “doing old things in a new way.”By combining the historical woodenflutes with Baroque instruments like theharpsichord and viol, as well as withmodern folk instruments like the stringbass, percussion, and steel-string guitar,Norman is able to achieve a sound thatappeals to a broad audience.

New York-based ARTEK will performa program in October called “GraveyardMusic,” featuring music of Dowlandand Purcell accompanied by a screenthat will project images, text, and read-ings. Also on the schedule next season isPiffaro, a repeat favorite in Pittsburgh.“People want them to keep comingback,” Mason says. “Whatever they do,they do exceptionally well. They are ableto create a meaningful experience forkids and adults alike.”

The exporter and resident vintnerWhile R&B has laid claim to import-

ing the best of early music ensemblesfrom all over the world, ChathamBaroque serves as Pittsburgh’s residentensemble and net exporter of earlymusic. Chatham Baroque remains Pitts-burgh’s only full-time professional earlymusic ensemble, offering a wide rangeof performances and activities in thePittsburgh region.“Chatham Baroque and R&B are

complimentary in many ways,” saysJohnson, who serves as ChathamBaroque’s co-president in addition to hisduties on the R&B board. ChathamBaroque’s repertoire centers on 17th-and early 18th-century chamber music,but within that framework, says John-son, “what Chatham Baroque offers isunusual stuff you won’t hear anywhereelse, while R&B provides a variety ofensembles that span a wide time spectrum.”Chatham Baroque’s members reside

in Pittsburgh, which has allowed it todevelop lasting relationships within thecommunity. Ellen Gozion, ChathamBaroque’s managing director, says, “Oneof the reasons I think the place that wehold is valuable is because we’re alwayshere – although we tour across thecountry, we present a great concertseries that folks here in town have cometo rely on as a mainstay of their culturaldiet.”Chatham Baroque was founded in

1991 by Baroque violinist Emily David-son, viol player Patricia Halverson, andrecorder player Jeffrey Stock. The grouphad several harpsichordists, but in 1996,Stock and then-harpsichordist MichelleRoy moved on to other opportunities.

Left to right: Julie Andrijeski, Patricia Halverson, and Scott Pauley, members ofPittsburgh’s resident Chatham Baroque.

Early Music in Pittsburgh

Early Music America Fall 2006 37

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That year violinist Julie Andrijeski andtheorbo player Scott Pauley joined thegroup. Andrijeski joined the group fromCleveland, where she had been an activefreelancer and doctoral student, andPauley moved from London, where hehad studied and worked with a numberof British ensembles. From 1996 to 2003, the group

enjoyed a period of tremendous artisticand financial growth. Its local concertseries took off, and it was able to collab-orate with a long list of illustrious guestartists. It also signed a seven-CD record-ing deal with Dorian Recordings,

expanded its outreach activities, andbecame a player on the national touringscene. Eventually the ensemble was able to hire staff to handle the adminis-tration of and fundraising for anincreasingly complex operation.In November of 2003, however,

Chatham Baroque lost violinist EmilyDavidson, 36, to cancer, a devastatingblow. While it took some time to recov-er emotionally, the group performed allof its engagements following Davidson’sdeath, and at her urging, the remainingthree musicians continued the journeythe group had started. The re-emergence of Chatham

Baroque as a trio has spurred anotherperiod of artistic growth, with each ofthe members taking on more demandingmusical roles. An unintentional sideeffect of the smaller ensemble is thatthe core instruments of violin, viola dagamba, and plucked instruments (theor-bo, lute, and Baroque guitar) serve nicelyas a versatile foundation for addingguest instrumentalists and/or singers orfor integrating with larger ensembles.Chatham Baroque is repeatedly listed

among the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s “Top50 Cultural Forces in Pittsburgh” andhas earned plaudits for its touring per-formances and recordings around theworld. Though the ensemble operateson a small budget, it is the envy of theearly music and chamber music worldsbecause its musicians are salaried(though modestly) and have good healthbenefits and an office staff to supporttheir work.In order to maintain the level of

funding required to sustain a full-timeensemble and staff, Chatham Baroquemust juggle multiple activities. The cen-terpiece of its output is a local concertseries, which features the members ofthe trio alongside some of the world’sleading early music performers, includ-ing Bruce Dickey (cornetto), AndrewLawrence-King (harp), Webb Wiggins(organ), Ronn McFarlane (lute), LauraHeimes (soprano), and Chris Norman(wooden flute), to name just a few. Chatham Baroque has taken its pro-

grams abroad to Montreal, Mexico City,Bolivia, and the British Virgin Islands, aswell as to about 25 states in the US. Arecent performance at the NationalAcademy of Sciences in Washington,D.C., was recorded for broadcast onNPR’s “Performance Today.” At home in Pittsburgh, Chatham

Baroque also offers a number of imagi-native and popular outreach perform-ances, including its “Peanut Butter andJam Sessions” for preschoolers and its“Music All Over the Place” series, whichpresents community outreach perform-ances in unusual and unlikely venuesacross the region. Chatham Baroque isalso ensemble-in-residence at WQED-FM, Pittsburgh’s all-classical PublicRadio station, and at Calvary EpiscopalChurch.Collaborations with the Pittsburgh

Opera Center, where Chatham Baroquehas provided the period instrumentorchestra, have resulted in acclaimedproductions of Monteverdi’sL’incoronazione di Poppea (2002) and IlRitorno d’Ulisse (2004). In 2007 ChathamBaroque will again collaborate with the POC in a production of Cavalli’sL’Ormindo. Chatham Baroque has also worked

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38 Fall 2006 Early Music America

choirs, including the Pittsburgh Camerata, the Children’s Festival Cho-rus, and handpicked choruses under thedirection of countertenor John Gold-smith. These collaborations resulted inproductions of Handel’s Acis and Galatea(2001) and a double billing of Purcell’sDido & Aeneas and Blow’s Venus & Ado-nis, featuring sopranos Julianne Bairdand Laura Heimes and bass CurtisStreetman.The ensemble has released six best-

selling CDs on the Dorian label. Its firstrecording, The Scotch Humour, and its lat-est, Henry Purcell: Sonatas and TheatreMusic, received five-star ratings fromEurope’s Goldberg magazine. Españoleta,with guest performers Danny Mallonand Becky Baxter, spent four weeks onAmazon’s top-20 list; its next CD, to berecorded by Sono Luminus in Septem-ber 2006, is music from Prothimia suavis-sima, a 17th-century Austrian manuscriptfeaturing music by Schmelzer andBertali.

A taste for the sacredWhile many Pittsburgh-area churches

perform early sacred music, CalvaryEpiscopal Church has made a seriouscommitment to regularly performingearly music with period instruments andwith singers interested in period style.

The church, a large stone neo-Gothicbuilding with a richly carved woodenarchitectural choir, is the perfect venuefor this music. Organist Alan Lewisbecame music director in 1997 aftercompleting his Ph.D. in musicology atthe University of California, Berkeley.When he arrived, he says, the choirknew just a few Renaissance motets.Since then, their early repertoire hasexpanded considerably.In 2001, it performed its first St. John

Passion with period instruments. Lewisquickly realized he had the singers,instrumentalists, andcongregation to domore of this kind ofmusic. In particular, thearrival of sopranosoloist Sara Botkin,Lewis says, “opened adoor to new musicalpossibilities. Her voice fits so well withthe style of music that it’s made it easierto do early repertoire.”In 2003, Chatham Baroque became

ensemble in residence at Calvary, per-forming with the Calvary Choir andvocal soloists in a mix of Sunday morn-ing, Evensong, and Lessons and Carolsservices, as well as special concerts.When larger forces are needed, theensemble is supplemented by profes-sional period instrument players fromPittsburgh and the eastern United States.This collaboration has resulted in theperformance of sacred oratorios such asBach’s St. John Passion and Handel’s

Brockespassion and Messiah, as well assmaller-scale sacred cantatas by Schütz,Buxtehude, Isabella Leonarda, and oth-ers. The Calvary Choir also performs agood deal of early sacred musicthroughout the liturgical year in Sundayservices. The arrival of a Klop chamber

organ, which is housed at Calvary andalso rented out by other area ensembles,helped solidify early music’s growth atthe church. A new chamber organ byTaylor & Boody will be delivered to Cal-vary in 2007.

The university sceneWhile Pittsburgh still lacks a universi-

ty or conservatory degree program inearly music performance practice, signif-icant strides have been made in recentyears to bring early music to the cam-puses of the University of Pittsburghand Carnegie Mellon.

Bach and the Baroque was foundedin 1992 by University of Pittsburghmusic professor Don Franklin to presenthistorically informed performances ofthe works of J.S. Bach and his contem-poraries. It began as an outgrowth ofthe collegium musicum at Pitt; Franklinand his colleague, choir master JohnGoldsmith, wanted a place to realize thescholarly issues that they were discussingin their graduate seminars and to makeuse of the increasing number of periodinstrumentalists arriving in Pittsburgh.Franklin says “my research and seminarsin the mid and late ’90s focused onBach cantatas and passions, which pro-vided a natural link to the repertory weperformed.”Furthermore, they had the ideal

venue right on campus – the neo-Goth-ic Heinz Chapel. A unique architecturaltreasure, one could say that if Batmanwent to church, this would be hisGotham City Cathedral. Franklin says hewanted “to give both performers andaudiences the chance to experiencethese works in an appropriate venue.”Bach and the Baroque typically per-

forms two large concerts per year, andsince its inception has focused on thelarger-scale works of J.S. Bach, his con-temporaries, his predecessors, and theLeipzig cantors. What separates Bach and the

Botkin

Under the direction of Alan Lewis, the choir of Calvary Episcopal Church hasbecome an important supplier of early music performances to the Pittsburgh area.

Early Music America Fall 2006 39

Baroque from other early music eventsin town, Franklin says, are the “large-scale works that are relatively unknownand that combine chorus, soloists, and instruments. Our repertoire isunusual – larger-scale works for voicesand instruments.”Thanks to a dedicated cadre of

singers, led by John and Elaine Gold-smith (counter tenor and soprano,respectively), and a core of local musi-cians, as well as a generous group ofdonors that have given the group theability to attract top professional playersfrom the national scene, Bach and theBaroque has been able to lift its per-formances to new levels of sophistica-tion and polish. In addition to present-ing Pittsburgh’s first performance of J.S.Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with periodinstruments (2000), the ensemble pre-sented the modern-day premieres ofC.P.E Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (2002),G.P. Telemann’s 1750 St. Matthew Passion(2004), and Antonio Bertali’s Missa NoviRegis (2005). Just down the street, Baroque flutist

Stephen Schultz is bringing historicalperformance to Carnegie Mellon Uni-versity. Since moving from the SanFrancisco Bay Area three-and-a-halfyears ago, Schultz, who is artist lecturerin music history at CMU, founded theCarnegie Mellon Baroque Ensemble.The group, which performs on moderninstruments but takes performance prac-tice issues seriously, gives four to fiveperformances per semester, on and offcampus. Schultz says that when he firstarrived, audiences were sparse, but inter-est in the group has grown so that nowthe hall is packed.Most music students at CMU are on

the modern orchestral track, but interestin period style is growing. And, saysSchultz, “the students can already playreally well. The average player is veryaccomplished.” The Carnegie MellonBaroque Ensemble also gives studentsthe chance to play solo concertos of theBaroque and Classical periods, anopportunity that is usually open to just afew competition winners at CMU. Schultz hopes the students will grad-

uate to using Baroque bows in thefuture, but for now they focus on issuesof style. Although the students don’t

40 Fall 2006 Early Music America

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play on period instruments,Schultz says he teaches differentconcepts of tuning, phrasing,and especially vibrato. Studentsare very receptive to this coach-ing. Schultz says that for aschool whose focus has beenmodern orchestral playing, “thatwe can have a viable Baroqueensemble is a big step at CMU.”

Radio, players,enthusiastsAnother important resource for early

music is WQED-FM, Pittsburgh’s all-clas-sical public radio station. WQED pro-vides Pittsburgh arts organizations withmuch-needed on-air promotion andoffers interviews with visiting guestartists and live studio broadcasts to itslisteners. Some early music concerts arealso recorded for later broadcast on thestation’s own “Performance in Pitts-burgh” program. Specialist early musicprograms, such as WFIU’s “Harmonia,”are aired weekly. WQED provides a rea-sonable percentage of period instru-ment recordings in its regular program-ming, although many early music sup-porters wish for more.The Urban Sky Consort performs

Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and20th-century vocal music, focusing onworks written by and for women. Theensemble has six members who per-form intimate house concerts and inarea churches. Their repertoire ranges

from Hildegard of Bingen to BarbaraStrozzi and others. Pittsburgh also has several active

recorder ensembles and at least one violconsort. These dedicated folks not onlyenjoy the process of making their ownmusic, but many of them serve as vol-unteers, board members, and audiencemembers for Pittsburgh’s professionalearly music scene.At the high school level, music

teacher and conductor Andres Claderahas made significant strides in introduc-ing early music to students at The EllisSchool, a private K-12 school for girls.Their presentations of Vivaldi’s Gloria,Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Carissimi’sJepthe have reflected his teaching.

As rivers run The future of early music in Pitts-

burgh looks bright. The city’s threerivers continue to wash away the grimeof its industrial past as the metropolisreinvents itself for the 21st century.Pittsburgh’s early music community islike those rivers – life sustaining, beauti-ful, and cleansing to the soul. If wehead far enough upriver, we may findthe headwaters of our past musical her-itage, the place where all early musiciansstrive to go. Lutenist Scott Pauley holds a doctorate from theearly music program at Stanford University. Afterconcertizing in London for five years, he moved adecade ago to Pittsburgh, where he performs inChatham Baroque.

Right: Bach and the Baroque per-form large-scale works in the Heinz

Chapel at the University of Pitts-burgh. Below, Stephen Schultz

(middle) and his student CarnegieMellon Baroque Ensemble.