Mediterranean Roots
Dances & Romances from the Ancient World
June 8 – June 13, 2017

JUNE 8-13

Brian Kay, plucked instruments, vocals & guest co-director
Amanda Powell, soprano vocals & guest co-director

Susanna Perry Gilmore, fiddle | Daphna Mor, ney & recorder
Tina Bergmann, hammered dulcimer | Dave Morgan, double bass
Rex Benincasa, percussion

The waters of the Mediterranean carried ancient traders from Spain and Italy to Greece, North Africa and the Middle East. Their songs, dances, love stories and laments went with them. Guest co-directors Amanda Powell and Brian Kay lead a colorful ensemble of exotic winds and percussion, fiddle, and hammered dulcimer in this program celebrating shared multicultural traditions.

Dance of Longing | On the Greek Islands | Flowers on Distant Shores | Sephardic Encounter | Love Beyond Boundaries

Please note: There are NO Pre-Concert Talks before these performances.
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Strella do Dia (Mary, Star of the Day) – medieval Spanish cantiga
Brian Kay, oud & vocals


Nassam Alayna (The Air Breezed Upon Us) – traditional Arabic
Brian Kay, oud & vocals


  • BRIAN KAY
    BRIAN KAY
    plucked instruments
  • AMANDA POWELL
    AMANDA POWELL
    soprano
  • SUSANNA GILMORE
    SUSANNA GILMORE
    fiddle
  • DAPHNA MOR
    DAPHNA MOR
    ney & recorder

  • TINA BERGMANN
    TINA BERGMANN
    hammered dulcimer
  • DAVE MORGAN
    DAVE MORGAN
    double bass
  • REX BENINCASA
    REX BENINCASA
    percussion

Thursday, June 8, 2017, 7:30PM
Baroque Music Barn, HUNTING VALLEY
Friday, June 9, 2017, 8:00PM
Baroque Music Barn, HUNTING VALLEY
Saturday, June 10, 2017, 8:00PM
Baroque Music Barn, HUNTING VALLEY
Sunday, June 11, 2017, 2:00PM
AVON LAKE United Church of Christ
Sunday, June 11, 2017, 7:30PM
Geauga Lyric Theater, CHARDON
Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 7:30PM
The BATH Church (UCC)
PURCHASE TICKETS
COUNTRYSIDE CONCERTS 2017
Spain: ‘Bayad plays the oud to the lady’, Arabic manuscript for Qissat Bayad wa Reyad tale from late 12th century Islamic Andalucia / Pictures from History / Bridgeman Images

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“The U.S.A.’s hottest baroque band.” –CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE (UK)

BRIAN KAY
plucked instruments

is a modern-day troubadour. He holds a Master’s degree in music from Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied lute and theorbo. He specializes in historical plucked instruments and ancient songs of various world traditions. He is a songwriter and poet, and also paints and plays a variety of percussion and wind instruments. Cleveland Classical.com called him “far-ranging,” “brilliant,” and “exciting,” and Early Music America called his work “phenomenal.” His newest album, Three Ravens, was released in January 2015.

AMANDA POWELL
soprano

has been praised as “the star of the evening” (Seen and Heard International, UK) and “charismatic and theatrically arresting” (San Francisco Chronicle). A highly versatile musician, she is at home in repertoire from Monteverdi to Mozart to Ravel, and has toured internationally as soloist in baroque opera, oratorio, and crossover folk programs. Her tour performances with GRAMMY®-winning baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire (Jeannette Sorrell) include such venues as the National Concert Hall of Ireland in Dublin, the Irish National Opera House, the Aldeburgh Festival (UK), the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery in Washington, and Zellerbach Hall in San Francisco, among others. Her 2019 debut as Messiah soloist with the Calgary Symphony won kudos as “the soloist of the night… singing to perfection.”

As a recording artist, Ms Powell has been featured on several Apollo’s Fire albums including Sugarloaf Mountain, Sephardic Journey, and Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain, all of which received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and debuted in the top ten on the BILLBOARD Classical Chart. Her 2015 solo debut album, Beyond Boundaries, is an intimate program of folk, jazz, and global music. She is a fluent improvisor and has collaborated with such artists as Bobby McFerrin and Sheila Jordan.

WEBSITE

SUSANNA GILMORE
fiddle

enjoys a multifaceted career as solo artist, chamber and orchestral musician. She is concertmaster of the Omaha Symphony, a position she previously held with the Memphis Symphony for fifteen years. Her chamber music performances have been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today, A Prairie Home Companion and America’s Music Festivals. Her recent classical solo performances include Jennifer Higdon’s The Singing Rooms (for violin, choir and orchestra) in Paris at the invitation of Ms. Higdon, as well as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Prokofiev and Korngold violin concertos with the Omaha Symphony. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in music from Oxford University (UK) and a Master’s degree in violin performance from the New England Conservatory (Boston). She learned to play Celtic fiddle in her youth through sitting in on Irish sessions during her years in Nashville and England, and for several years performed regularly with the Memphis-based Irish band Planet Reel.

DAPHNA MOR
ney & recorder

has performed throughout Europe and the United States as both a soloist and ensemble player. Mor’s “astonishing virtuosity” (Chicago Tribune) has been heard in solo recitals in the United States, Croatia, Germany and Switzerland. She has performed as a soloist with the New York Collegium, the New York Early Music Ensemble and Little Orchestra Society, and as a member of the orchestra with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Mor was awarded First Prize in the Settimane Musicali di Lugano Solo Competition and the Boston Conservatory Concerto Competition, and has appeared in a duo with Joyce DiDonato on the singer’s promotional tour for the album In War and Peace. Devoted to new music, Mor has recorded on John Zorn’s Tzadik label, and has performed the world premiere of David Bruce’s Tears, Puffes, Jumps, and Galliard with the Metropolis Ensemble. Also active in the world music community, Mor has performed in festivals and on stages worldwide, including New York’s Summer Stage and Munich’s Gasteig. She can also be heard on Sting’s album If On A Winter’s Night for Deutsche Grammophon. Mor serves as the Music Director of Beineinu, a New York initiative dedicated to the modern cultivation of Jewish culture, and is a performer and teacher of liturgical music of the Jewish diaspora. She leads programs for the Education Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

TINA BERGMANN
hammered dulcimer

is one of the world’s leading exponents of the instrument and was described by folk musician Pete Seeger as “the best hammered dulcimer player I’ve heard anywhere.” Playing in the aural tradition as a child, she made her solo debut at age 12 and led her first string band at age 16. Since then, she has been in demand at folk festivals and has performed as soloist with several symphony orchestras. Her contradance bands, Strings & Things and Hu$hmoney, have explored traditional American and Celtic music. She can be heard on the Apollo’s Fire CDs Come to the River, Scarborough Fayre, and Sacrum Mysterium: A Celtic Christmas Vespers.

DAVE MORGAN
double bass

WEBSITE

REX BENINCASA
percussion

is a world music specialist. As a drummer and percussionist, he has performed with ALBA Consort, Ensemble Caprice, The Bishop’s Band, Seraphic Fire, The Sebastians, Flamenco Latino, Carlota Santana Spanish Dance, Zorongo Flamenco Dance, the Grammy Orchestra, and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. He has recorded CDs and movie soundtracks for numerous artists including Philip Glass, Sesame Street, NFL Films, Angelica Women’s Chamber Choir, and the Ivory Consort. Broadway appearances include Fosse, The Full Monty, Flower Drum Song, Man Of La Mancha, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Hairspray, The Color Purple, Billy Elliot, and Motown among many others.

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