Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges

“The Most Accomplished Man in Europe” ~John Adams

Saturday, April 17, 2021
11:00 a.m.
streaming link will be emailed to ticket holders one week before event

Who was Joseph Bologne? Imagine in one person the combined talents of Muhammed Ali and Prince Rogers Nelson, then add a rags to riches backstory not unlike Alexander Hamilton and you’ll be close. Widely acclaimed as the greatest fencer of his generation, Bologne was also praised for his superlative finesse and artistry as a violinist. Our April concert features music written by and dedicated to this fantastic Afro-European composer.

Lucinda Marvin, Marc Levine, & Elizabeth York, violin
Ginna Watson, viola
Tulio Rondón, cello
Tami Morse, harpsichord

REPERTOIRE

Joseph Bologne (1745–1799)
Suite from ‘L’Amant Anonime’
Sonata pour le Violon
Quatuor pour le Clavecin in g minor
Sonate pour le Clavecin avec Accompagnement de Violon Obligé

François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829)
Quartet in e-minor

Ignatius Sancho (1729-1780)
Country Dances
Suite from Minuets &c.&c.

Artists

LUCINDA MARVIN teaches violin at MacPhail. Her love of chamber music began when she was in the seventh grade. Today, she shares her passion with her students, some of whom have gone on to join major orchestras both in the United States and abroad. Lucinda is a well-respected freelance violinist in the Twin Cities area who performs on both baroque and modern violin. Lucinda is the concertmaster of the Lyra Baroque Orchestra, has performed, toured, and recorded with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and was principal second violin of the Indianapolis Symphony. For five summers, Lucinda was a fellow at the Aspen Institute, performing with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, the Aspen Chamber Orchestra, and on the Contemporary Music Series. Lucinda received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota, and her Master of Music in violin performance at Indiana University.

MARC LEVINE enjoys a career as a chamber musician and orchestral leader specializing in performances on both modern and baroque violin. On baroque violin, Marc performs with his chamber ensemble, Flying Forms, that, in addition to performing standard and contemporary repertoire, also presents larger scale programs including oratorios and operas. In Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he is based, Marc regularly appears as leader or section member with the Bach Society of Minnesota, Oratory | Sacred Bach, Consortium Carissimi, and the Lyra Baroque Orchestra. On modern violin, Marc performs chamber music from all eras on various series and with groups including the Lowertown Piano Trio (founding member), Minnesota Bach Ensemble, Minneapolis Music Company, and the MacPhail Spotlight Series. With many of these groups, both recorded and live, Marc has been featured many times as a soloist and ensemble player on Minnesota Public Radio. A noted entrepreneur, Marc co-founded The Baroque Room, a performance space in downtown Saint Paul that hosts over 50 events each year including the Saint Paul Classical Music Crawl, an event featuring the entire city’s classical music scene and named one of the top ten classical music events of 2015 by the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

ELIZABETH YORK, originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, is a member of Lyra Baroque Orchestra and has performed with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and as guest concertmaster of Kenwood Symphony Orchestra. She is the concertmaster of Minnehaha Music Repertory Orchestra, and she served as guest concertmaster of Rochester Symphony Orchestra in March and May of 2015. A versatile and dynamic musician, Elizabeth has performed as a concerto soloist with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, as a baroque violinist for St. Mark’s Episcopal Early Music series in Islip, NY, and in contemporary music performances at New York City’s Merkin Hall and Symphony Space. Elizabeth was a featured guest for the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival “Next Generation” concert series and has also performed with members of the Emerson String Quartet as part of the Stony Brook Chamber Music Festival. Recent chamber music performances have included appearances at Steinway Hall in New York City and at Southampton Cultural Center. More information at elizabeth-york.com

A Minneapolis-based violinist and early music specialist, GINNA WATSON performs with The Rose Ensemble and the Lyra Baroque Orchestra, as well as with many early music productions in the Twin Cities. She has appeared on many early music series throughout the United States, as well as the Boston, Indianapolis, and San Antonio early music festivals. Internationally, Ginna has performed in festivals in Germany, Spain, Italy and France. Ginna is the violin instructor at Hamline University in St. Paul. She also gives masterclasses on medieval and baroque performance practice in the Twin Cities and nationally, including Houston Baptist University, Colorado State University, Luther College, and the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity in Los Angeles. More information at ginnawatson.com

Cellist and gambist TULIO RONDÓN  performs throughout the United States, Europe, Middle East, and North and South America as a soloist and chamber musician. Known for his vivid depth, passionate performances and strong leadership, he started his professional life early, as principal cellist of the Aragua Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. Tulio”s performance career has taken him all over the world, and he has shared the stage with internationally celebrated artists such as Gil Shaham, Paul Katz, James Tocco, the Hagen String Quartet, Pacifica String Quartet, and the Miro String Quartet. In demand as a chamber musician and early music specialist, Tulio has been on faculty as the viola da gamba instructor at the Whitewater Early Music Festival in Wisconsin since 2010. In 2012 he joined the Vancouver Early Music Festival as faculty on viola da gamba and baroque cello alongside Jaap ter Linden. Born in La Victoria, Venezuela, Tulio began his cello studies through El Sistema, quickly moving up to the highest orchestra by age fifteen. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Simon Bolivar Conservatory, his Master of Music from Miami University in Ohio, and his Doctorate in Performance at the University of Arizona. Pursuing his strong interest in historic performance practice, he continued his studies in The Netherlands, doing post-graduate studies on baroque cello and viola da gamba with Jaap ter Linden and Rainer Zipperling at The Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Tulio is currently cello professor at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire. More information at www.trcello.com

Harpsichordist TAMI MORSE is active as a soloist and chamber musician in the Midwest and East Coast. With the baroque ensemble Flying Forms, known for innovative, interdisciplinary performances and considered “names to watch” (Berkshire Review for the Arts), Morse has been in residence at Lawrence University, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and with Minnesota Youth Symphonies. A finalist in the Jurow International Harpsichord Competition, she also performs regularly with the Minnesota Bach Ensemble, the Big Apple Baroque Band, the Lyra Baroque Orchestra, the Bach Society of Minnesota, and Glorious Revolution Baroque. Morse has a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan where she studied with Edward Parmentier and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University where she studied with Arthur Haas. In addition to her studies in the United States, Morse was awarded a DAAD grant, which she used to study at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne with Ketil Haugsand. She is the Executive Director and co-founder of the performance space The Baroque Room in the Lowertown area of downtown Saint Paul.