Thursday, December 23, 2021
7:00 p.m.
St. Edwards Episcopal Church, Wayzata, MN
Friday December 24, 2021
12:00 p.m.
Live-streamed only
Cheryl Zylla, violin, viola, viola d’amore
Ginna Watson, violin, hardinger fiddle
Julie Elhard, viola da gamba
Charles Asch, cello
CHERYL ZYLLA has been playing with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra since its second season. She performs with chamber music groups throughout the Twin Cities and has also performed throughout North America, with the Vancouver, Boston, Nova Scotia, Ottawa, Duluth, and South Dakota symphonies, as well as the American Bach Soloists. She teaches violin and viola, coaches youth symphonies, and serves as a judge for local auditions, solo and ensemble competitions, and private studios. Cheryl has degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Minnesota. In her spare time, she gardens and knits.
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
JULIE ELHARD appears regularly as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States. She has made several appearances with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, including J.S. Bach”s St. Matthew Passion under the direction of Nicholas McGegan. She has been a guest artist with Apollo’s Fire in Cleveland and is a founding member of Violes Egales and Glorious Revolution Baroque. Julie has been the recipient of an Artist’s Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, as well as a Jerome Foundation grant to study vielle and early string playing with Margriet Tindemans. She also received a Performing Artist Certificate from the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague, Netherlands. She has taught at workshops in North America and at the Viola da Gamba Society of America’s national Conclaves. She currently teaches viola da gamba at Macalester College and also at the St. Paul Conservatory of Music, where she has developed a Suzuki-style approach for children to learn the viola da gamba. Julie has played cello and viola da gamba with Lyra for over 15 years. More information at www.julieelhard.com
CHARLES ASCH performs cello recitals, chamber music recitals, and with orchestral ensembles in the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota. He performs on a German baroque cello from the early 1700s, and a modern cello by Gary Davis in New England, 1996. He has performed several recitals focusing on the Baroque repertoire, featuring Sonatas by Boccherini, Vivaldi, Lanzetti and Geminiani, as well as solo cello works by J.S. Bach and Dall’ Abaco. His 19th-20th century repertoire includes sonatas by Poulenc, Debussy, Britten and Beethoven. He received his Master of Music degree from Juilliard in 2011, where he studied with Richard Aaron and Fred Sherry. He recently completed his doctoral thesis at the University of Minnesota, where he studied with Tanya Remenikova.