We are offering a Consort Studio in central New Jersey, monthly sessions in ensemble playing for intermediate and above recorder players to play with one another and other instruments under a skilled conductor, with professional accompaniment.
These events will be led by conductor, recorder player, and harpsichordist, Steven Russell (see below). It is an opportunity to play a variety of Baroque literature for small ensembles, through rehearsal, instruction, and demonstration, and end with the option to play the lead alto recorder part with a professional ensemble. We will have opportunities to warm up on Renaissance music with SATB recorders, so bring all sizes.
Register early, at https://hprecorder.org/news/ as a Participant ($30 per session) to play and receive the music in advance. Register early as an Auditor ($15 per session) to receive the music in advance and to enjoy hearing how the ensemble develops, for an afternoon of entertainment, culminating in a performance with the professional ensemble.
Dates: One Saturday of each month, 1:00 – 4:15 P.M. w/ a 10-min. break
Jan. 11, 2025Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â March 22, 2025Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, 2025
Feb. 22, 2025Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â April 26, 2025Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â June 28, 2025
Location: Reformed Church of Highland Park, 19-21 South Second Avenue, Highland Park, NJ
There is plenty of parking at the location, which is only a short walk from the New Brunswick, NJ train station. It’s a short ride from the station by taxi.
For more info and to register, visit our website! www.hprecorder.org/news/ .
Or contact recorderdonna@gmail.com
Highland Park Recorder Society Consort Studio Spring 2025
Saturdays
January 11
Giuseppe Sammartini Sonata II in F for 2 Alto Recorders and Continuo
Meredyth Coleman, oboe
Ruth Ochs, cello
Second part played by oboe
February 22
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Trio in F Major for Bass Recorder, Viola, and Continuo
Tina Wagner, viola
Ruth Ochs, cello
We will play the recorder part on alto first, then anyone who wants can play on bass
Both treble clef and bass clef parts are available
March 22
Georg Friedrich Handel Sonata II in F for Alto Recorder and Violin (Op. 2 No. 4)
Alexei Yavtuhovich, Violin
Ruth Ochs, cello
April 26
Georg Philipp Telemann Trio Sonata in A Minor (42:a6) for alto recorder and oboe.
Nick Gatto, oboe
Ruth Ochs, cello
May 24
Georg Philipp Telemann Trio Sonata in F (42:F6) for alto recorder and violin.
Alexei Yavtuhovich, Violin
Ruth Ochs, cello
June 28
Georg Philipp Telemann Trio 8 in B Flat Major for alto recorder and solo harpsichord.
Steven Russell, harpsichord
TBA, cello
About Steven Russell
Steven Russell is the owner of Becoming Sound LLC, which was founded in 2013 to guide those on the path to health and wellness of body, mind, and spirit through music, massage therapy, and yoga. He has been the Director of the Garden State Philharmonic Chorus since 2017. He has conducted the Chorus and Orchestra in concerts each December which include Handel’s Messiah, John Rutter’s Mass of the Children, and the annual Fourth of July Concert on the square in downtown Toms River, and has conducted the Philharmonic in performances of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, with the Atlantic City Ballet.
Steven served as the Artistic Director for the New Jersey Gay Men’s Chorus, the Rutgers University Queens Chorale, the Shrewsbury Chorale, the Monmouth Civic Chorus on their Scandinavian Tour, and the All Shore Chorus in 2003 in an all-American program featuring Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. Steven founded the Ravine Crossing Chamber Chorale, and was the Founding President of the New Jersey Choral Consortium. Steven has served as the chair of the Repertoire and Standards Committee for Community Choruses for the Eastern Division of the American Choral Directors Association, and served the same for the New Jersey chapter.
Steven has served as Director of Music for the Parish of St. Thomas More, Manalapan, St. Mary’s Church, Colts Neck, and St. Joseph’s Church, Keyport. He served on the Executive Board of the Monmouth Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Steven currently is a substitute organist and director throughout New Jersey and the surrounding area.
Steven taught vocal, instrumental, and general music from 1983-1988 at St. John Vianney High School, St. Joseph’s School, Keyport, and for the Hazlet Township Public Schools.
Steven has a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree magna cum laude from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, where he studied with Joseph Flummerfelt and Frauke Haasemann, and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, where he studied with Richard Westenburg.
Steven is a Licensed Massage Therapist, having graduated from the American Institute of Alternative Medicine in East Brunswick, and is a Certified Yoga Teacher, having studied with Sri Dharma Mittra in NYC. He was half of the piano duo, Polymania, from 1994-2009. You can hear him perform on his YouTube channel, hemiola711, or visit his website, becoming-sound.com.
