EMA News Features & Press Releases

Soprano Michele Kennedy writes about two profoundly moving experiences in her musical life. 'For aspiring young musicians, seeing their own image reflected back from the stage can be life-altering.' And, as an artist, 'being that example for others to see...'

If you know anything about Southern Oregon, it might be for Crater Lake or the Oregon Shakespeare Festival or as an increasingly impressive wine region. But the Jefferson Baroque Orchestra has been going steadily for three decades. Under new leadership, the ensemble is aiming to become one of the leading period instrument groups on the West Coast.

Next Week, New Orleans' OperaCreole and D.C.'s Opera Lafayette collaborate on a world premiere, 138 years after the music was written. Edmond Dédé fled antebellum New Orleans for France, where he was a successful conductor and composer. But his grand, four-act opera "Morgiane" was never performed, till now.

Two musicians with Deep South connections recently launched a Facebook group, hoping to encourage the small and far-flung scene. Over the holidays, they came together for the first time in an afternoon jam. Baroque violinist Lindsey Tootle, an Alabama native, sends a session report.

If you're in Europe, hoping to hear a deluxe celebration of Palestrina's 500th birthday, go to the Duomo in Milan. In North America, the biggest Palestrina 2025 party will be in Grand Rapids, Mich., where an ambitious Catholic church will host a dozen ensembles, from the Tallis Scholars and Gesualdo Six to their own parish choirs -- and all of it sung at regular Mass services.

At the 2024 EMA Summit, countertenor Michael Walker II, viol player Philip Spray, and Alchymy Viols gave a presentation called 'Deep River.' One day, while rehearsing a famous spiritual, writes Walker, 'it reminded me of the viola da gamba in its ability to convey both sadness and joy.'

REMA, the European Early Music Network, has launched a survey to learn how the global early-music sector has adapted and evolved in 2024, from finances to programming. Although most REMA members are in Europe, some are North American-based, and the survey is open to everyone in the field and responses are anonymous.

'It takes bravery to come here.' On a daily basis, air-raid sirens drive everyone into bomb shelters, fearful of the next Russian attack. Yet the second edition of the Kyiv Baroque Festival, in war-ravaged, resilient Ukraine, is scheduled for next month. 'The national ensembles have been designated as "reserve." The government has realized that performances are good for society and important for morale.'

'I very rarely think a program needs projections, because the music speaks for itself,' says Camilla Tassi, a visual projections designer who works with some of the most celebrated ensembles on the American early-music scene. 'But we have to ask ourselves: Who is this performance for? What are we trying to convey?'

Chicago's Bella Voce opens its season with choral music exploring the cultural links between the Americas and the colonial powers of Spain and Portugal. Some of the composers on this enriching program were born in the New World, some were European-born travelers, and a few never crossed the Atlantic but their music did.