Piffaro the Renaissance Band presents its annual holiday concert December 10-12 in Philadelphia and Wilmington, and December 18-28 online. Concert and ticket information are available at www.piffaro.org or by calling 215-235-8469.
Joan Kimball and Bob Wiemken, who will retire from directing Piffaro at the end of this season, have brightened 38 winters with their holiday program, which has become an audience favorite. This year’s program, Let the Holidays Resound, will draw on some of Kimball and Wiemken’s favorite material and will encompass Christmas, Chanukah and Solstice traditions from the Renaissance period: German chorales, French noels, Marian hymns from Spain, Sephardic songs celebrating the preparation of food for Chanukah, and solstice celebrations from merry old England.
Soprano Clara Rottsolk and tenor Jason McStoots will join Piffaro’s versatile multi-instrumentalists. Rottsolk, who has been lauded by The New York Times for her “clear, appealing voice and expressive conviction,” specializes in historically informed performance practice, singing with ensembles including American Bach Soloists, Tempesta di Mare, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Les Délices, Pacific MusicWorks, St. Thomas Church 5th Avenue, Atlanta Baroque, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Colorado Bach Ensemble, Trinity Wall Street Choir, Seraphic Fire, and ARTEK.
McStoots, described by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as “the consummate artist, wielding not just a sweet tone but also incredible technique and impeccable pronunciation” is a respected interpreter of medieval, renaissance and baroque music whose recent solo appearances include Le Jeu in Les plaisirs de Versailles by Charpentier; Apollo in Orfeo, Eumete and Giove in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, and the Vespers of 1610, by Monteverdi. He has performed with Blue Heron, Boston Lyric Opera, Emmanuel Music, Pacific MusicWorks, TENET, Seattle Early Music Guild, and was proud to appear on Boston Early Music Festival’s GRAMMY-winning 2015 Charpentier recording.
