Programs

Schedule

Vocalist SARAH PILLOW enjoys a unique career, drawing on her equal expertise in her interpretation of jazz, classical, and early music repertoire. Beginning her career as a jazz singer, Sarah won best vocal solo in a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. She went on to study classical singing at Oberlin Conservatory, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. Since moving to New York City from her native California, Sarah has toured the United States and Canada with her jazz quartet, her crossover project, Nuove Musiche, and her early music ensemble, Galileo's Daughters. She has performed as both chorister and soloist on all the great stages in New York City, including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Her performances in operatic works have resulted in critical praise, with “a genuinely genre-busting voice, full and vivid” by The Washington Post in modern operas by Gisle Kverndokk; and “splendid” and “radiating calm” by The New York Times for her portrayal of the Queen in 12th-century “Play of Daniel” at the Cloisters and Trinity Wall Street Church. In addition to her own projects, Sarah enjoys appearing with early music ensembles Ayreheart and The Baltimore Consort as a guest performer. Her most recent recording, with composer and percussionist Marc Wagnon titled "Interesting Times", is available on Buckyball Records and via download and streaming on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play. More information about Sarah can be found at sarahpillow.com.

MARY ANNE BALLARD, viola da gamba, has, as a performer and programmer, explored a wide variety of early music from the Middle Ages through the Baroque periods. She has toured 47 states, The Netherlands, Germany, and Austria, and appeared on numerous radio programs (e.g. St. Paul Sunday, Performance Today) with The Baltimore Consort, an ensemble whose recordings of repertory from Renaissance England, Scotland, France, and Spain, as well as early traditional music have ranked in the top 10 on the Billboard “classical crossover” charts. As a guest viol player, she has appeared with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Bethlehem Bach Festival, the Philadelphia Singers, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and the Cardinal Consort (Toronto). Ms. Ballard has taught viola da gamba and directed early music ensembles at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and the Peabody Conservatory, and she is currently on the faculty of the summer Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute. In New York City, she was Music Director of the 12th-century Play of Daniel, with performances at The Cloisters and Trinity Wall Street Church in New York City between 2008 and 2015.

DAVA SOBEL is the author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, The Planets, A More Perfect Heaven, and, most recently, The Glass Universe. She has also co-authored six books, including The Illustrated Longitude with William J. H. Andrewes and Is Anyone Out There? with astronomer Frank Drake. A former science reporter for The New York Times, Sobel has won awards for her writing from the National Science Board, the Boston Museum of Science, the Los Angeles Times, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London. She is pleased and proud to have an asteroid named in her honor – 30935davasobel. For more information about Dava and her work, please visit: davasobel.com

Composer, percussionist, teacher and visual artist MARC WAGNON has been creating videos for Galileo’s Daughters since 2005. He now performs with the group, mixing in real time video clips, animation, iconic images, and high-definition photographs of Earth and the heavens that accompany the group’s performances. He also creates video accompaniment to his own and other composers' compositions. Originally from Switzerland, Marc studied music at the Geneva Conservatory of Music and the Berklee School in Boston, and has recorded over 20 albums, including 4 solo albums, of jazz and jazz-rock music. He is the author of Drum Talk, a teaching method for group percussion that uses a unique approach to polyrhythms and various drumming styles to teach a level of complexity that would normally demand longer preparation. Recently Marc became a volunteer for NASA and JPL as a "Solar System Ambassador". For more information please visit: marcwagnon.com.

GRAMMY-nominated lutenist, RONN MCFARLANE strives to bring the lute - the most popular instrument of the Renaissance - into today’s musical mainstream and make it accessible to a wider audience. He graduated with honors from Shenandoah Conservatory and continued study on the guitar at Peabody Conservatory before turning his full attention and energy to the lute in 1978. The following year, Ronn began to perform solo recitals on the lute and became a member of the Baltimore Consort. Since then, he has toured throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with the Baltimore Consort and as a soloist. In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory for his achievements in bringing the lute and its music to the world. He has over 30 recordings on the Dorian/Sono Luminus label, including both solo albums and collaborations with other ensembles. Ronn’s original compositions for the the lute were the focus of his solo CD, Indigo Road, which received a GRAMMY Award Nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album in 2009.  His latest CD release is titled The Celtic Lute. For more information about Ronn and his music, visit ronnmcfarlane.com.

​DANIEL SWENBERG plays a wide variety of lutes and guitars: baroque, renaissance, classical/romantic, small, medium, and large. Chief among these is the theorbo-- the long lute that you are either wondering about or overhearing your neighbor discuss. He plays with myriad groups, mostly in the EZ-Pass territories, California, and Toronto.

JOHN MARK ROZENDAAL is founder and director of the Viola da Gamba Dojo of New York, and performs with Trio Settecento, LeStrange Viols and Brandywine Baroque. As founding Artistic Director of Chicago Baroque Ensemble, John Mark performed and led seven seasons of subscription concerts, educational programs, radio broadcasts, and recordings for the Cedille and Centaur labels. He served as principal 'cellist of The City Musick and Basically Bach, and has performed both solo and continuo roles with many period instrument ensembles including the Newberry Consort, Orpheus Band, The King's Noyse/Boston Early Music Festival Violin Band, Four Nations Ensemble and the Catacoustic Consort.