The Peru Gazette

The prize-winning Montreal ensemble, Infusion Baroque, performs their signature program “Virtuosa” on the Hill and Hollow Music series Sunday, March 13 at the Methodist Church on NYS Route 3 in Saranac. The program features music by women composers of the 17th and 18th centuries and will be performed on historical instruments: flute, violin, cello, and harpsichord. The quartet will give a pre-concert talk at 2:15 pm with the concert following at 3:00 pm. Audience members must be vaccinated and masked. Admission is a suggested donation at the door: $15 general, $12 seniors, $5 students, children under 12 attend free. Further info: telephone 518-293-7613, e-mail ambrown.hillholl@gmail.com or visit www.hillandhollowmusic.org.

Infusion Baroque’s performances have been described as “dynamic and alive” (Early Music America) with “polish, energy, and finely-honed style… merrily breaking established traditions” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Winners of the Grand Prize and Audience Prize at the 2014 Early Music America Baroque Performance Competition, the ensemble beguiles audiences across North America with creative programming.

Infusion Baroque has appeared with early music presenters across North America, including the San Francisco Early Music Society, Early Music Now (Milwaukee), Columbus Early Music, Houston Early Music, and Indianapolis Early Music. In addition to their annual Montreal season, Infusion Baroque performs regularly in the greater Montreal area and has appeared in the Montreal Baroque Festival, Concerts Lachine, and with the Montreal Arts Council on Tour.

Their latest album, a world-premiere recording of quintets by Georg Anton Kreüsser, was nominated for an Opus Prize by the Conseil Québecois de la musique.  Fanfare wrote, “the playing of these musicians … is superb. They play with a liveliness and unforced energy that seems to grow naturally out of the music… combining spontaneity and abandon with technical perfection.”

For several years Infusion Baroque has been exploring the lives of historical women in music. Fascinated by their discoveries through extensive research, they developed the Virtuosa Project around women who made significant musical contributions despite considerable barriers and stigma. Their February 13 concert highlights works by Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677), Anna Bon (1738-1769), Wilhelmine von Bayreuth (1709-1758), Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen (1745-1818) and Élizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729).

More About the Musicians of Infusion Baroque 

www.infusionbaroque.com 

ALEXA RAINE-WRIGHT – Baroque flute and recorder

Equally at ease on the recorder and the baroque flute, Alexa Raine-Wright has shared her passion and talent for early music with audiences across the United States and Canada with ensembles such as Flûte Alors!, Ensemble Caprice, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, I Musici, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Alexa was awarded the Grand Prize and Orchestra Prize at the 2016 Indianapolis International Baroque Competition, as well as First Prize at the National Flute Association’s 2015 Baroque Flute Artist Competition in Washington DC. She is a graduate of McGill University. www.infusionbaroque.com

SALLYNEE  AMAWAT – Baroque violin

A native of Chicago, violinist Sallynee Amawat enjoys performing with North American period ensembles such as the American Baroque Orchestra, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, and Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal. While living in Thailand, she performed regularly with ensembles such as the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, with tours in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore.  She holds a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the Hartt School, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Music in Early Music Performance from McGill University, where her research was focused on repertoire of the early French violin school.

ANDREA STEWART – Baroque cello

Cellist Andrea Stewart has been heard in venues across North America, Europe, and Asia performing solo recitals and collaborating with ensembles including Infusion Baroque, collectif9, Grammy-nominated Uccello, Gruppo Montebello, and Ensemble Caprice. A laureate of the Golden Violin Competition (McGill University), the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, and the Prix d’Europe Competition, Andrea holds the degrees of Doctor of Music (2015) and Master of Music (2009) from McGill University. Her research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.

RONA NADLER – Harpsichord

Known as a sensitive and stylish continuo player, harpsichordist Rona Nadler has performed with some of the most prestigious ensembles in the Montreal area including Ensemble Caprice, I Musici, the McGill Chamber Orchestra, and Les Voix Baroques. She has worked as a vocal coach and music director for Compagnie Baroque Mont-Royal, Opera da Camera, and Opera McGill, and is artistic director of the vocal ensemble One Equall Musick. Rona studied harpsichord at McGill University with Hank Knox and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Jesper Christensen. She serves as Music Director and Cantorial Soloist at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Shalom.