Virtuoso Baroque Spectacular!

Sunday, August 18th at 5 PM
St. Ann’s Stone Chapel

St. Ann’s is fortunate to welcome some of the most stunningly talented musicians in the world today. Join us for a concert of virtuoso vocal and instrumental music of the Baroque period that will delight, amaze and move you!

The gates to the property will open at 4 PM and the doors to the Stone Chapel will open at 4:15 PM. The concert will begin at 5 PM and run for 70 minutes without intermission.

Admission is $25 for adults; children 12 and under are free. All tickets will be sold at the door.

Proceeds will be used for the preservation of St. Ann’s stone chapel (which celebrates its 127th year of continuous use this year).

Artists

Margot Rood, Soprano

Margaret Rood has been hailed for her “colorful and vital” singing by The Washington Post, and performs a wide range of repertoire across North American stages.

The 2018/2019 season marks her debuts with San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque, New Jersey Symphony, and Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Recent and upcoming solo appearances include those with the Cleveland Orchestra; the Boston Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic; the New World Symphony; the Handel and Haydn Society and numerous concerts with acclaimed ensemble Blue Heron.

Margot was awarded 3rd place in the 2016 American Prize in Oratorio and Art Song competition and is a former Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellow at Emmanuel Music, where she is often featured on Emmanuel’s nationally-known Bach cantata series. Margot made her solo debut at Boston’s Symphony Hall in 2011 and since then has been a frequent soloist with the Handel and Haydn Society.

In addition to opera and oratorio, Margot has performed as soloist with some of the United States’ premiere new music ensembles, and was a 2015 recipient of the St. Botolph Club Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award for her work in new music. She made her Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist in the world premiere of Shawn Jaeger’s Letters Made with Gold. Margot was a core member of Boston’s Lorelei Ensemble from 2010-2018, an all-female vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of new music. 

Also sought after as a collaborator, Margot has been invited by composers at Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, McGill University, and Keene State College for performances and masterclasses. She has recorded numerous world premieres and 21st-century works with Albany Records, New World Records, BMOP Sound, and Sono Luminus. Her solo recording with composer Heather Gilligan, Living in Light, is now available from Albany Records.  Margot holds degrees from the University of Michigan and McGill University. 

Aisslinn Nosky, Violin

Canadian violinist, Aisslinn Nosky, was appointed Concertmaster of the Handel and Haydn Society in 2011. With a reputation for being one of the most dynamic and versatile violinists of her generation, Aisslinn is in great demand internationally as a director, soloist, and concertmaster. Recent collaborations include the Holland Baroque Society, the Thunder Bay Symphony, La Jolla SummerFest, the Utah Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

Aisslinn is also a member of I FURIOSI Baroque Ensemble. For almost twenty years, this innovative Canadian ensemble has presented its own edgy and inventive concert series in Toronto and toured Europe and North America turning new audiences on to Baroque music. With the Eybler Quarter, Aisslinn explores repertoire from the first century of the string quartet literature on period instruments. From 2005 through 2016, Aisslinn was a highly active member of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and toured and appeared as soloist with the internationally renowned ensemble.

Guy Fishman, Cello

Guy Fishman is principal cellist of the Handel and Haydn Society, with which he made his Symphony Hall debut in 2005. He is in demand as an early music specialist in the United States and Europe, having performed in recital and with Arcadia Players, Connecticut Early Music Festival, Querelle des Bouffons, Boston Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Emmanuel Music, the Boston Museum Trio, Seraphic Fire, Boulder Bach Festival, and El Mundo, among others. He has appeared in recital with Dawn Upshaw, Mark Peskanov, Eliot Fisk, Richard Eggar, Lara St. John, Gil Kalish, Kim Kashkashian, and Natalie Merchant. His playing has been praised as “plangent” by The Boston Globe, “electrifying” by The New York Times, and “beautiful…noble” by the Boston Herald, and “dazzling” by teh Portland Press Herald. The Boston Musical Intelligencer called a recent performance “spectacular.”

Guy started playing the cello at age 12, and at 16 began his Baccalaureate studies with David Soyer at the Manhattan School of Music. He subsequently worked with Peter Wiley, Julia Lichten, and Laurence Lesser, with whom he completed Doctoral studies at the New England Conservatory of Music. Guy is also a Fulbright Fellow, and worked with famed Dutch cellist, Anner Bylsma, in Amsterdam. He plays a rare cello made in Rome in 1704 by David Tecchler.

Ian Watson, Harpsichord

Ian Watson has been described by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “a conductor of formidable ability,” and by The Times in London as a keyboard performer with “virtuosic panache and brilliantly articulated playing” and a “a world class soloist.” He was appointed Associate Conductor of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society in September 2015.

Ian was born in England and won a scholarship at age 14 to the Junior School of the Royal Academy of Music in London. He later won all the prizes for organ performance, including the coveted Recital Diploma. He completed his studies with Flor Peeters in Belgium and in 1993 was honored with an Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of his services to music. Ian’s first major appointment was as Organist at St. Margaret’s, Westminster Abbey, at the age of 19. He held this position for 10 years. Ian also served for five years as Music Director of London’s historic St. James’ Church, Piccadilly.

St. Ann’s is grateful that Ian rounds out his resume as its church organist!