WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The 2008 Magnolia Baroque Festival, which will feature virtuosic performances of Baroque orchestral, solo, chamber music and dance celebrating the theme, “Triumph of Love,” will present five concerts June 18-22 at various venues in Winston-Salem.

The Magnolia Baroque Festival is the only significant early music festival in the Southeast. The weeklong event offers a transcendent experience of beloved Baroque masterpieces played on original period instruments in the spirit in which they were originally performed.

Concerts will be held in Winston-Salem at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Old Salem, The Stevens Center and Calvary Moravian Church. In addition, a special concert will open the Festival on Tuesday, June 17, at Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham.

In recognition of Old Salem’s contribution to music in America, a special concert of Classical Era music will be performed on period instruments.

These world-class performances of 17th and 18th century masterpieces are performed by an orchestra including North Carolina School of the Arts alumni, international stars and local artists. These regionally and nationally recognized players include the country’s premier Baroque violinist, Ingrid Matthews.

Glenn Siebert, founder and director of the Magnolia Baroque Festival, is a world-renowned tenor and faculty member at The North Carolina School of the Arts.

“Baroque music is a captivating and familiar genre that a variety of community members will enjoy,” said Siebert, who is also one of the Festival’s featured musicians.

Siebert’s passion for Baroque music has led to vocal performances with such original instrument ensembles as San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque, Boston Baroque, Chicago's Music of the Baroque and Anima Eterna in Brussels.

In addition to offering historical interpretations of well-loved masterpieces, the Magnolia Baroque Festival seeks to link the music genre to the historic music played in early Salem and thus to the roots of the Winston-Salem community itself.

Winston-Salem has been recognized as a classical music center for more than 200 years. The works of major Baroque and Classical composers, including Handel, Haydn, Mozart, CPE Bach, and others, received their American premieres in early Salem. While Salem’s importance is generally acknowledged by informed musicians nationwide, there is little awareness of the unique history behind this reputation.

“This Festival is unique in that it unites a vibrant, extended community of national musicians, the considerable resources of the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Moravian Music Archives, the historic and quaint settings of Old Salem and other performance venues throughout Winston-Salem, and national premieres of important manuscripts,” states Margaret Mertz, executive director of The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts whose support and creative guidance has made the Magnolia Baroque Festival possible.

For more information, visit www.magnoliabaroque.com  Tickets can be purchased on-line through the website or by calling the Stevens Center Box Office at 336-721-1945.

The Magnolia Baroque Festival is a project of The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.  The Kenan Institute builds partnerships to support creative projects, many of which are associated with the North Carolina School of the Arts. For more information about the Institute, visit www.kenanarts.org.

 

Winston-Salem’s Magnolia Baroque Festival 2008 concert schedule follows:

“The Triumph of Love”

Tuesday, June 17
Duke Gardens, 7:30 p.m.
426 Anderson Street, Durham, N.C.  27708
See Wednesday Concert for description

Wednesday, June 18 The Moravians’ Passion for Music
Calvary Moravian Church, 7:30 p.m.
600 Holly Avenue. Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101
Pre-concert lecture by Nola Knouse, Director of the Moravian Music Archives

Concert will consist of music from the Salem Collegium collection, including quintets by J.F. Peter and W. Piecl, a trio by Graun, and other late Baroque, early classical composers. Keyboardist Andrew Willis and violinist Gesa Kordes will lead a group of seven Magnolia Baroque Festival musicians.

Thursday, June 19 The Excitement of Improvisation
Gray Auditorium, Old Salem 7:30 p.m.
900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101

Special guest ensemble “The Harmonious Blacksmith” will perform. Concert will be early Baroque improvisation. Performers will include Ingrid Matthews, violin; Joe Gascho, harpsichord; John Lenti, lute and theorbo; Nika Zlatzric, cellist; Justin Godoy, recorder player; and soprano Ah Hong.

Friday, June 20 The Love of Bach
Watson Hall, North Carolina School of the Arts, 7:30 p.m.
1533 South Main Street Winston-Salem, N.C. 27127

Concert will feature “Bach Concerti” (all J.S. Bach concerti), including E Major and A Minor violin concertos, D minor double violin concerto, and the Brandenburg Concerto IV. Ingrid Matthews, violin, will lead the concert.

Saturday, June 21 The Triumph of Love
Stevens Center, 7:30 p.m.
405 West 4th Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101

“The Triumph of Love” will include scenes from Purcell's King Arthur, Dioclesian, and The Fairy Queen. Performers will include Paige Whitley Bauguess and Tom Baird, principle dancers, as well as dancers from the New Bern Dancing Assembly and Magnolia Baroque Festival Chorus and Orchestra.

Sunday, June 22 Promenade
Old Salem- Afternoon
South Main Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101

Stroll through old Salem and hear Magnolia Baroque Festival apprentices perform period music in several venues, including the Salem Tavern, Gray Auditorium, St. Philips’ Church and Vogler House.

All programs subject to change