Concerts at Half Past Twelve returns for the second performance of the spring series, with members of the acclaimed Repast Baroque Ensemble performing music from the Golden Age of Dresden, a period in the early and mid-eighteenth century during which composers in the German city created some of the most timeless Baroque music.

Geoffrey Burgess (Oboe), Stephanie Corwin (Bassoon), Katie Rietman (Cello), Amelia Roosevelt (Violin) and Gabriel Shuford (Harpsicord) will perform selections from Antonio Vivaldi and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, among other works.

Preceding the concert, Dr. Suzanne Fosberg, Professor and Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, Fine Arts and International Cultural Studies and the series' artistic director, will give a lecture entitled Dresden Then and Now that provides historical context for the performance.

Dr. Fosberg's lecture takes place from 11:15 a.m. to noon in room 7213.

Now in its 19th year, Concerts at Half Past Twelve has become a signature live musical event for the St. Francis and Brooklyn Heights communities. It opened its spring 2019 season on February 11^th with a performance by Ensemble Luini, featuring renaissance music from Josquin Desprez to John Dowland.

The season's final performance on April 8th will feature renowned pianists Zelma Bodzin and Marioara Trifan playing compositions from Beethoven to Debussy and Poulenc.

Performers:

• Baroque oboist and musicologist Geoffrey Burgess has appeared with baroque ensembles in his home country, Australia, across North America, and Europe. For twenty years he worked in Paris with Les Arts Florissants, and he has been a featured soloist with the Washington Bach Consort, Philadelphia Bach Festival, and with the choir of Trinity Wall Street, New York. Currently on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music, he has authored studies on the history of the oboe and French Baroque opera.

• Bassoonist Stephanie Corwin performs with ensembles across the country, including Apollo's Fire, Handel and Haydn Society, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, American Classical Orchestra, Clarion Society, REBEL, and Trinity Baroque Orchestra. In addition to Repast, Stephanie enjoys playing in the chamber ensembles Kleine Kammermusik and Blãser Band.

• Katie Rietman has performed as a baroque cellist on over 45 CD recordings and numerous concerts and radio broadcasts. She performs there regularly with ensembles such as the Clarion Society, Rebel, Concert Royal, the Trinity Choir, and St. Thomas Boys Choir. Other American groups that she regularly works with are the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Musica Angelica, Philadelphia's Buxtehude Consort, Tempesta di Mare, Aradia, and the Toronto Chamber Orchestra. She has coached baroque and modern string players at Yale University, Bard College, Catholic University of Peru, and University of Alabama.

• Amelia Roosevelt is a founding member of Repast. Described by The New York Times as a "virtuoso duelist," she performs with the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra, the Washington Bach Consort, the Aradia Ensemble, the American Classical Orchestra, and Musica Sacra. She has toured throughout Europe, Scandinavia, and South Asia with many ensembles, including Musica Antique Köln, Concerto Köln, and La Cappella de' Turchini. Her recording credits include Naxos, MDG, New Classical Adventure, and MSR Records.

• Gabriel Shuford is the recipient of several awards, including the 2011 Baron Prize from Stony Brook University and the top-prize at the 2007 Mae and Irving Jurow International Harpsichord Competition. The New York Times called his performance with Speculum Musicae of Elliot Carter's Sonata "assured, polished and beautifully nuanced." Gabriel has served on the faculties of Luther College and Sarah Lawrence College.

For more information about the Concerts at Half-Past Twelve series, contact Dr. Suzanne Forsberg at [email protected].