Sweet Bird Classics is busy in Seattle!
We’re partners with Early Music Guild, Pacific Musicworks, and St. James Cathedral in December:
Dec. 3-4, 2010, St. James Cathedral
Monteverdi
Monteverdi’s stunning Vespers of 1610 :
For seven successive seasons the Pieterskerk in Leiden, Holland, presented a very special performance each year of Monteverdi’s masterpiece, the Vespers of 1610 led by Stephen Stubbs. A recording was made in the Pieterskerk in 2002 and released on the ATMA label. It has received ecstatic reviews worldwide. In December 2010 we will transplant the fruits of those years in Leiden to St. James Cathedral in Seattle, the most beautiful acoustical space for this music in the Pacific Northwest presented by Seattle’s Early Music Guild.
This performance will be recorded and offered for national broadcast.
Stephen Stubbs … and his group are among the finest performers of early baroque (and late renaissance) music I have encountered, and Seattle is fortunate in possessing them.
Bernard Jacobson, Musicweb-international.com
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Handel in Seattle: The American Handel Festival 2011
See our big Handel Festival page. This is a very large collaboration among many, many Seattle arts organizations, and Sweet Bird Classics is managing the entire project. We expect a lot of visitors from out of town for this festival, including about 40 of the top Handel scholars from around the world.
Handel as a young man
Highlights include:
*The Seattle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, with soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian
*The oratorio Esther, in a version from 1720 that has not been heard since the 18th century, performed by Pacific Musicworks and the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, in St. James Cathedral, conducted by Stephen Stubbs.
*Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Acis and Galatea. See the fabulous reviews here.
*A choral workshop for 100 singers, who come to Seattle to sing Handel choruses for three days, culminating in a public concert with full orchestra
*Lectures, mini-course, symposia, and some 18 concerts by local artists
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Seattle Academy of Opera
The Seattle Academy of Opera (formerly Seattle Academy of Baroque Opera) is a program dedicated to preparing musicians for a career in baroque opera performance, founded by Stephen Stubbs.
In recognition of the need for ongoing education in the field of baroque opera for both singers and continuo players, we also offer weekend workshops during the academic year. Unlike the Accademia d’Amore, which has 40-50 participants, these events are designed for a smaller group (limited to eight singers) allowing for more in-depth work and exploring the repertoire of the cantata and motet as well as operatic scenes. The faculty of Seattle Academy of Opera are artists-in-residence at St James Cathedral.
NEXT Accademia d’Amore: August 12-22, 2010
Performance of opera scenes from the 17th century
Venue: Cornish College of the Arts, Kerry Hall, 710 East Roy St, Seattle WA, 98102, USA
See the SAO website for more information.
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Sweet Bird Classics provides technical assistance for audience development:
With the decline in radio and newspaper promotions, the landscape for building new audience can be daunting.
SBC produces broadcast-quality audio features that can be used on the radio, on websites, in emails, on Facebook, as podcasts or in any electronic format. We have produced features for Seattle Pro Musica, the Early Music Guild, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Pacific Musicworks, The Tudor Choir, and Medieval Women’s Choir, so far. This service is available to any arts organization or any other Seattle organization for a small fee.
Here are a couple of samples:
Benjamin Bagby and Sequentia, from the Early Music Guild
Doug Fullington and the Tudor Choir