A New Year for Catacoustic

2015 will be a landmark year for Catacoustic Consort. This autumn we will celebrate the opening of our 15^th season in Cincinnati, making Catacoustic one of the most enduring small music ensembles in the Queen City. The audiences for early music continue to grow, as people begin to realize the astonishing breadth of music from the Baroque and Renaissance eras.

Some very exciting music is being planned for this year, French in February, English in March. And not JUST from the Baroque and Renaissance -- in April we will present a concert of new music for the viola da gamba, showcasing an eclectic collection of contemporary composers, including Michael Edwards (of Electric Light Orchestra), Elvis Costello, and Tan Dun. The incomparable Michael Maniaci will join us for music that you simply will not hear performed elsewhere.

Catacoustic has also been invited to play at the University of Dayton, a concert of music written by and for nuns of the 17^th century, and which we will repeat here in Cincinnati next fall. And in December we will present a Christmas concert, complete with sackbut ensemble. 

As proud as we are of our season and the music we bring you, our mission extends deeper into the community. This February will be the third year we present the Cincinnati Early Music Festival, which allows audiences to hear the efforts of students, amateurs, and smaller groups, all dedicated to early music. 2015 will also be our fifth year to award a scholarship for musicians pursuing their interests in early music.

This winter the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is hosting a series of free events called Music of the Renaissance, sponsored by the James R. Hunt Trust Fund of the Friends of the Public Library. Artistic director Annalisa Pappano, in her role as pre-professional mentor, will be playing with both of last year’s scholarship winners, Stephen Goist and Cole Guillien, music for three violas da gamba by Senfl, Isaac, Gibbons, and others. (These concerts will take place at the Delhi Township Branch, January 26, 7pm; the Symmes Township Branch, February 2, 7pm; the Deer Park Branch, February 7, 2pm; and the Wyoming Branch, February 16, 6pm.)

The new theorbo is on the workbench. The Kroger Community Rewards program is going full bore (have you linked your Kroger card to Catacoustic yet? We receive a portion of everything you spend at no extra cost to you!) Plans are being made for well into the future. Thank you, Cincinnati, for watching us grow.