Ravinia 2023 Issue 2

Jeannette Sorrell is internationally recog- nized as both a com- pelling interpreter of Baroque and Classical repertoire as well as a leading creative voice in the exploration of historical folk music traditions. The subject of the documenta- ry Playing with Fire—Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting , created by Os- car-winning director Allan Miller and com- mercially released in June , she studied conducting with Leonard Bernstein and Rog- er Norrington, one of the youngest students ever accepted into the conducting programs at Tanglewood and Aspen. She also studied harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt in Am- sterdam, later winning the top prize of the Spivey International Harpsichord Com- petition, which comprised over musicians from across four continents. As a teenager, she lived in the rural Shenandoah Valley, where she grew to love Appalachian music and Southern harmony—her programs ex- ploring folk traditions aim to help American listeners reconnect with their shared roots as immigrants. In demand as a guest conductor with orchestras and period ensembles, Sorrell recently debuted with the New York Philhar- monic and Philadelphia Orchestra (Han- del’s Messiah ) as well as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (Bach’s Saint John Passion), having also led the National Symphony at e Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Opera eatre of Saint Louis with the Saint Louis Symphony, and repeatedly the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque, and Pittsburgh, Seattle, Utah, and New World Symphonies. Upcoming engage- ments include a return to the New York Phil- harmonic and debuts with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Baltimore, Houston, and Indianapolis Symphonies. Her record- ings of Bach’s Saint John Passion and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons have been acclaimed as the best in the eld by the Sunday Times of London. Fiona Gillespie is a classically trained soprano, folk singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter based in Philadelphia. Raised in a family of Celtic musicians, she splits her time singing with professional chamber and choral ensembles around the nation, touring with her folk band e Chivalrous Crickets and producing re- cordings and events with her early music/folk crossover ensemble Makaris. Commercial re- leases include Wisps in the Dell , Tam Lin , e Galant David Rizzio , and A Chivalrous Crick- etmas . Select upcoming featured appearances include the Celtic Classic Festival in Bethle- hem, PA; e Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado; and Choral Arts Philadelphia. Gillespie is also a member of Apollo’s Singers, with whom she has toured internationally. Bass-baritone Sam Kreidenweis enjoys a diverse career as a soloist and ensem- ble musician across America and abroad. He regularly sings and records with Skylark Vocal Ensemble, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Inversion En- semble, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and Anúna, and he can be heard on the Grammy-winning recording of Rachmanino ’s All-Night Vigil with the Phoenix Chorale. His versatility al- lows him to sing a wide range of repertoire from early to contemporary music. When not performing, Kreidenweis is a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner, using his love of mentoring and education to develop equi- table and inclusive systems for corporations and nonpro ts. Susanna Perry Gilm- ore has been a frequent soloist and principal with Apollo’s Fire since and is the ddler on their best-selling recordings Sugarloaf Mountain and Sephardic Journey . She is the concertmaster of the Omaha Symphony, and in addition to performing concertos annually with the ensemble, she co-created the Celtic pops show Celtic Journey for Irish band and orchestra, which has been presented by the Omaha and Edmonton Symphonies and, just this past March, the Nashville Symphony. She holds degrees from Oxford University and New England Conservatory, and shepicked up Irish ddling through sitting in on ses- sions during her youth in Nashville and stud- ies in England. Caitlin Hedge is an award-winning fid- dler, Baroque violinist and violist d’amore, orchestral violist, and singer-songwriter/ guitarist. Her more than recordings include a new release with Scottish early-music ensemble Makaris, and her debut solo album is expected in . As a modern violist, Hedge performs regularly with the Youngstown, Wheeling, Ashland, and Mans eld Symphonies. As a period play- er, she recently collaborated with the New York-based medieval ensemble Alkemie and with members of Acronym. She holds perfor- mance degrees in modern viola from Bald- win Wallace and Youngstown State Universi- ty—where she has served on faculty—and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in historical performance at Case Western Reserve University. Emi Tanabe enjoys a multi-faceted career as a Baroque violinist and a solo crossover artist. In addition to touring international- ly with Apollo’s Fire, she performs with the Chicago-based period groups Haymarket Opera and ird Coast Baroque. Her facility with global music styles and improvisation has led to many solo violin performances with tango, amenco, Celtic, and jazz ensembles across the country. She has appeared with such groups as the Surabhi Ensemble, the Grammy-nominated children’s music band Wendy&DB, and the theater/din- ner production Teatro ZinZanni . Tanabe is a native of Japan and holds degrees in violin performance from the University of North Texas and Roosevelt University. Tina Bergmann was hailed by Pete Seeger as “the best hammered dulcimer player I’ve heard in my life.” A fou r t h - gener at ion musician, Bergmann began playing music at age , learning the mountain dulcimer from her mother in the aural tradition and learning the hammered dulcimer at the knee of West Virginia–native builder and performer Loy Swiger. Demon- strating gi s for both performance and teach- ing, she has been a featured performer across the United States, performing solo; as a duo with her husband, bassist Bryan Thomas; with her string band Hu hmoney; and as a featured soloist with Apollo’s Fire and Cana- dian early music group La Nef. Brian Kay is a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and histor- ical music specialist. He has performed throughout the world at venues including the National Concert Hall of Dublin, Belfast Castle, Carnegie Hall, e Kennedy Center, and the Folger eater. He is a core member and artistic leadership fellow with Apollo’s Fire, and in , he won a Grammy Award for his work on their album Songs of Orpheus . Recently he was a featured soloist on the soundtrack of e Witcher on Net ix. Cellist René Schiffer is a native of Hol- land, where he was a protégé of Anner Bi- jlsma. He later studied Baroque cello with Jaap ter Linden and viola da gamba with Catharina Meints. As a member of Sigiswald Kuijken’s La Petite Bande for years, he toured four continents and appeared many times on European tele- vision. He has also performed with the Am- sterdam Baroque Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, and in over projects with Tafelmusik. Schi er has been a concerto so- loist on both sides of the Atlantic, and he can be heard on more than recordings across the Harmonia Mundi, Philips, Virgin Clas- sics, Erato, Sony, and Avie labels. He serves on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music as Teacher of Baroque Cello. Bagpiper and vocalist Ian Crane has per- formed with Apol- lo’s Fire and Apollo’s SIngers since . In he performed in AF’s Sugarloaf Moun- tain tour in Britain and Ireland. He is also a founding member of the renaissance ensem- ble Quire Cleveland. In , he co-founded the Cleveland Celtic Ensemble, where he per- forms as a piper and vocalist. Kathie Stewart is a founding member and principal flutist of Apollo’s Fire. She is Curator of Historical Keyboards and Ac- ademic Specialist in Historical Performance at Indiana Universi- ty. She has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Case Western Reserve University, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. With Apollo’s Fire she has performed on Celtic utes at the National Concert Hall of Ireland and Belfast Castle. Stewart appears on sever- al Apollo’s Fire recordings playing Baroque ute, Celtic ute, and recorder. She is also the assistant director of the Seattle Baroque Flute Workshop. Harpist and vocal- ist Anna O’Connell holds a doctorate in historical perfor- mance practice from Case Western Reserve University. She has researched performance practice and self-ac- companiment on harps ranging from medie- val to modern folk instruments. As a vocalist, she has sung with the Hong Kong Early Mu- sic Society, Cleveland Chamber Choir, and Quire Cleveland. She also holds degrees in choral music from the University of Southern California and music education from Prov- idence College. She studied voice with Ellen Hargis and Dina Kuznetsova, and historical harps with Maxine Eilander. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 3 – JULY 16, 2023