Early Music Missouri presents “Ground & Fire: Virtuosic Variations & Improvisations”

Early Music Missouri's Main Stage Series opens with a concert by recorder virtuoso Anne Timberlake and Chicago's Jeremy Ward on baroque cello.

Improvising over a structured musical framework is an ancient art and by the early Baroque, this pairing of constancy and fantasy had evolved to include rich, often spectacularly virtuosic variations, some written down and some played ex tempore. Recorder player Anne Timberlake and bass violin expert Jeremy Ward explore this exciting repertoire, bringing urgency and vitality to music by Ortiz, Bassano, de Selma, and others. The duo offers an exciting recital of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music focused on the art of improvisation and variation. Composers include William Byrd, Arcangelo Corelli, Jacob van Eyck and others and the repertoire ranges from Medieval dances to Baroque sonatas.

Anne Timberlake is one of this country's foremost recorder players, with multiple recordings and performances across the country. Jeremy Ward is a mainstay of Chicago's Early Music scene and performs regularly as a soloist and with many of that city's top ensembles. They met as classmates at Oberlin College where they both studied in that school's famed Early Music program. Since that time, each has gone on to performing careers that have taken them around the world. Their work as a musical duo is a recent development and EMMo is thrilled to bring these two spectacular performers to St. Louis listeners.

EMMo's six-concert Main Stage Series takes place at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ladue MO. The space offers an exquisite sound and a beautiful setting for this music. Parking is free and both parking and the space are handicapped accessible.

Early Music Missouri is the region's foremost promoter and presenter of Early Music concerts. Its performances feature Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque repertoire performed on period instruments by expert performers from the region and nation. For more information, visit earlymusicmissouri.net