Baroque in leather

This past weekend i furiosi started their season with the concert "Julie's Big Adventure." Violinist Julia Wedman took a sabbatical year last year and this concert highlighted her travels and experiences during her "Grand Tour." She got the inspiration from a program she played with Tafelmusik (she also plays full time with Tafelmusik) based on the concept that during the "17th and 18th centuries, as part of their education, English noblemen would travel to Europe (especially France, Italy and Germany) on a Grand Tour, learning about art, architecture, history, food, music, language and meeting the "right" people and becoming well-rounded people." In the concert we followed Julie on her own Grand Tour; there were great program notes about her personal experiences, the concert program was well rounded and beautifully executed and we got to travel around through Europe with her musically. It was also a bit of a homecoming and the rest of the group seemed genuinely happy to have her back.

i furiosi is a group that often presents concerts with a twist and this was no exception. There were gifts given out between pieces that highlighted some of the places she visited that correlated well with the music they performed. It was cute and enjoyable and it gave a sense that these are old friends happy to be reunited! Cellist Felix Deak, violinist Aisslinn Nosky, soprano Gabrielle McLaughlin and guest harpsichordist Lysiane Boulva all had fun and were game to wear Venetian masks, French berets and  drink wine while they all performed with spirit and passion. They also did a Baroque(ish) rendition of "I love Paris in the Springtime" by Cole Porter, complete with the Prelude from the first Bach cello suite weaved in as a cello accompaniment - and it worked perfectly for many bars! All this on period instruments while wearing leather - Baroque in the 21th century!

The other highlight of the weekend was Totem by Cirque du Soleil. Not exactly Baroque music, but there were live musicians (who were amazing!) and the entire show was mesmerizing! It is truly incredible what the performers can do with their bodies - and minds! Inspiring!

On other fronts, we are gearing up for the first Academy Concert Series concert of the season. The cards we have printed highlighting our entire season are beautiful and we are getting the word out in as many ways as we can.

Hope you are all having a great week and enjoying this beautiful weather!