September 27 & 28, 2025

Sun Salutation

Music of Marais, Forqueray, and Sainte Colombe

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Caroline Nicolas, viola da gamba
Kevin Payne, lute & theorbo

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November 22 & 23, 2025

Creative Commute

Music of Eberl, Haydn, and Beethoven

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Dominic Giordano, clarinet
Nathan Whittaker, cello
Jonathan Oddie, fortepiano

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January 17 & 18, 2026

Coffee Break

Music of Telemann and J.S. Bach

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Joshua Romatowski, flute
Ingrid Matthews, violin
Nathan Whittaker, cello
Jillon Stoppels-Dupree, harpsichord

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March 8, 2026

Happy Hour

Music of J.S. Bach, Ernst, and Paganini

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Edson Scheid, violin

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April 25 & 26, 2026

Evening Escape

Music of Boccherini and Schubert

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Rachell Ellen Wong, violin
Sarah Pizzichemi, violin
Andrew Gonzalez, viola
Jessica Korotkin, cello
Nathan Whittaker, cello

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• Next Concert: A Walk In The Woods

September 27 & 28, 2025

Sun Salutation

Caroline Nicolas, viola da gamba
Kevin Payne, lute & theorbo

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Saturday September 27, 2025 - 7:30pm
The Chapel At The Good Shepherd Center

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

Sunday September 28, 2025 - 3:00pm
Blessed Sacrament Church

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

The sun gently rises, casting its warm and invigorating rays, conjuring a wealth of hopes and possibilities. It was for this reason that Louis XIV proclaimed himself the “Sun King,” as his sheer existence (in his mind!) radiated all the good “French” things during his reign. Music was a defining element of his court, with nothing more quintessentially French than the viola da gamba. Caroline Nicolas, viola da gamba, and Kevin Payne, lute and theorbo, salute the Sun King through the music of Maris, Forqueray, and Sainte-Colombe. Yoga mats not required.

Noted for her “eloquent artistry and rich, vibrant sound” (Gainesville Times), Caroline Nicolas has been praised as “one of the finest gambists working today” (Gotham Early Music Scene). Ensembles she has worked with include the English Concert, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Ars Lyrica Houston, Juilliard Baroque, Harmonia Stellarum, Philharmonia Baroque, Pacific MusicWorks, Kammerorchester Basel, New World Symphony, and Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein. Notable venues include the KKL Luzern, Berliner Philharmonie, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Benaroya Hall. Distinctions include having been selected as a fellow of The English Concert in America, an award given to young musicians “who appear likely to make significant contributions to the field of early music.” Her recent concert with Emerald City Music was listed in the Seattle Times as a top pick for classical music concerts that season.

Lutenist Kevin Payne is active as a recitalist, accompanist, and continuo player. Recent ensemble work includes performances with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Tempesta di Mare, Harmonia Stellarum, A Golden Wire, and Lorelei Ensemble. Performance venues include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany. His playing has been broadcast on a number of nationally syndicated radio programs, including Sunday Baroque and Performance Today. Kevin is a graduate of the Peabody Institute, the Juilliard School, and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. When not performing, he enjoys cooking, reading, watching Star Trek (P’Tach!) and attempting to delay the inevitable (and often imminent) demise of the houseplants he shares with his wife, cellist Caroline Nicolas.

• Previous Concert: Sun Salutation
• Next Concert: Coffee Break

November 22 & 23, 2025

Creative Commute

Dominic Giordano, clarinet
Nathan Whittaker, cello
Jonathan Oddie, fortepiano

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Saturday November 22, 2025 - 7:30pm
Blessed Sacrament Church

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

Sunday November 23, 2025 - 3:00pm
Blessed Sacrament Church

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

**Note: Both performances of Creative Commute are at Blessed Sacrament Church

Inspiration doesn’t always wait, and can often shake free when taking a stroll through nature. For this reason, Beethoven carried small sketchbooks while on long walks in the countryside to capture the muse at work. Indeed, the only thing better than getting to your destination safely is having created a masterpiece along the way! Clarinetist Dominic Giardino joins forces with cellist Nathan Whittaker and fortepianist Jonathan Oddie for Beethoven’s iconic Gassenhauer Trio, as well as works by Anton Eberl and Franz Joseph Haydn.

Historical clarinetist Dominic Giardino enjoys a varied professional life as a performer, administrator, and researcher. This season, Dominic can be heard in the period-instrument orchestras of the Smithsonian Academy, Opera Lafayette, Boston Baroque, and the Washington Bach Consort. He appears regularly in concerts with the Raleigh Camerata, Three Notch’d Road: The Virginia Baroque Ensemble, and Wit’s Folly. Dominic has recorded with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem Orchestra, and Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band. He is the executive director of Arizona Early Music, instructor of historical clarinets at the University of North Texas, and the historical ensembles program coordinator with George Mason University’s Green Machine Athletic Bands. Dominic is a 2016 Fulbright grantee and holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.

Nathan Whittaker, violoncello, enjoys a unique and diverse career as a concert soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, teacher, and historical cello specialist with concert stops ranging from New York to Seattle to Dubai. He is the Artistic Director of Gallery Concerts (Seattle), a concert series of chambermusic on period instruments, and regularly performs with the Trinity BaroqueOrchestra, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, El Mundo, Fort Greene Chamber Music Society, The Sebastians, and The Pacific Northwest Ballet. Recent appearances include the Caramoor Music Festival, Arizona Early Music Festival, Vancouver Bach Festival, Pacific Baroque Festival, Helicon Society, Berkeley Early Music Festival, OttawaChamberFest, the Boston Early Music Festival, and as a guest lecturer at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. He has served on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts. He can be heard on recordings by ATMA Musique, Harmonia, and Centaur, as well as live broadcasts by NPR, CBC, and KING FM. Dr. Whittaker holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Washington and Bachelors and Masters degrees from Indiana University. He performs on a cello of Mario Gadda from 1957, and a baroque cello of Johann Christian Ficker II from c. 1770.

Jonathan Oddie is professor of practice in historical performance: historical keyboards at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Jonathan is in demand across the United States as a versatile performer on harpsichord, fortepiano, and continuo organ. As a continuo player, he works with leading musicians including violinist Dmitry Sinkovsky and flutist Janet See, and with orchestras including Portland Baroque Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony. He has performed on chamber music series including Gallery Concerts Seattle and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and has been featured as a soloist with the Northwest Sinfonietta and Saratoga Orchestra. Jonathan studied piano and harpsichord at Indiana University, where his teachers included Elisabeth Wright, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, and Edmund Battersby. Oddie also holds a doctorate in musicology from the University of Oxford, where he researched the instrumental music of English composer Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625). He has published research in the journals Early Music and Historical Performance. His awards include a Performer's Certificate from the Jacobs School of Music and a Frank Huntington Beebe Fellowship.

• Previous Concert: Walk In The Woods
• Next Concert: Happy Hour

January 17 & 18, 2026

Coffee Break

Joshua Romatowski, flute
Ingrid Matthews, violin
Nathan Whittaker, cello
Jillon Stoppels-Dupree, harpsichord

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Saturday January 17, 2026 - 7:30pm
The Chapel At The Good Shepherd Center

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

Sunday January 18, 2026 - 3:00pm
Blessed Sacrament Church

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

Yes, Seattle loves its coffee. So did J.S. Bach. And Telemann. And so many others. Ingrid Matthews, Josh Romatowski, Nathan Whittaker, and Jillon Stoppels-Dupree bring us to Leipzig’s favorite caffeination station, Zimmerman’s Coffeehaus, where Bach and Telemann premiered many of their most famous chamber works to an eager public. So grab a mug, grind some beans, and take a coffee break to feel the buzz of some great music!

Joshua Romatowski, flutist, has been praised for his ability to “allow each note to sound with its own expressive qualities” (San Francisco Examiner). His playing has been described as “elegantly shaped” (San Francisco Examiner) and possessing “graceful intimacy” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Joshua was a winner of the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Frances Walton Competition and a prize winner in the National Flute Association's Baroque Artist Competition. Joshua has appeared with American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, Portland Baroque Orchestra, the Byron Schenkman and Friends concert series in Seattle, Pacific Music Works, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Victoria Baroque, Minnesota Bach Society, and Musikanten Montana. As a recording artist Joshua has received critical acclaim for his pair of Georg Philipp Telemann Flute Duet CD’s, with Early Music America saying “Ragusa and Romatowski play with an engaging sense of drama — it’s a continuous joy to ride the waves of their phrasing. Also impressive is their wide and quickly changing palette of colors.” Joshua currently holds the 3rd Flute/Piccolo chair with Symphony Tacoma and is a founding member of the period woodwind quintet Canova Winds. Joshua’s primary teachers have been Timothy Day(San Francisco Symphony), Marianne Gedigian(Boston Symphony), Jeffery Zook(Detroit Symphony), and period instruments with Janet See(Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Philharmonia Baroque).

Ingrid Matthews is well established as one of today’s most respected baroque violinists. She is a Visiting Associate Professor of Baroque Violin at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and and served as Music Director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra from 1994-2013. Since winning first prize in the Erwin Bodky International Competition for Early Music in 1989, she has appeared as a soloist, guest director, chamber musician, and concertmaster with leading early music ensembles including the New York Collegium, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Ars Lyrica (Houston), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto), Musica Pacifica (San Francisco), and countless others. Ingrid Matthews has won high critical acclaim for her extensive discography; her recording of the Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin of J.S. Bach has been named “top recommendation for this music... on either period or modern instruments” by American Record Guide, and her recording of Biagio Marini is included in the Norton Anthology of Music used by conservatories and universities worldwide. She has served on the faculties of Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle), the University of Southern California/LA, the University of Toronto, Amherst Early Music Workshop, and the International Baroque Institute at Longy, and has held residencies at Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory. Matthews is a graduate of Indiana University where she studied with Josef Gingold and Stanley Ritchie. She is also active as a visual artist.

Nathan Whittaker, violoncello, enjoys a unique and diverse career as a concert soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, teacher, and historical cello specialist with concert stops ranging from New York to Seattle to Dubai. He is the Artistic Director of Gallery Concerts (Seattle), a concert series of chambermusic on period instruments, and regularly performs with the Trinity BaroqueOrchestra, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, El Mundo, Fort Greene Chamber Music Society, The Sebastians, and The Pacific Northwest Ballet. Recent appearances include the Caramoor Music Festival, Arizona Early Music Festival, Vancouver Bach Festival, Pacific Baroque Festival, Helicon Society, Berkeley Early Music Festival, OttawaChamberFest, the Boston Early Music Festival, and as a guest lecturer at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. He has served on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts. He can be heard on recordings by ATMA Musique, Harmonia, and Centaur, as well as live broadcasts by NPR, CBC, and KING FM. Dr. Whittaker holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Washington and Bachelors and Masters degrees from Indiana University. He performs on a cello of Mario Gadda from 1957, and a baroque cello of Johann Christian Ficker II from c. 1770.

Jillon Stoppels Dupree, has been described as “one of the country’s top Baroque musicians, a superior soloist and a baroque star” (Seattle Times). She performs with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, San Francisco Bach Choir, San Francisco Choral Artists, and Ensemble Electra; her chamber music partnerships include such acclaimed artists as Ellen Hargis, Vicki Boeckman, Ingrid Matthews, Janet See, Wieland Kuijken and Marion Verbruggen. She received both Fulbright and Beebe Fund awards for study abroad, and her teachers included Gustav Leonhardt, Kenneth Gilbert and Lisa Goode Crawford. An honors graduate of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Masters recipient at the University of Michigan, Ms. Dupree has taught at both her alma maters, at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, and was an artist in residence at Stanford University and the University of Washington. She received the National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist award for performances of contemporary harpsichord music, and her world-premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Concerto for Harpsichord was heralded as “Superb!” by the New York Times. Ms. Dupree performed the harpsichord music for the 2017 film, Early Music, by Patrick Penta. Her new solo Bach recording, J.S. Bach: Fantasy and Caprice, will be released in November 2020 on Centaur Records; she can also be heard on the Meridian, Decca, Orange Mountain, and Delos labels.

• Previous Concert: Coffee Break
• Next Concert: Evening Escape

March 8, 2026

Happy Hour

Edson Scheid, violin

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Sunday March 8, 2026 - 3:00pm
Blessed Sacrament Church

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

**Note: The is only one performance of Happy Hour

A hard day’s work deserves a particularly nice reward. And is there a better reward than drinking in an hour of watching virtuosic music for the violin?!? In this year’s Solo Spotlight, Brazilian phenomenon Edson Scheid returns to Gallery Concerts with his special brand of elegant and tasteful, yet irrefutably virtuosic, fireworks in a Solo Sonata of J.S. Bach, Caprices of Nicolo Paganini, and the famous Erlkönig Caprice of Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst.

Edson Scheid has been praised for his “polished playing” (The Strad) and for being a "virtuoso violinist" (The Boston Globe). A native of Brazil, Edson Scheid is based in New York City, where he performs with some of the city’s leading ensembles. He frequently tours in Europe, Asia, North and South America with such ensembles as Les Arts Florissants and Il Pomo d’Oro. As concertmaster, Edson Scheid has led performances with Seraphic Fire, Washington Bach Consort, Il Pomo d'Oro, Music Sacra New York, The Clarion Orchestra, Oratorio Society of New York, Teatro Nuovo, and Opera Lafayette, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Sala São Paulo, and the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Edson Scheid has been featured live in-studio on In Tune from BBC Radio 3, and his recording of Paganini’s 24 Caprices on the baroque violin for the Naxos label has been critically acclaimed: “Far from being mere virtuoso stunts, Scheid’s Caprices abound in the beauty and revolutionary spirit of these works” (Fanfare Magazine). Edson Scheid holds degrees from the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, the Yale School of Music (recipient of the Broadus Erle Prize) and The Juilliard School (recipient of a
Kovner Fellowship).

• Previous Concert: Happy Hour

April 25 & 26, 2026

Evening Escape

Rachell Ellen Wong, violin
Sarah Pizzichemi, violin
Andrew Gonzalez, viola
Jessica Korotkin, cello
Nathan Whittaker, cello

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Saturday April 25, 2026 - 7:30pm
The Chapel At The Good Shepherd Center

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

Sunday April 26, 2026 - 3:00pm
Blessed Sacrament Church

• Tickets Go On Sale July 1

Just because the sun has set does not mean the day is over - in some ways it has just begun! Crickets set their rhythmic background amidst rustling leaves while the distant sounds of revelry and church bells waft through the gentle breeze - no one captured the sonic beauty of evening quite like Luigi Boccherini in his Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid. Finally, Rachell Ellen Wong, Sarah Pizzichemi, Andrew Gonzalez, Jessica Korotkin, and Nathan Whittaker bring our “Day In The Life” to a close with Schubert’s indomitable String Quintet in C Major.

Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong is a unique and vibrant performer who is equally at home in both Baroque and standard violin repertoire. In 2020, she made history when she was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, becoming the only baroque artist to receive the honor. Her exceptional blend of technical virtuosity on gut strings, expressive musicianship, and understanding of period performance practices has garnered international critical acclaim and a dedicated following. Named “most approachable virtuoso” by the New York Classical Review, Rachell has appeared as a soloist across six continents and has established herself as one of the leading historical performers of her generation, collaborating with esteemed ensembles such as the Academy of Ancient Music, Jupiter Ensemble, Bach Collegium Japan, The English Concert, and Ruckus, among others. Equally accomplished on the modern violin, Rachell made her first public appearance with Philharmonia Northwest at age 11 and has since performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony, among many others. Rachell also teaches for the Valley of the Moon Music Festival in Sonoma, CA.Rachell’s recent appearances include performances with the New World Symphony, Camerata Pacifica, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Ilumina Festival in Sao Paulo, Reno Chamber Orchestra, The Northwest Sinfonietta, and The Rome Chamber Music Festival. Alongside the exceptional conductor and keyboardist David Belkovski, Rachell is co-founder of Twelfth Night. Founded in 2021, Twelfth Night’s recent engagements include Carnegie Hall, Cal Performances, Caramoor, Chatham Baroque, Arizona Early Music, San Diego Early Music, Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City, and Early Music Seattle where the ensemble has a regular presence.Among her many awards, Rachell was the Grand Prize winner of the inaugural Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Rachell attended The University of Texas at Austin, Indiana University, and The Juilliard School, where she was a Kovner Fellow recipient. Rachell performs on a baroque violin from the school of Joachim Tielke ca. 1700, and a violin made in 1953 by Carlo de March. She currently resides in New York City with her two bunnies.

Sarah Pizzichemi is a versatile and passionate violinist who performs internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player on both modern and period instruments.She is the first violinist and a founding member of the Skyros Quartet, an ensemble established in 2010 and acclaimed for its dynamic performances and commitment to both classical masterworks and contemporary repertoire. The quartet’s projects often explore narrative and interdisciplinary connections, reflecting Sarah’s dedication to musical storytelling. In 2020, the quartet founded Constellation Creatives, a nonprofit dedicated to innovative chamber music experiences.As co-Artistic Director of Chamber Music Guild, she leads educational initiatives across the Pacific Northwest and co-hosts The Counterpoint Club podcast, sharing her chamber music expertise with listeners worldwide. She also co-founded Evergreen Music Press, which broadens access to string and chamber music education and publishing.Sarah maintains the award-winning Pizzichemi Violin Studio, where her students regularly receive top honors and many go on to pursue degrees in music. She has served as concertmaster of the Saratoga Orchestra and Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, and co-concertmaster of the Pacific Northwest Conducting Institute. She has also performed with ensembles such as Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and Seattle Modern Orchestra, among others.She holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (B.M., M.M. in Chamber Music) and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as the graduate quartet-in-residence (D.M.A.). Her original research on violinists Maud Powell and Maddalena Lombardini contributes to feminist musicology and reexamines key moments in music history. Her mentors include many of the world’s leading violinists and string quartets.

As a sought after chamber musician, Andrew Gonzalez's playing has allowed him to collaborate with respected ensembles such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Sejong Soloists, as well as members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Tokyo, Orion, Borromeo, and Vermeer quartets. Also an accomplished teacher, Andrew served as a fellow of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect from 2016-2018 and teaches chamber music in the Heifetz Institute’s “Program for the Exceptionally Gifted”. In the fall of 2020, Andrew became the new violist of the Jasper String Quartet.Passionate about historical performance, Andrew frequently performs on the baroque viola and the Violoncello da Spalla. He has performed in festivals and series such as the Washington Bach Consort, Valley of the Moon Music Festival, American Bach Soloists, the Boston Early Music Festival, and Helicon, among others. Andrew is also regular collaborator with the NYC based ensemble Twelfth Night. He is one of the few people in the world who plays the Violoncello da Spalla, a five stringed mini cello that is played on the shoulder. In 2023, Andrew gave the New York City premiere of all 6 cello suites on the Spalla at Barge Music.Originally from Chesapeake, Virginia, Andrew attended the Governor’s School where he was introduced to chamber music and symphonic music. This led to his affiliation with the Hampton Roads Chamber Players, an ensemble that he has since performed with and given masterclasses, as well as a concerto appearance with the Virginia Symphony. An avid orchestra player, Andrew performs frequently with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Orchestra of Saint Lukes, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, New York Classical Players, and Novus NY.A graduate of The Juilliard School, Andrew holds both a master’s and bachelor’s degree under the direction of renown violists and pedagogues Michael Tree, Heidi Castleman, Steve Tenenbom, and Hsin-Yun Huang. Andrew performs on a 1930 Frederick Haenel viola modeled after a Gaspar da Salo.

Jessica Korotkin is a Montreal-based Baroque cellist, composer and chamber musician known for her innovative and experimental approach to concert programming – often featuring original arrangements and compositions. She has performed and recorded with award-winning ensembles from Canada and the United States and has also appeared on the international stage at Bolivia’s XIII Festival Internacional de Música Renacentista y Barroca Americana as well as at Germany’s Internationale Bach Akademie Stuttgart. Jessica combines her love for performing on gut strings with a keen enthusiasm for all genres and styles of music and is a founding member of the Ximenez Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to performing South American chamber music on period instruments. In 2019 she joined forces with The Broken Consort to create the baroque fusion album, Isle of Majesty. She recently cameoed in Canadian pop sensation Daniel Lavoie’s music video L’éternité, playing Baroque cello while dressed in period costume. She holds degrees from the Peabody Institute and the Oberlin Conservatory. This year (2023) she graduated from McGill University with a Doctor of Music. While at McGill, Susie Napper advised her research-creation project of creating six new Bach-inspired cello suites. You can read more about this project in Early Music America’s online feature, Making a Parody of Bach, No Kidding.

Nathan Whittaker, violoncello, enjoys a unique and diverse career as a concert soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, teacher, and historical cello specialist with concert stops ranging from New York to Seattle to Dubai. He is the Artistic Director of Gallery Concerts (Seattle), a concert series of chambermusic on period instruments, and regularly performs with the Trinity BaroqueOrchestra, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, El Mundo, Fort Greene Chamber Music Society, The Sebastians, and The Pacific Northwest Ballet. Recent appearances include the Caramoor Music Festival, Arizona Early Music Festival, Vancouver Bach Festival, Pacific Baroque Festival, Helicon Society, Berkeley Early Music Festival, OttawaChamberFest, the Boston Early Music Festival, and as a guest lecturer at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. He has served on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts. He can be heard on recordings by ATMA Musique, Harmonia, and Centaur, as well as live broadcasts by NPR, CBC, and KING FM. Dr. Whittaker holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Washington and Bachelors and Masters degrees from Indiana University. He performs on a cello of Mario Gadda from 1957, and a baroque cello of Johann Christian Ficker II from c. 1770.

Historical clarinetist Dominic Giardino enjoys a varied professional life as a performer, administrator, and researcher. This season, Dominic can be heard in the period-instrument orchestras of the Smithsonian Academy, Opera Lafayette, Boston Baroque, and the Washington Bach Consort. He appears regularly in concerts with the Raleigh Camerata, Three Notch’d Road: The Virginia Baroque Ensemble, and Wit’s Folly. Dominic has recorded with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem Orchestra, and Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band. He is the executive director of Arizona Early Music, instructor of historical clarinets at the University of North Texas, and the historical ensembles program coordinator with George Mason University’s Green Machine Athletic Bands. Dominic is a 2016 Fulbright grantee and holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.

Joshua Romatowski, flutist, has been praised for his ability to “allow each note to sound with its own expressive qualities” (San Francisco Examiner). His playing has been described as “elegantly shaped” (San Francisco Examiner) and possessing “graceful intimacy” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Joshua was a winner of the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Frances Walton Competition and a prize winner in the National Flute Association's Baroque Artist Competition. Joshua has appeared with American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, Portland Baroque Orchestra, the Byron Schenkman and Friends concert series in Seattle, Pacific Music Works, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Victoria Baroque, Minnesota Bach Society, and Musikanten Montana. As a recording artist Joshua has received critical acclaim for his pair of Georg Philipp Telemann Flute Duet CD’s, with Early Music America saying “Ragusa and Romatowski play with an engaging sense of drama — it’s a continuous joy to ride the waves of their phrasing. Also impressive is their wide and quickly changing palette of colors.” Joshua currently holds the 3rd Flute/Piccolo chair with Symphony Tacoma and is a founding member of the period woodwind quintet Canova Winds. Joshua’s primary teachers have been Timothy Day(San Francisco Symphony), Marianne Gedigian(Boston Symphony), Jeffery Zook(Detroit Symphony), and period instruments with Janet See(Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Philharmonia Baroque).

Ingrid Matthews is well established as one of today’s most respected baroque violinists. She is a Visiting Associate Professor of Baroque Violin at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and and served as Music Director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra from 1994-2013. Since winning first prize in the Erwin Bodky International Competition for Early Music in 1989, she has appeared as a soloist, guest director, chamber musician, and concertmaster with leading early music ensembles including the New York Collegium, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Ars Lyrica (Houston), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto), Musica Pacifica (San Francisco), and countless others. Ingrid Matthews has won high critical acclaim for her extensive discography; her recording of the Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin of J.S. Bach has been named “top recommendation for this music... on either period or modern instruments” by American Record Guide, and her recording of Biagio Marini is included in the Norton Anthology of Music used by conservatories and universities worldwide. She has served on the faculties of Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle), the University of Southern California/LA, the University of Toronto, Amherst Early Music Workshop, and the International Baroque Institute at Longy, and has held residencies at Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory. Matthews is a graduate of Indiana University where she studied with Josef Gingold and Stanley Ritchie. She is also active as a visual artist.

Sarah Pizzichemi is a versatile and passionate violinist who performs internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player on both modern and period instruments.She is the first violinist and a founding member of the Skyros Quartet, an ensemble established in 2010 and acclaimed for its dynamic performances and commitment to both classical masterworks and contemporary repertoire. The quartet’s projects often explore narrative and interdisciplinary connections, reflecting Sarah’s dedication to musical storytelling. In 2020, the quartet founded Constellation Creatives, a nonprofit dedicated to innovative chamber music experiences.As co-Artistic Director of Chamber Music Guild, she leads educational initiatives across the Pacific Northwest and co-hosts The Counterpoint Club podcast, sharing her chamber music expertise with listeners worldwide. She also co-founded Evergreen Music Press, which broadens access to string and chamber music education and publishing.Sarah maintains the award-winning Pizzichemi Violin Studio, where her students regularly receive top honors and many go on to pursue degrees in music. She has served as concertmaster of the Saratoga Orchestra and Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, and co-concertmaster of the Pacific Northwest Conducting Institute. She has also performed with ensembles such as Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and Seattle Modern Orchestra, among others.She holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (B.M., M.M. in Chamber Music) and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as the graduate quartet-in-residence (D.M.A.). Her original research on violinists Maud Powell and Maddalena Lombardini contributes to feminist musicology and reexamines key moments in music history. Her mentors include many of the world’s leading violinists and string quartets.

Edson Scheid has been praised for his “polished playing” (The Strad) and for being a "virtuoso violinist" (The Boston Globe). A native of Brazil, Edson Scheid is based in New York City, where he performs with some of the city’s leading ensembles. He frequently tours in Europe, Asia, North and South America with such ensembles as Les Arts Florissants and Il Pomo d’Oro. As concertmaster, Edson Scheid has led performances with Seraphic Fire, Washington Bach Consort, Il Pomo d'Oro, Music Sacra New York, The Clarion Orchestra, Oratorio Society of New York, Teatro Nuovo, and Opera Lafayette, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Sala São Paulo, and the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Edson Scheid has been featured live in-studio on In Tune from BBC Radio 3, and his recording of Paganini’s 24 Caprices on the baroque violin for the Naxos label has been critically acclaimed: “Far from being mere virtuoso stunts, Scheid’s Caprices abound in the beauty and revolutionary spirit of these works” (Fanfare Magazine). Edson Scheid holds degrees from the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, the Yale School of Music (recipient of the Broadus Erle Prize) and The Juilliard School (recipient of a
Kovner Fellowship).

Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong is a unique and vibrant performer who is equally at home in both Baroque and standard violin repertoire. In 2020, she made history when she was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, becoming the only baroque artist to receive the honor. Her exceptional blend of technical virtuosity on gut strings, expressive musicianship, and understanding of period performance practices has garnered international critical acclaim and a dedicated following. Named “most approachable virtuoso” by the New York Classical Review, Rachell has appeared as a soloist across six continents and has established herself as one of the leading historical performers of her generation, collaborating with esteemed ensembles such as the Academy of Ancient Music, Jupiter Ensemble, Bach Collegium Japan, The English Concert, and Ruckus, among others. Equally accomplished on the modern violin, Rachell made her first public appearance with Philharmonia Northwest at age 11 and has since performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony, among many others. Rachell also teaches for the Valley of the Moon Music Festival in Sonoma, CA.Rachell’s recent appearances include performances with the New World Symphony, Camerata Pacifica, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Ilumina Festival in Sao Paulo, Reno Chamber Orchestra, The Northwest Sinfonietta, and The Rome Chamber Music Festival. Alongside the exceptional conductor and keyboardist David Belkovski, Rachell is co-founder of Twelfth Night. Founded in 2021, Twelfth Night’s recent engagements include Carnegie Hall, Cal Performances, Caramoor, Chatham Baroque, Arizona Early Music, San Diego Early Music, Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City, and Early Music Seattle where the ensemble has a regular presence.Among her many awards, Rachell was the Grand Prize winner of the inaugural Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Rachell attended The University of Texas at Austin, Indiana University, and The Juilliard School, where she was a Kovner Fellow recipient. Rachell performs on a baroque violin from the school of Joachim Tielke ca. 1700, and a violin made in 1953 by Carlo de March. She currently resides in New York City with her two bunnies.

As a sought after chamber musician, Andrew Gonzalez's playing has allowed him to collaborate with respected ensembles such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Sejong Soloists, as well as members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Tokyo, Orion, Borromeo, and Vermeer quartets. Also an accomplished teacher, Andrew served as a fellow of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect from 2016-2018 and teaches chamber music in the Heifetz Institute’s “Program for the Exceptionally Gifted”. In the fall of 2020, Andrew became the new violist of the Jasper String Quartet.Passionate about historical performance, Andrew frequently performs on the baroque viola and the Violoncello da Spalla. He has performed in festivals and series such as the Washington Bach Consort, Valley of the Moon Music Festival, American Bach Soloists, the Boston Early Music Festival, and Helicon, among others. Andrew is also regular collaborator with the NYC based ensemble Twelfth Night. He is one of the few people in the world who plays the Violoncello da Spalla, a five stringed mini cello that is played on the shoulder. In 2023, Andrew gave the New York City premiere of all 6 cello suites on the Spalla at Barge Music.Originally from Chesapeake, Virginia, Andrew attended the Governor’s School where he was introduced to chamber music and symphonic music. This led to his affiliation with the Hampton Roads Chamber Players, an ensemble that he has since performed with and given masterclasses, as well as a concerto appearance with the Virginia Symphony. An avid orchestra player, Andrew performs frequently with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Orchestra of Saint Lukes, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, New York Classical Players, and Novus NY.A graduate of The Juilliard School, Andrew holds both a master’s and bachelor’s degree under the direction of renown violists and pedagogues Michael Tree, Heidi Castleman, Steve Tenenbom, and Hsin-Yun Huang. Andrew performs on a 1930 Frederick Haenel viola modeled after a Gaspar da Salo.

Jessica Korotkin is a Montreal-based Baroque cellist, composer and chamber musician known for her innovative and experimental approach to concert programming – often featuring original arrangements and compositions. She has performed and recorded with award-winning ensembles from Canada and the United States and has also appeared on the international stage at Bolivia’s XIII Festival Internacional de Música Renacentista y Barroca Americana as well as at Germany’s Internationale Bach Akademie Stuttgart. Jessica combines her love for performing on gut strings with a keen enthusiasm for all genres and styles of music and is a founding member of the Ximenez Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to performing South American chamber music on period instruments. In 2019 she joined forces with The Broken Consort to create the baroque fusion album, Isle of Majesty. She recently cameoed in Canadian pop sensation Daniel Lavoie’s music video L’éternité, playing Baroque cello while dressed in period costume. She holds degrees from the Peabody Institute and the Oberlin Conservatory. This year (2023) she graduated from McGill University with a Doctor of Music. While at McGill, Susie Napper advised her research-creation project of creating six new Bach-inspired cello suites. You can read more about this project in Early Music America’s online feature, Making a Parody of Bach, No Kidding.

Noted for her “eloquent artistry and rich, vibrant sound” (Gainesville Times), Caroline Nicolas has been praised as “one of the finest gambists working today” (Gotham Early Music Scene). Ensembles she has worked with include the English Concert, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Ars Lyrica Houston, Juilliard Baroque, Harmonia Stellarum, Philharmonia Baroque, Pacific MusicWorks, Kammerorchester Basel, New World Symphony, and Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein. Notable venues include the KKL Luzern, Berliner Philharmonie, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Benaroya Hall. Distinctions include having been selected as a fellow of The English Concert in America, an award given to young musicians “who appear likely to make significant contributions to the field of early music.” Her recent concert with Emerald City Music was listed in the Seattle Times as a top pick for classical music concerts that season.

Nathan Whittaker, violoncello, enjoys a unique and diverse career as a concert soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, teacher, and historical cello specialist with concert stops ranging from New York to Seattle to Dubai. He is the Artistic Director of Gallery Concerts (Seattle), a concert series of chambermusic on period instruments, and regularly performs with the Trinity BaroqueOrchestra, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, El Mundo, Fort Greene Chamber Music Society, The Sebastians, and The Pacific Northwest Ballet. Recent appearances include the Caramoor Music Festival, Arizona Early Music Festival, Vancouver Bach Festival, Pacific Baroque Festival, Helicon Society, Berkeley Early Music Festival, OttawaChamberFest, the Boston Early Music Festival, and as a guest lecturer at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. He has served on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts. He can be heard on recordings by ATMA Musique, Harmonia, and Centaur, as well as live broadcasts by NPR, CBC, and KING FM. Dr. Whittaker holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Washington and Bachelors and Masters degrees from Indiana University. He performs on a cello of Mario Gadda from 1957, and a baroque cello of Johann Christian Ficker II from c. 1770.

Jonathan Oddie is professor of practice in historical performance: historical keyboards at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Jonathan is in demand across the United States as a versatile performer on harpsichord, fortepiano, and continuo organ. As a continuo player, he works with leading musicians including violinist Dmitry Sinkovsky and flutist Janet See, and with orchestras including Portland Baroque Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony. He has performed on chamber music series including Gallery Concerts Seattle and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and has been featured as a soloist with the Northwest Sinfonietta and Saratoga Orchestra. Jonathan studied piano and harpsichord at Indiana University, where his teachers included Elisabeth Wright, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, and Edmund Battersby. Oddie also holds a doctorate in musicology from the University of Oxford, where he researched the instrumental music of English composer Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625). He has published research in the journals Early Music and Historical Performance. His awards include a Performer's Certificate from the Jacobs School of Music and a Frank Huntington Beebe Fellowship.

Jillon Stoppels Dupree, has been described as “one of the country’s top Baroque musicians, a superior soloist and a baroque star” (Seattle Times). She performs with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, San Francisco Bach Choir, San Francisco Choral Artists, and Ensemble Electra; her chamber music partnerships include such acclaimed artists as Ellen Hargis, Vicki Boeckman, Ingrid Matthews, Janet See, Wieland Kuijken and Marion Verbruggen. She received both Fulbright and Beebe Fund awards for study abroad, and her teachers included Gustav Leonhardt, Kenneth Gilbert and Lisa Goode Crawford. An honors graduate of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Masters recipient at the University of Michigan, Ms. Dupree has taught at both her alma maters, at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, and was an artist in residence at Stanford University and the University of Washington. She received the National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist award for performances of contemporary harpsichord music, and her world-premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Concerto for Harpsichord was heralded as “Superb!” by the New York Times. Ms. Dupree performed the harpsichord music for the 2017 film, Early Music, by Patrick Penta. Her new solo Bach recording, J.S. Bach: Fantasy and Caprice, will be released in November 2020 on Centaur Records; she can also be heard on the Meridian, Decca, Orange Mountain, and Delos labels.

Lutenist Kevin Payne is active as a recitalist, accompanist, and continuo player. Recent ensemble work includes performances with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Tempesta di Mare, Harmonia Stellarum, A Golden Wire, and Lorelei Ensemble. Performance venues include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany. His playing has been broadcast on a number of nationally syndicated radio programs, including Sunday Baroque and Performance Today. Kevin is a graduate of the Peabody Institute, the Juilliard School, and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. When not performing, he enjoys cooking, reading, watching Star Trek (P’Tach!) and attempting to delay the inevitable (and often imminent) demise of the houseplants he shares with his wife, cellist Caroline Nicolas.