The Scen3

By Marc Shulgold For Tom Morgan, the concept for concerts by his chamber choir seems pretty straight forward. In fact the title of those concerts and name of his ensemble say it all. “Shared Visions is truly ‘ars nova’ – new art,” he wrote me, “forged from shared inspirations of visual art, poetry and sound.” […]

Guest harpsichordist joins baroque vocal ensemble A preview by Kelly Dean Hansen, April 1, 2024 Evanne Browne started the Boulder-based Seicento Baroque Ensemble in 2011 to share her passion for the often-neglected music of the 17th Century.  She explains that this is beautiful music audiences will not hear elsewhere, performed in a historically informed way […]

A preview by Marc Shulgold Glancing at the accomplishments of composer Joan Szymko, it’s no surprise that she emerged from an encouraging home environment. Born in Chicago in 1957 to a devout Catholic family, where (her bio states) “faith, education and the arts were core values,” she began piano at 8. Pursuing a life in […]

Preview by Betsy Schwarm In an increasingly contentious world, there is comfort in hearing of attempts to build bridges – not just from one side toward the other, but from both sides toward the middle.  Considering the symbology of raising one’s voices together, choral music may be an ideal medium for such a partnership.  For […]

Preview by Marc Shulgold Evanne Browne’s been thinking lately about her 36-voice Baroque choir and instrumental group, Seicento Baroque Ensemble (pronounced, Say-CHENTO). And asking some pretty serious questions, too. “What is the relevance of Baroque music,” she wondered. “Why do we care?” In a recent chat to discuss a delightful series of upcoming workshops and […]

A preview By Marc Shulgold Four centuries before we tried to rewire our stereos to replicate quadraphonic effects, a couple of Renaissance composers had their singers create it live. An Italian named Alessandro Striggio (1540-92) and an Englishman, Thomas Tallis (1505-85) composed choral works for 40 spread-out singers. And get this – one to a […]

Preview by Betsy Schwarm Raisins and almonds:  not only tasty ingredients in certain holiday breads, but also a well-known Jewish lullaby.  It is, moreover, what the Colorado Hebrew Chorale (CHC) calls its mid-winter event of music, food, and celebration.  Culturally, there is a connection to the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat, a festival honoring a […]

A preview by Betsy Schwarm In this case, ‘Rare Byrd’ is not an unexpected avian visitor.  Rather, Seicento Baroque Ensemble – drawing its name from the 17th century – will be spotlighting less familiar works by English composer William Byrd (1543 – 1623).  Sacred verse anthems, madrigals and secular consort songs, the latter for voices […]

Preview article by Betsy Schwarm Fresh, new music – timeless hopes and dreams – a community gathered together to raise its voice in song:  surely, those are some of the best things in life.  Those directly involved may get the biggest benefit, but listeners, too, can be carried away by the fulfilling experience. The event […]

A review by Betsy Schwarm Many ensembles make their mark in part by focusing on the music of the Baroque. Seicento Baroque Ensemble goes one step further, drawing its repertoire largely from the generations preceding the almighty Bach. It might seem a risky practice to build one’s programs around less familiar names. However, Seicento’s audiences […]