Valley Conservatory Early Music Festival
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Sunday, September 10, 2023 - 4:00 pm
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Church of the Nativity, 208 Eustis Avenue in Huntsville.
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The Valley Conservatory Early Music Festival (VCEMF) was started in 2013 as a way to expose the community to early music and period instruments by providing lectures, master classes and concerts. It is the only early music festival in the southeast region of the country and is an annual event that is held in September.
This year’s festival will take place at 4pm Sunday, September 10, 2023, at the Church of the Nativity located, 208 Eustis Avenue in downtown Huntsville.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Valley Conservatory, the concert will feature the VCEMF Festival Artists, The Mockingbird Ensemble, and the Oxford Viols and Friends. Performances include works by Bach, Telemann, Scarlatti, Pachelbel, Hotteterre, Gibbons, Williams, Byrd, and Boismortier. The concert is open to the public and encourages dialog between artist and audience.
Be amazed as VCEMF Artists, Mockingbird Ensemble, and the Oxford Viols and Friends transport you through time with enchanting pieces. Let history's melodies resonate in a unique musical experience.
This year’s festival will take place at 4pm Sunday, September 10, 2023, at the Church of the Nativity located, 208 Eustis Avenue in downtown Huntsville.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Valley Conservatory, the concert will feature the VCEMF Festival Artists, The Mockingbird Ensemble, and the Oxford Viols and Friends. Performances include works by Bach, Telemann, Scarlatti, Pachelbel, Hotteterre, Gibbons, Williams, Byrd, and Boismortier. The concert is open to the public and encourages dialog between artist and audience.
Be amazed as VCEMF Artists, Mockingbird Ensemble, and the Oxford Viols and Friends transport you through time with enchanting pieces. Let history's melodies resonate in a unique musical experience.
It's free admission, so be sure to bring a friend!
Dr. Beatrice Renee Collins-Williams, Director
Beatrice Renee Collins-Williams, is the founding director of the Valley Conservatory. Her experiences cross several disciplines which include conducting, teaching and performing. As a conductor she has directed several orchestra across the country including the Colorado Symphony, Women’s Philharmonic (San Francisco), Denver Young Artist Orchestra, Alabama All-State Reading Orchestra, West Tennessee All-State Orchestra, the Junior Orchestra of the Alabama String Teacher’s Association Honor Strings Festival, the Huntsville Youth Orchestra, Oakwood College Symphony Orchestra, Michigan State University Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra and members of the Aspen School of Music Festival Orchestra where she was a conducting scholarship recipient. In addition to her conducting experiences, Dr. Collins has taught music education on all levels; applied piano and violin on the college level and has performed with several orchestra where she was a member of the violin/and or viola section. She holds dual bachelor degrees in Music Education and Piano Performance form the University of Northern Colorado, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. Her biography is listed in the International Who’s Who in Music.
Beatrice Renee Collins-Williams, is the founding director of the Valley Conservatory. Her experiences cross several disciplines which include conducting, teaching and performing. As a conductor she has directed several orchestra across the country including the Colorado Symphony, Women’s Philharmonic (San Francisco), Denver Young Artist Orchestra, Alabama All-State Reading Orchestra, West Tennessee All-State Orchestra, the Junior Orchestra of the Alabama String Teacher’s Association Honor Strings Festival, the Huntsville Youth Orchestra, Oakwood College Symphony Orchestra, Michigan State University Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra and members of the Aspen School of Music Festival Orchestra where she was a conducting scholarship recipient. In addition to her conducting experiences, Dr. Collins has taught music education on all levels; applied piano and violin on the college level and has performed with several orchestra where she was a member of the violin/and or viola section. She holds dual bachelor degrees in Music Education and Piano Performance form the University of Northern Colorado, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. Her biography is listed in the International Who’s Who in Music.
Mockingbird Early Music Ensemble
The Mockingbird Early Music Ensemble was formed in 2003 by enthusiastic proponents of the historically informed presentation of music created before 1750. Based in oxford, Mississippi, they perform on recreations of period instruments. These instruments include recorders, viole da gamba, harp, baroque guitar, psaltery, crumhorn, and harpsichord.
Ensemble members: Irene Kaufmann Cotelo, Greg Johnson , Susan Merchant, Warren Steel , Ronald Vernon
For additional information and biographies on the Mockingbird Early Music Ensemble click this link https://www.mockingbirdensemble.org/about
The Mockingbird Early Music Ensemble was formed in 2003 by enthusiastic proponents of the historically informed presentation of music created before 1750. Based in oxford, Mississippi, they perform on recreations of period instruments. These instruments include recorders, viole da gamba, harp, baroque guitar, psaltery, crumhorn, and harpsichord.
Ensemble members: Irene Kaufmann Cotelo, Greg Johnson , Susan Merchant, Warren Steel , Ronald Vernon
For additional information and biographies on the Mockingbird Early Music Ensemble click this link https://www.mockingbirdensemble.org/about
Susan Roessel Dura
Sue Roessel Dura studied baroque performance practices and baroque bassoon at the Amherst Early Music Festival and other workshops. She has played bassoon for the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Shoals Symphony, Nashville Baroque and with the Valley Conservatory Early Music Festival. She has directed the Rogersville Recorder Retreat and helps organize the VCEMF concerts.
Sue Roessel Dura studied baroque performance practices and baroque bassoon at the Amherst Early Music Festival and other workshops. She has played bassoon for the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Shoals Symphony, Nashville Baroque and with the Valley Conservatory Early Music Festival. She has directed the Rogersville Recorder Retreat and helps organize the VCEMF concerts.
Kevin Lay
Kevin Lay, viola da gamba, has a masters degree in historical performance from the Early Music Institute at Indiana University 2002. While at IU, he was a graduate assistant, won the Jason Paras Scholarship, won the annual concerto competition, and co-founded the award-winning group Liaison. Since graduating, Kevin has lived in his home town of Huntsville Alabama and has worked as a professional photographer for his “day job.” During the last 6 years, he has performed with many groups in the south, including Vox Angelica, the Zephiro series, and Ars Nova here in Hutsville, the Knoxville Early Music Project in Knoxville, TN, the Shoals Symphony in Florence, AL, and Belle Meade Baroque in Nashville, TN. Kevin has also been a guest artist at Union University in Jacksonville, TN, LSU in New Orleans, FSU in Tallahassee, FL, and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL.
Kevin Lay, viola da gamba, has a masters degree in historical performance from the Early Music Institute at Indiana University 2002. While at IU, he was a graduate assistant, won the Jason Paras Scholarship, won the annual concerto competition, and co-founded the award-winning group Liaison. Since graduating, Kevin has lived in his home town of Huntsville Alabama and has worked as a professional photographer for his “day job.” During the last 6 years, he has performed with many groups in the south, including Vox Angelica, the Zephiro series, and Ars Nova here in Hutsville, the Knoxville Early Music Project in Knoxville, TN, the Shoals Symphony in Florence, AL, and Belle Meade Baroque in Nashville, TN. Kevin has also been a guest artist at Union University in Jacksonville, TN, LSU in New Orleans, FSU in Tallahassee, FL, and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL.
Lara Lay
Lara Wilmot Lay, oboe and recorder, earned her B.A. in music performance at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She continued her modern oboe studies as a graduate assistant at Florida State University, earning her M.M and an Early Music Certificate. While there, she began studying baroque oboe. She plays professionally with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and Nashville’s Belle Mead Baroque. She has also played with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestra of the 17th Century in Washington D.C., and the Chicago Baroque Orchestra at St. Clements. Throughout, she has also maintained a professional free-lance modern oboe career, playing with numerous orchestras and chamber groups. In addition to her baroque gigs in Nashville and Atlanta, Lara has played modern oboe with the Huntsville Symphony, Shoals Symphony, Gadsden Symphony, Valley Conservatory, Huntsville Chamber Winds, Grace Notes, and many local theater, opera and church productions.
Lara Wilmot Lay, oboe and recorder, earned her B.A. in music performance at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She continued her modern oboe studies as a graduate assistant at Florida State University, earning her M.M and an Early Music Certificate. While there, she began studying baroque oboe. She plays professionally with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and Nashville’s Belle Mead Baroque. She has also played with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestra of the 17th Century in Washington D.C., and the Chicago Baroque Orchestra at St. Clements. Throughout, she has also maintained a professional free-lance modern oboe career, playing with numerous orchestras and chamber groups. In addition to her baroque gigs in Nashville and Atlanta, Lara has played modern oboe with the Huntsville Symphony, Shoals Symphony, Gadsden Symphony, Valley Conservatory, Huntsville Chamber Winds, Grace Notes, and many local theater, opera and church productions.
Dorothy Maguire
Dorothy Maguire earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education with Choral Emphasis from the Metropolitan State College of Denver in 2010. There she studied voice with Gene Roberts. At Metro, Dorothy was an active and versatile member of the Early Music Ensemble where she played violin, recorders, lute and viola da gamba. Currently, she studies viola da gamba with Kevin Lay.
Jared Hauser
Oboist Jared Hauser has been described as a “sensitive, elegant soloist” with a “subtle refined style” by Gramaphone Magazine, and as a “meditative and thoughtful” player by the American Record Guide. Appointed to the faculty of the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in 2008 where he performs with the Blair Woodwind Quintet, Hauser also teaches at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the National Music Festival each summer.
An avid performer of period oboes, Jared has performed with Music City Baroque since his arrival in Nashville. Performance credits on modern oboes include a wide array of national and international appearances as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, as well as numerous critically acclaimed commercial solo recordings, and radio broadcasts for NPR’s Performance Today, CBC/Radio Canada and BBC Radio 3.
Jared holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory, Rice University and University of Michigan.
Oboist Jared Hauser has been described as a “sensitive, elegant soloist” with a “subtle refined style” by Gramaphone Magazine, and as a “meditative and thoughtful” player by the American Record Guide. Appointed to the faculty of the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in 2008 where he performs with the Blair Woodwind Quintet, Hauser also teaches at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the National Music Festival each summer.
An avid performer of period oboes, Jared has performed with Music City Baroque since his arrival in Nashville. Performance credits on modern oboes include a wide array of national and international appearances as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, as well as numerous critically acclaimed commercial solo recordings, and radio broadcasts for NPR’s Performance Today, CBC/Radio Canada and BBC Radio 3.
Jared holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory, Rice University and University of Michigan.
Rolf Goebel
Rolf J. Goebel, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of German, Emeritus, University of Alabama in Huntsville. His most recent publications focus on relations between literature, music, and philosophy. As a musician, he is especially interested in performing Baroque repertoire originally written for the harpsichord or clavichord on the organ. He has served as Dean and Sub-Dean of the Greater Huntsville, AL Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and is currently a Board Member-at-large of this organization.
Rolf J. Goebel, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of German, Emeritus, University of Alabama in Huntsville. His most recent publications focus on relations between literature, music, and philosophy. As a musician, he is especially interested in performing Baroque repertoire originally written for the harpsichord or clavichord on the organ. He has served as Dean and Sub-Dean of the Greater Huntsville, AL Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and is currently a Board Member-at-large of this organization.
Claire Rottembourg
Born in Paris, Claire Rottembourg studied Early Music at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Paris, CNR, and Musicology at the Sorbonne University. She holds degrees in Baroque and Renaissance woodwind instruments performance and Music History. Claire Rottembourg is active as a free lance musician and has appeared with many ensembles in France and Germany and in New York where she was a clinician for the New York Recorder Guild. In Southern California where she was first flute of the Bach Collegium of San Diego. She is on the faculty of Canto Antigo Early Music Festival in Los Angeles, San Diego Early Music Society and more recently the Atlanta Early Music Alliance. Claire Rottembourg was the Music Director of the San Diego Junior Recorder Festival which gathers every year more than 200 children of the San Diego School District. Ms. Rottembourg recorded for the music labels Arion and Steel Flower Music. She is a writer and a translator for classical CD labels such as Naxos, Palatine and HLM.
Born in Paris, Claire Rottembourg studied Early Music at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Paris, CNR, and Musicology at the Sorbonne University. She holds degrees in Baroque and Renaissance woodwind instruments performance and Music History. Claire Rottembourg is active as a free lance musician and has appeared with many ensembles in France and Germany and in New York where she was a clinician for the New York Recorder Guild. In Southern California where she was first flute of the Bach Collegium of San Diego. She is on the faculty of Canto Antigo Early Music Festival in Los Angeles, San Diego Early Music Society and more recently the Atlanta Early Music Alliance. Claire Rottembourg was the Music Director of the San Diego Junior Recorder Festival which gathers every year more than 200 children of the San Diego School District. Ms. Rottembourg recorded for the music labels Arion and Steel Flower Music. She is a writer and a translator for classical CD labels such as Naxos, Palatine and HLM.
Other VCEMF Artist Include:
Thomas Maternik
Rebecca Marino
Veronica Maraino
Christine Field
Jessica Dunnavant
Dean Gardner
Thomas Maternik
Rebecca Marino
Veronica Maraino
Christine Field
Jessica Dunnavant
Dean Gardner
