Coffee Break (Candelight Series)

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 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 diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, teacher, and historical cello specialist, with concert stops ranging from New York to Seattle to Dubai. He is Artistic Director of Gallery Concerts (Seattle), a chamber music series on period instruments, and appears frequently with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, ARTek, Twelfth Night, The Sebastians, and the Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble. He has also served on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts and each summer hosts “Cello Day,” a one-day workshop for adult cellists. His performances can be heard on recordings for ATMA Musique, Harmonia, and Centaur, as well as in live broadcasts on NPR, CBC, and KING FM. Dr. Whittaker holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Washington and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Indiana University. He performs on a 1957 cello by Mario Gadda and a baroque cello by Johann Christian Ficker II, c.1770. When not playing the cello, Nathan enjoys strolling through Hell’s Kitchen, coffee in hand, with his wife, soprano Linda Tsatsanis, and their mischievous mutt, Julep. Photo Credit: Chuck Moses

Jillon Stoppels Dupree has been praised as “one of the country’s top baroque musicians; a superior soloist, top-ranked ensemble player, and a baroque star” (Seattle Times). She has performed throughout the U.S., Britain and Europe, including concerts in Warsaw, London, and Amsterdam. In the U.S., performance ensembles include the Seattle Symphony, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival, San Francisco Bach Choir, and the Carmel Bach Festival, among others, and her numerous chamber music collaborations have featured such artists as Rachell Ellen Wong, Julianne Baird, Marc Destrube, Wieland Kuijken, Ellen Hargis, Ingrid Matthews, Janet See and Vicki Boeckman. Active as a harpsichord teacher and ensemble coach, Jillon maintains a teaching studio in Seattle; she resides on Bainbridge Island, WA. Jillon received both Fulbright and Beebe Fund grants for study abroad, and her teachers included Gustav Leonhardt, Kenneth Gilbert, Edward Parmentier and Lisa Goode Crawford. An honors graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory 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 at the University of Washington; she has presented master classes at Stanford University and the University of Michigan. Jillon received the National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist award for contemporary harpsichord music, and her world-premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Concerto for Harpsichord was heralded as “Superb!” by the New York Times. She can be heard on the Meridian, Decca, Orange Mountain, Wildboar and Delos labels, and her solo Bach recording from Centaur Records has been described as “harpsichord musicianship at its best: expressive, passionate and inspiring.” (American Record Guide). Photo Credit: William Stickney

Program & Program Notes

Sonata à 4 in E Minor, TWV 43:e2
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
Adagio ~ Allegro ~ Dolce ~ Allegro

Sonata in E minor for violin and continuo
Johann Georg Pisendel (1688–1755)
Largo ~ Moderator ~ Scherzando

Quartet for flute, violin, bassoon & continuo in D major
Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688–1758)
Largo ~ Allegro ~ Largo ~ Allegro

--Intermission--

Fugue in G Minor, BWV 1026
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Flute Sonata in A Major, BWV 1032
J.S. Bach
Vivace ~ Largo e dolce ~ Allegro

“Bist Du Bei Mir”
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (1690–1749)

Trio Sonata in G Major, BWV 1038
J.S. Bach
Largo ~ Vivace ~ Adagio ~ Presto