Thank you to everyone who took our survey over the past two weeks! The Camerata is committed to building upon our 60+ year history of unique programs and audience engagement, and we value your input.
As promised, here is a summary of the results:
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“At this time it’s important for people to understand that art is part of the social fabric, and is in fact an economic motor of that social fabric too,” says Camerata Artistic Director Anne Azéma in a new article from WBUR’s The ARTery. This article focuses on what the way forward might look like for solo musicians (pianist Marc-André Hamelin is also featured) and ensembles.
“I strongly urge anyone interested in the music of the Renaissance to investigate this disc.”
Johan van Veen,
MusicWeb International
An isolated Medieval merperson plucking away at his curiously shaped instrument (a guittern?).
I first welcomed Reynette Estellien into our circle of Boston Camerata collaborators when she was a young student, singing with heart and soul as a member of the “Nueva España” cast. In successive years she helped to organize “Les Fleurs des Caraïbes” for their numerous collaborations with us. Two decades later, she still puts everything she has into her music-making, as those who recently saw and heard her at our December 2019 Christmas concerts can attest.
And you can also witness, in this video clip Reynette just sent us, the same passionate commitment she gives to her music, here also evident in her professional life as a medical researcher. She and her laboratory co-workers are looking for a vaccine to COVID-19, and we wish her, and them, every possible success! At Camerata we have always believed that there is a continuum between the focused, committed love that artistic work requires, and the human challenges of life in general. Reynette Estellien is our shining example of how good personal values apply, everywhere, all across the board.
Reynette, we are so proud of you. And how privileged we are to have you as a part of the Camerata family! We look forward to receiving more of your hopeful news.
Joel Cohen
Music Director Emeritus
As Camerata plans its future, we are seeking your opinion on some vital questions.
In the confines of our home, most of us have experienced streaming music recently. Perhaps you have also enjoyed some of Camerata’s recent online moments, shared with our friends via our newsletter and social media.
So here is where we turn to you. If it should happen that concert venues, performance halls and churches, are not open to us for the 2020-2021 Boston Season, we are actively exploring the possibility of creating an online presence for you and others. We have prepared a short survey (3-4 minutes) to hear what you would like to see and hear from the Camerata in the months ahead.
Thank you very much for participating in this inquiry. When it’s complete, we will share the results with you.
Keep Music Alive!
Brett Donham
President
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This video, from our Treasures of Devotion program, features a longing Dutch love song and a polyphonic setting of Psalm 4 based on the same tune.
In a rave review of the Treasures of Devotion recording, Johan van Veen “compliment[s] the singers for their command of Dutch.”
Here, for the current day, is a 19th-century Shaker song of resistance and combat. The Shakers may have been pacifists, but they certainly knew how to work up their energy and will against all challenges…take courage!
“Because we are doing the music that we’re doing, we look backwards. The plague brought out the worst and best in people. So how best can we help now? What form will [our music take]?”
~ Anne Azéma
This article by Keith Powers features the thoughts of several leaders of Boston early music ensembles, including our own Artistic Director Anne Azéma as well as Kathleen Fay of the Boston Early Music Festival and Martin Pearlman of Boston Baroque, plus other perspectives from around the US.
