Member Announcements

We welcome all announcements of interest.

News - June 2023

updated 6/22/2023!
Year-round meetings, starting now

After many years of meeting only during the months of September through May, we are trying a year-round schedule. This year (2023) we did not have a meeting in June because the Summer Texas Toot had just finished; but we will have a meeting on the second Saturdays of July and August, starting at our usual 1pm time.

These will primarily be group playing sessions, unless someone wishes to present a program. One of our music directors will lead each session. If there is only group playing, the summer meetings will be 1.5 hours long, with an option to continue to 2 hours if the players are willing and the leader has brought enough music. If turnout for these summer meetings is good, we will continue the practice.

News - July 2022

We are starting regular meetings in September!

After two years of not meeting in person because of the pandemic, we have decided to restart the regular meeting schedule. If you feel comfortable being with other recorder players -- and we can space out as much as needed -- then plan on joining us on the second Saturday of each month, September through May.

We will also pick up the thread of electing chapter officers, after these years of stasis. The offices are President, Secretary and Treasurer, each for a two-year term. The chapter's President schedules the monthly programs and leads event planning; Secretary prepares program notes and records decisions taken at meetings; Treasurer keeps track of income (annual dues, workshop registrations) and expenses (reimbursement for copying, rental of meeting space, etc).

The Music Directors (an appointed position) lead the group playing each month. If you have an interest in serving as an officer, or want to nominate someone else, please contact Terry Martin or Susan Richter.

Your chapter officers are interested in ideas for the rest of this year, and plans for next year. If you're interested in helping things happen, please contact any officer to find out how you can help!

News - May 2020

Because of the "social distancing" and isolation regimens in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spring 2020 meetings from March through May were canceled. In a normal season, the May meeting would have been the occasion for electing new chapter officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer. In light of the current circumstances (and lack of activity), election will be postponed until sometime after we are able to resume meeting.

We do not know at this time whether we will be able to start the 2020-2021 season at the usual time, with the September meeting. It's also likely that, even if we are able to meet at the church and decide to go ahead with meeting, some people will be reulctant to come out in public. Please know that we are all hopeful for a resumption of our playing together, but will keep your safety and health as the first priority.

News - May 2018

New president elected! At the May meeting, chapter members elected Terry Martin as president of the Austin ARS chapter. His term will go from now until May 2020, when elections will once again be held. Many thanks to Diane Elder, outgoing chapter president, who worked tirelessly to bring us workshops, keep us informed of upcoming early music events, and recruit people to play for the meetings each month.

Continuing to serve are:

ARS Summer '17 Workshop on August 19!

The Austin Chapter of the American Recorder Society is excited to announce an upcoming workshop, for recorder players from low intermediate to advanced level. It features five teachers, who are professional recorder players from Austin and Central Texas. The course offerings are extremely varied, with some classes in 20th century and World Music in addition to Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque offerings.

If you plan to attend, please e-mail your class preferences and your lunch order as soon as possible — see details below. (Lunch orders must be received by August 15.) Registration for the workshop is available at the door, but please send e-mail in advance if at all possible.

Recorder Workshop

Date: Saturday, August 19, 2017
Time: 8:30 AM (Registration), 9:00 AM to 5:05 PM (Classes)
Workshop Fee: $35 for the full day!
Lunch: 11:55 AM to 1:00 PM — selections from Little Deli, or brown bag
Place: Austin Mennonite Church, 5801 Westminster Drive, Austin, Texas

Please select classes from the two or three alternatives given for each period: (See descriptions at end of page)

Period 1:

Period 2: (follows Short Break)

Period 3: (follows Lunch)

Period 4:

Period 5:

NOTE: Barring unavoidable changes to the schedule, you should be able to get most of your choices. If we have to make a change to one of your classes, please be flexible.

There will be some short private lessons available, a limited number of slots. The sign up will be at registration - first come-first served basis.

Please bring instruments (recorders and frame drums if you have them), music stands, pencils, toothbrush, additional snacks (if you need them). The workshop schedule is based on the Toot, and as most of you know that is a long day.

For more information or to register, please send email.

Lunches from Little Deli:

All pre-ordered lunches are $14. Lunches include tea/water, chips, and cookie. Bottled water will be available during the day.

Lunches must be pre-ordered before the workshop; may be paid at the workshop. Check sandwich/salad contents at Little Deli web site. NOTE: You may bring your own lunch to the church, where there may be some refrigerator space, but we cannot guarantee its availability.

Course Descriptions:

Frank Shirley Late Renaissance or Early Baroque music for double choir; needs at least 10 players. (Intermediate/Advanced)
Frank Shirley Music from Søren Sieg's African Suites - rhythmically challenging music from the late 20th century. ATB recorders. (Upper Intermediate/Advanced)
Frank Shirley Fun Arrangements (Intermediate)
Frank Shirley Music of J.S. Bach (Intermediate/Advanced)
Gregory Eaton Capriol Suite, by Peter Warlock. Needs at least 6 players - Sn/S A T T B. (High Intermediate/Advanced)
Gregory Eaton Phrasing and Cantabile Playing (Intermediate/Advanced)
Victor Eijkhout Recorders and Percussion - Basic rhythms and interplay between recorder & percussion. (All recorders and frame drums - some provided)
Victor Eijkhout World Music - Unusual rhythms and scales (All-Intermediate/Advanced)
Jan Jackson Trios from the 1400s; canonic polyphony (Intermediate/Advanced)
Jan Jackson Medieval Repertory (Low Intermediate/Intermediate)
Susan Richter Choral Music - introduce people to reading music written for singers. Alto players will (re)learn reading 'up'; tenor players will learn to get around in bass clef. Music will include several genres: motets, Spanish villancicos, choral preludes, hymns. Low Intermediate / All Recorders Sizes
Susan Richter Renaissance Polyphony: 4- and 5-part polyphonic music, including a few dances, by Salomon Rossi, Moritz Landgraf of Hessen, Heinrich Isaac, and Leonhard Lechner. SATB recorders will be used, and there will be alto parts for those who do not yet feel comfortable reading "up"; no guarantee that every piece will use soprano recorder, though! Bring your pencil, and be ready to read! Low Intermediate/Intermediate / SATB Recorders
Susan Richter German Renaissance Polyphony (well, mostly German) by Ludwig Senfl, Heinrich Isaac, Jacob Obrecht; if time, settings of "Ein feste Burg' by Walther & Agricola. Soprano recorder will be used only infrequently; altos must be able to read "up"; everyone who has a tenor recorder, please bring it! And of course, basses. Bring a pencil, too! Upper Intermediate/Advanced - All Recorders

ARS Summer '16 Workshop on August 20!

Following the success of last year's end-of-summer workshop, we are having another! ARS Workshop '16 will be held on Saturday, August 20, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Like last year. we will offer sessions led by our three music directors - Victor Eijkhout, Susan Richter and Frank Shirley. There will be two simultaneous classes in each of four slots during the day, with an hour's break for lunch. The cost is a mere $25, plus an additional $14 if you would like a catered box lunch (sandwich or salad, chips, and cookie). The workshop will be held at our usual meeting place - the Austin Mennonite Church at 5801 Westminster Drive, 78723.

If you would like to attend this workshop, please email me soon (it's less than a month away). Proposed topics include playing sessions on Sacred music of Spain and Italy, medieval music, medieval dances (with percussion and harp), plus technique classes on reading rhythms, improvisation, and playing in odd meters.

More details will be sent to registrants as the workshop draws near.

News - August 2015

Chapter Workshop on August 8!

A message from Austin chapter treasurer Derek Wills, who is organizing this event:

I'm excited to tell you that our local chapter is organizing a small workshop on Saturday, August 8, from 10 am to 4 pm. This is the brainchild of our president, Susan Page, who wants it to be a recognition of our loyal supporting members, both long-standing and new.

What we're scheduling is both technique and playing sessions led by our three long-serving music directors - Victor Eijkhout, Susan Richter and Frank Shirley. There will be two simultaneous classes in each of four slots during the day, with an hour's break for lunch. The cost is a mere $15 for our contributing Austin Chapter members (those who paid dues for the 2014-2015 season, plus any who started playing with us very late in the season and whose dues were waived).

We of course welcome participation by other potential members, for whom the charge will be $40 (these folks will be given one year's free membership for the 2015-2016 season, if requested). Lunch will be provided, using chapter funds (a basic box lunch, with a veggie option, of course). The workshop will be held at our usual meeting place - the Austin Mennonite Church at 5801 Westminster Drive, 78723.

If you would like to attend this workshop, please email me soon (it's less than a month away). For topics, we're currently thinking of basic techniques and rehearsal advice, guides to ensemble playing, dealing with difficult rhythms, as well as playing sessions including music by living composers, selections of Victor's Dutch pieces and so on.

Closer to the event, we'll send a list of the classes so that you can think about which ones you'd like to take, out of the two offerings in each time slot. Right now we just need to hear from you if you are pretty sure you would attend. Just email me and I'll pass on the summary of responses to Susan Page and the music directors.

Class choices can be made on the day, at registration, first come - first served, and you may pay by check (made out to me, Derek Wills) or cash. Of course you'll remember to bring an assortment of recorders, a music stand, and a stand light if you like.

Please respond soon so that we know how many people to plan for, and feel free to spread the word to people who might not normally receive the chapter mailings. I'll send updates to those expressing an interest, and ask about lunch preferences and such details.

- Derek -------------------------

News Archive - August 2013

The website of the Austin ARS chapter has moved! It is now on our very own "domain", so the address is simply http://austinars.org. But you probably already knew that if you are reading this page...

News Archive - February 2012

The Austin chapter of the American Recorder Society are delighted once again to be hosting a full-day recorder/early music workshop on Saturday, February 18, 2012. Leading the workshop will be Bert Honig, a founding member of the Brisk Recorder Quartet Amsterdam. Photograph of Bert Honig Bert is coming to Texas the latter part of February with the group Musica Batavia, who will be giving chamber music concerts across the state, and is gracious enough to arrive early to present this workshop for us. Players of recorders, viols, harps and other instruments are all welcome to participate!

Bert will also be available on Saturday after the workshop, and on Sunday, Feb 19th, to give private lessons and ensemble coaching. Contact us through the email link below to schedule a lesson or coaching session. Please, take advantage of this great opportunity to work, play and learn from a master recorder player!

Englishmen in Germany:
influences among English and German
composers from Dowland to Simpson

Saturday, February 18, 2012
9:00 - 3:30pm
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive,
Austin, Texas (See map)
Rissmann Hall, not the Sanctuary

Cost: $35 for the whole workshop, or
$20 for either half-day session

The February workshop will explore the influence of John Dowland on German consort music, and the German-English collections of William Brade and Thomas Simpson.

Morning session (9:30-noon):
Dowland's Lachrimae Pavan, and a suite from Banchetto Musicale by Johan Hermann Schein on the Lachrimae-motif. Both pieces are in 5 parts.

Lunch: Make-your-own sandwich lunch fixings, chips, drinks will be provided at the site for $5 -- or you can go out for lunch, but we only have one hour!

Afternoon session (1:00-3:30):
A Pavan by the English madrigalist John Farmer combined with a Galliard (printed in Frankfurt) by Thomas Simpson on the same motifs (5 part, too). Spectacular dances by William Brade printed in Hamburg. All in 6 parts.

Recorders, viols and other strings (plucked or bowed!), and other soft historical winds are welcome. Recorder players, bring your C-basses and contrabasses! Join us for a day of early music fun.
Bring your own music stand!

To register, click here (or send email to workshop@toot.org). Payment will be made on the day of the workshop, but we need to know if you're coming so we will have enough music.

If you are a recorder player in the Central Texas area and have not been coming to our monthly meetings/playing sessions, please consider joining us! We have a very good time playing music together, and the meetings are also a great chance to tell each other about upcoming early music concerts and events.

News Archive - April 2011

It's confirmed: The Austin chapter of the American Recorder Society are delighted to be hosting a workshop with Annette Bauer to finish the year on a fun note! Annette is in town from Oakland, California, for a Texas Early Music Project (TEMP) concert. We're taking advantage of her presence to give you an opportunity to work, play and learn!

Special bonus! We have worked out a deal with TEMP, so that all workshop attendees will be able to buy a ticket to the TEMP concert that night for only $5. Tickets are normally $20 / $15 for seniors. See more about the concert at the end of the workshop information below.

Musica Transalpina:
early 16th century music
printed North and South of the Alps

Saturday, May 7th, 2011
1:00 - 4:00pm
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive,
Austin, Texas (See map)
Cost: $20 for the afternoon

The May workshop will explore and focus on two beautiful textless music sources from the early 16th century, which include the full bandwidth of early 16th century secular polyphonic musical expression: from languid songs and teasing folk ditties, to purely instrumentally-conceived pieces and virtuosic compositions.

Trium Vocum Carmina (1538):
This sizeable anthology of instrumental music in 3 parts was collected and published by Hieronymous Formschneider in Nuernberg in 1538, and contains German and Franco-Flemish repertoire.

Odhecaton and Canti C (1501 and 1504):
Music in 3 and 4 parts from the very first music prints in Western history! Odhecaton A and Canti C were printed and published by Petrucci in Venice, but mostly contain repertoire in the Franco-Flemish style, by composers living and working both North and South of the Alps.

Recorders, viols and other strings (plucked or bowed!), and other soft historical winds are welcome (sorry, no shawms, please :-) ). Join us for a day of early music fun. Bring your own music stand!

To register, click here (or send email to annette_workshop@toot.org). Payment will be made on the day of the workshop, but we need to know if you're coming so we will have enough music.

And if you're from out of town, consider staying for the TEMP concert that evening: Siren Song: Sephardic Songs of Fantasy and Love, featuring Annette Bauer and others! See details at the TEMP home page. There is a special $5 ticket price for workshop attendees.



If you are a recorder player in the Central Texas area and have not been coming to our monthly meetings/playing sessions, please consider joining us! We have a very good time playing music together, and the meetings are also a great chance to tell each other about upcoming early music concerts and events.

News Archive - July 2010

We are excited to be hosting a fall workshop with Annette Bauer to start the new season off right, Music from a Golden Age: England and Spain!

Saturday, September 18th, 2010
9:30am - 3:30pm
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive,
Austin, Texas (See map)
Cost: $35 for the whole day, or $20 for either the morning or
afternoon session (see flyer for detailed schedule)
(Download the flyer for this event.)

Join recorder player and TEMP guest artist Annette Bauer for a day of exploration of two intricate and beautiful early music cultures - Spain and England. We will mostly focus on music from before 1588, the year that marked the defeat of the Spanish Armada in the conflict between the two Renaissance super-powers.

Discover music from the middle ages dating as far back as the 13th and 14th centuries, Spanish Villancicos and glorious English polyphony of the 15th century, sacred music, as well as music for dance and entertainment from the 16th century Spanish and English royal courts.

You are encouraged to bring all sizes of recorders. Viola da gambas or other early string and (relatively soft) early wind players are welcome as well.

If you would like to attend, please send email to annette_workshop, or call 512 825-4252 for more information.

News Archive - March 2010

Both workshops held in February were quite successful, with about 20 participants for each. Encouraged by this great success, we are looking forward to hosting weekend workshops more regularly. Watch this space for announcements as new events are planned!

News Archive - January 2010

Paul Leenhouts — Recorder Workshop

On Saturday, February 6, we are privileged to have renowned recorder player and composer Paul Leenhouts, of the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music, presenting a Mid-Winter Recorder Workshop. The workshop will include master class sessions for selected small ensembles, technique sessions (bring alto recorder), and tutti playing by all attendees. Breaks will be scheduled, as well as lunch from 1-2:30pm.

The workshop, from 9am till 5pm, will take place at Triumphant Love Lutheran Church, 9508 Great Hills Trail in Austin. The cost is $35 for the entire day. If you would like to attend, please contact either Derek Wills or Marianne Weiss Kim.

Please also note that you can hear Paul Leenhouts in concert with Laurie Young Stevens, Manfredo Kraemer, and other world-class Baroque musicians on January 29, 2010 at 8pm, at St Mary's Cathedral in downtown Austin (9th St. at San Jacinto).

Nina Stern & Peter Maund, Recorder/Percussion Workshops

And on Saturday, February 13, the Austin chapter is proud to present a multi-session workshop, as well as a concert, by the talented performer/teachers Nina Stern (recorders) and Peter Maund (percussion). Those of you who attended Nina's workshop last year know how fresh and exciting her approach to world music is, and Peter adds a new dimension with hand percussion that livens any ensemble. Keep reading for full information about the workshops, the concert, and the performers.

The Recorder/Percussion Workshops
Saturday, February 13, 2010
10am — 3pm
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive,
Austin, Texas -- See map
World Music and Percussion Workshops
for recorders and hand drums
Workshop fee only $35 (or $20 for one session) — payable at the door

The Austin chapter of the American Recorder Society is proud to sponsor Nina Stern and Peter Maund in presenting this workshop for recorders and hand percussion. Nina and Peter will offer 2 two-hour workshop sessions; the fee for the entire workshop is $35, or a single session is $20. For either session, students should bring a melody instrument (recorder, flute, etc) and a hand drum (some extra drums will be available). Please bring your own music stand.

Session #1 World Music (10am — noon)

Learn how to play an Arabic melody, or a Bulgarian tune in 9/8 meter. In this two-hour workshop Stern and Maund will introduce participants to several melodies, scales (maquam) and typical rhythms of Middle Eastern music as well as the exciting compound rhythms of dances from Eastern Europe.

Session #2 Adding Percussion to Your Ensemble (1pm — 3pm)

This session will concentrate on Medieval and Renaissance Dance music. Participants can alternate playing melody instruments and hand drums (some extra drums will be available) and will learn basic rhythmic patterns and drumming techniques that will enable them to add a rhythm section to their ensembles.

Recorder/flute players and percussionists at any level are welcome to attend.

Please send email to nina_workshop@toot.org by February 8, so we have an idea how many people to expect. It's OK to send us an RSVP later, or even just to show up -- but we'll be better prepared the more people we hear from.

Remember to bring along a music stand and any recorders, flutes and drums you wish to play!

Nina Stern & Peter Maund, Concert

"Wanderings"
Saturday, February 13, 2010
8:00 PM
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive,
Austin, Texas -- See map
$18 general admission, $12 students and seniors, $8 under 18
Tickets will be available at the door.


Nina Stern (recorders) and Peter Maund (percussion) will perform chants, songs, and dances from Medieval Italy to Armenia, the Balkans, and the Middle East. Hypnotic rhythms and hauntingly evocative melodies will bring you an evening of unforgettable musical delight!

Biographies of the Artists

Photograph of Nina Stern Nina Stern, a native New Yorker, is one of North America's leading performers of the recorder and classical clarinet. In recent years she is also hailed as an innovator in teaching school-age children to be fine young musicians.

Ms. Stern received a Soloist's Degree from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland and is on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music. She has recorded for Erato, Harmonia Mundi, Sony Classics, Newport Classics, Wildboar, Telarc and Smithsonian labels. Nina Stern's latest projects include performances of traditional music of Eastern Europe and The Middle East. She recently released an album of world music titled "East of the River".

Nina Stern is a founder of a successful hands-on music education project in inner city public school classrooms. For this important work, Ms. Stern was awarded an Endicott Fellowship in 2003; she was honored in 2005 with the "Early Music Brings History Alive" Award, bestowed by Early Music America. Nina Stern developed a classroom teacher-training course ("Flutes and Drums Around the World") for the Amherst Early Music Festival and has consulted for Midori & Friends and for Carnegie Hall's Weill Institute, helping them to develop and expand their recorder curriculum.

Photograph of Peter Maund with tambourine A native of San Francisco, Peter Maund studied percussion at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and music, folklore, and ethnomusicology at the University of California, Berkeley. Described by The Glasgow Herald as "...the most considerate and imaginative of percussionists," Mr. Maund has performed and recorded with early music, contemporary music and world music ensembles throughout North American, the U.K., Europe and Israel. He was a founding member of Ensemble Alcatraz and Alasdair Fraser's Skyedance and has performed with The Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players, Chanticleer, Davka, Paul Hillier and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, among many others. He has played on film and television soundtracks and has appeared on over 50 recordings. He also enjoys teaching and presenting lectures, workshops and classes.

News Archive - August 2009

We are looking forward to some exciting possible events for the 2009-2010 season!

Your chapter officers are working on bringing in another workshop by Nina Stern, who gave an amazing "Flutes and Drums Around the World" presentation last year. This would happen in February 2010. The details are not firm yet, but we are doing our best to make this happen!

Another Texas ARS chapter is presenting a workshop this Fall. The Rio Grande Recorders, based in El Paso TX and Las Cruces NM, announce a Recorder & Viol Workshop to be held in Las Cruces on October 16-18, 2009. Visit their Website to learn more, and to register for the workshop!

The Fall 2009 Texas Toot is coming up soon, on November 20-22, 2009! This one will be a little more convenient to attend — it's held near Palestine, in east Texas. Visit the Toot Website to learn more.

News Archive - November 2008

This year, we have 2 special events: it's our 50th anniversary as an ARS chapter, and we are hosting the national Board of the ARS for their spring meeting.

Fiftieth Anniversary

National Board meeting

The National ARS Board will be coming to Austin for their Spring 2009 board meeting! The dates are March 27-29, with most Board members arriving the evening of the 26th. Preparations and arrangements will soon be underway. Host homes for about 10 Board members (for Thursday evening through Sunday morning), and a suitable site for the business meetings of the Board all day Friday and Saturday and then Sunday morning, will be needed. If you have ideas or can offer a meeting site or a host home, contact any Austin Chapter board officer.

News Archive - April 2008

We are delighted to present not only a pair of workshops, but also a concert, by the talented performer/teachers Nina Stern (recorders) and Mauricio Molina (percussion), from New York. This is a rare opportunity not only to hear an exciting performance with "Flutes and Drums Around the World", but also to get hands-on practice so you can take the experience back to your students or ensembles at home! Keep reading for full information about the workshops, the concert, and the performers.

Nina Stern & Mauricio Molina, Recorder/Percussion Workshops

Sunday, May 4, 2008
2:00 — 6:30 pm
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive,
Austin, Texas -- See map
Recorder and Percussion Workshops
on Renaissance Dance and World Music
Workshop fee only $20 per session (payable at the door)

Nina and Mauricio will offer 2 two-hour workshop sessions; the fee for each session is $20 per person. If you attend both sessions, the fee would be $40.

Session #1 Renaissance Dance Music (2:00 — 4:00 pm)

The first two-hour session will concentrate on the dance music of Renaissance Italy, France and Germany. Participants can alternate playing recorders and hand drums (some extra drums will be available) and will learn basic rhythmic patterns and drumming techniques that will enable them to add a rhythm section to their recorder consorts.

Session #2 World Music (4:30 — 6:30 pm)

In the second two-hour session, learn how to play an Arabic melody, a Macedonian tune in 7/8 meter, or a Brazilian samba. Participants will be introduced to the melodies and rhythms of traditional music from around the world. Recorders and hand drums will be used in this session as well.

Recorder players and percussionists at any level are welcome to attend.

Please send email to nina_workshop@toot.org by April 25, so we have an idea how many people to expect. It's OK to send us an RSVP later, or even just to show up -- but we'll be better prepared the more people we hear from.

Remember to bring along a music stand and any recorders you wish to play!

Nina Stern & Mauricio Molina, Concert

"Flutes and Drums Around the World"
Monday, May 5th, 2008
7:30 PM
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive,
Austin, Texas -- See map
$18 general admission, $13 students and seniors, $8 under 18


Nina Stern (recorders) and Mauricio Molina (percussion) will perform hauntingly beautiful melodies from Armenia, lively dances from the Balkans and Medieval Italy, and hypnotic rhythms and songs from the Middle East. For more information, call (512) 371-0099.

Biographies of the Artists

Nina Stern, a native New Yorker, is one of North America's leading performers of the recorder and classical clarinet. She received a Soloist's Degree from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland and is on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music. Together with percussionist Mauricio Molina, Nina has created a course for school music teachers, introducing them to a new approach to classroom recorder teaching. "Flutes and Drums Around the World" uses music from around the globe and spanning the centuries to energize school children of diverse backgrounds, making instrumental music appealing and accessible to them.

Mauricio Molina, historical musicologist and percussionist, is the director of the medieval music ensemble Sendebar and has taught recorder and percussion in New York public schools for the Boys Choir of Harlem, the Carnegie Hall Education Outreach Program, and the New York Collegium. Mauricio is dedicated to the reconstruction of medieval Mediterranean music. His dissertation, "Frame Drums in the Medieval Iberian Peninsula," received the Higini Angles prize in 2006.

National ARS Board meeting - Austin hosting postponed

The National ARS Board meeting for Fall 2008 will be held in Toronto rather than Austin, due to some logistical considerations for presenting the 2008 Composition Award to its winner. Instead, Austin will host the Winter 2009 meeting of the Board, probably in February or March. Preparations and arrangements will soon be underway. Host homes for about 10 Board members (for Thursday evening through Sunday morning of the selected weekend), and a suitable site for the business meetings of the Board on Friday and Saturday, will be needed. If you have ideas or can offer a meeting site or a host home, contact any Austin Chapter board officer.

News Archive - November 2007

On Saturday, Dec. 1, members of the Austin ARS chapter will be participating in Christmas festivities for the child development center at the Austin Mennonite Church, our meeting venue. Parents and children will be entertained by holiday music as they enjoy activities and refreshments.

The Austin chapter is looking forward to presenting a workshop with Nina Stern (recorder) and Mauricio Molina (percussion), sometime in May 2008. Stay tuned for more information!

In September, 2008, we will be honored to host the Fall meeting of the national ARS Board. Preparations and arrangements will soon be underway. Host homes for about 10 Board members (for Thursday evening through Sunday morning of the selected weekend), and a suitable site for the business meetings of the Board on Friday and Saturday, will be needed. If you have ideas or can offer a meeting site or a host home, contact any Austin Chapter board officer.

Eva Legêne Recorder Workshop
Saturday, February 17, 2007

Event report: The Austin chapter was privileged to present a day-long recorder workshop by Eva Legêne on Saturday, February 17, 2007. Inspired by the book "Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment (P.S.)" by James R. Gaines, we looked at all that was happening in music when Bach met his son Carl Philip and Frederick the Great in Potsdam. Many of the arrangements for the workshop were made by Marianne Weiss-Kim, Kate Bracher, Derek Wills and David Melanson. (Click the thumbnail to see the larger picture in a separate window. Eva is center front, in gray jacket.)

The workshop was a wonderful success! There were 18 participants (although a few could not be there for the whole time). We played through a marvelous variety of music and received not only technical tips (tonguing, tone production, etc) but also historical, cultural and philosophical insights from Eva.

The pieces we played (I'm sorry I didn't take down the order in which we went through them, but it gave us an interesting contrast as we went from piece to piece) are:

9:30am - 3:30pm
Lunch on your own from noon - 1:00
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive,
Austin, Texas -- See map
Music of J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, and Frederick the Great
Workshop fee only $25 (payable at the door)

Inspired by the book "Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment (P.S.)" by James R. Gaines, we will look at all that was happening in music when Bach met his son Carl Philip and Frederick The Great in Potsdam. Music examples, suitable for intermediate/advanced players, will illustrate the subject.

Recorder players from low intermediate through advanced are welcome to attend. It is possible that a limited number of private lessons may be arranged ahead of time; when you RSVP to the email address below, please let us know that you would like to contact Eva to try to make arrangements.

Please try to send email to eva_workshop@toot.org by February 8, so we have an idea how many people to expect. It's OK to send us an RSVP later, or even just to show up -- but we'll be better prepared the more people we hear from.

Please remember to bring a music stand and any recorders you wish to play. There are eating establishments near the church, or bring a sack lunch with you.

An Afternoon with
Weiland Kuijken, Eva Legêne and Cory Jamason
Sunday, February 18, 4:00 pm

St. Cecilia Music Series is pleased to host a rare performance in Austin, Texas by three exceptional musicians: Weiland Kuijken, playing the viola da gamba, Cory Jamason, playing the harpsichord and Eva Legêne, playing the recorder. The concert will take place at First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive, Austin TX (see map). Tickets are $15/$12 (seniors and students).

Wieland Kuijken has become the world's leading performer and teacher of the viola da gamba. Since 1971, he has taught gamba at the Conservatoires of the Hague and Brussels and has served frequently on the juries of international competitions held in cities such as Bruges (Brugge), Paris, Boston, and Utrecht. Mr. Kuijken is a founding member of La Petite Bande and has, since 1987, been cellist with the Kuijken String Quartet. Since 1988, he has appeared regularly as conductor with the Collegium Europae, giving concerts and making recordings in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Mr. Kuijken frequently performs the complete suites for cello solo by J. S. Bach and - together with Jan Vermeulen - the sonatas and variations for cello and piano by L. von Beethoven.

Corey Jamason, harpsichordist, is an active soloist and chamber music collaborator throughout the United States and Europe. He is Artistic Director of Camerata Pacifica Baroque, a chamber music ensemble that is a part of the ensemble Camerata Pacifica, now in its tenth season and called by the Los Angeles Times "the best chamber music reason to get out of the house in these parts". Jamason has appeared several times on National Public Radio's "Performance Today" and has been a guest artist at the Yale/Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. He has appeared with ensembles such as Musica Angelica, BOMB, and the Erato Ensemble. With recorder player Astrid Andersson he has performed in Germany, England, Denmark, Belgium and the United States as a member of Duo Affetto.

Eva Legêne is a former student of Frans Brüggen in The Hague, and has been a faculty member of the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Ms. Legêne served as the director of the North American Recorder Conference at Indiana University. She concertizes extensively as a soloist and in collaboration with Frans Brüggen, Wieland and Bart Kuijken, John Gibbons, and the Rosenborg Trio. Legêne's recordings can be found on the Telefunken label, the Brüggen Consort label, and as soloist on the Denon label.

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