Early string specialist Dongmyung Ahn is a performer, educator, and scholar whose interests span from the twelfth to eighteenth centuries. Dongmyung is co-founder of Duo Custos, a medieval duo that specializes in music of the fourteenth century. She regularly performs with Green Mountain Vespers, Pegasus, Raritan Players, The Sebastians, and TENET Vocal Artists. She played rebec in the critically acclaimed production of The Play of Daniel at the Cloisters. A dedicated educator, Dongmyung has taught music history at Columbia University, New York University, Queens College, Rutgers University, and Vassar College. She received her PhD in musicology at the Graduate Center, CUNY and has published an article on medieval liturgy in the Rodopi series Faux Titre and an article on Jewish-Christian relations in Henry VIII’s court (IU Press).
Erik Andersen performs on all sizes of viola da gamba, including the pardessus de viole, as well as on baroque and modern cello. He also enjoys playing and teaching modern violin and viola. His wide range of experience informs and adds complexity to his musical approach, helping to uncover articulations and colors not so readily found on the single-instrument path. Erik strives to find the voice of each instrument, each composer, and each musical work, sharing the discoveries of those interactions with his audiences. He teaches at the San Francisco Community Music Center and at workshops and events around the country.
Joanna Blendulf is Professor of Music (Historical Performance) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She has performed and recorded with leading period instrument ensembles and is currently co-principal cellist and principal viola da gamba player of the Portland Baroque Orchestra. Ms. Blendulf has also performed as principal cellist of Pacific MusicWorks, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra, Bach Collegium San Diego, and the Washington Bach Consort. Joanna performs and records with the Catacoustic Consort, Ensemble Mirable, Music of the Spheres, Nota Bene Viol Consort, Trio Pardessus, and Wildcat Viols. Ms. Blendulf’s world-premiere recording of the complete cello sonatas of Jean Zewalt Triemer with Ensemble Mirable was released in 2004. Ms. Blendulf holds degrees with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the IU Jacobs School of Music where she was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate for her accomplishments in early music performance.
Tina Chancey is director of HESPERUS, known for its live early music soundtracks for such classic silent films as Robin Hood, The Golem, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and The Mark of Zorro. She plays medieval and traditional fiddles and viola da gamba on roots music from Sephardic and Irish to Machaut and Joni Mitchell. Tina teaches, performs, improvises, produces recordings, composes, arranges, and writes popular and scholarly articles. Artist residencies have taken her to Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. She has presented workshops for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Resident Associates. Her particular specialty is the pardessus de viole; she presented pardessus debut concerts at Carnegie Recital Hall and the Kennedy Center; has released five pardessus recordings; and directed an International Pardessus Conference at the Boston Early Music Festival in 2017.
Julie Elhard appears regularly as a soloist and chamber musician and has made several appearances with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, including the St. Matthew Passion by Bach under the direction of Nicholas McGegan. Ms. Elhard was awarded a 2016 and 2012 Artist’s Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and a Jerome Foundation grant in 2002 to study with Margriet Tindemans. She received a Performing Artist Certificate from the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague, Netherlands and has taught at workshops across North America. She teaches viola da gamba at Macalester College and has published a series of books for viola da gamba called, the Passamezzo Method. She currently serves as Conclave Music Director for the Viola da gamba Society of America’s annual workshop.
David Ellis is a conductor, cellist, and viola da gambist, and has performed repertoire ranging from Renaissance to Contemporary. He received a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Cello performance, a Master’s of Music degree in Historical Performance, and a Master’s of Music degree in Orchestra Conducting, all from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While at Oberlin, David studied with professors Raphael Jimenez, Tim Weiss, and Catharina Meints, and assembled and directed the Oberlin Baroque Orchestra. As a viola da gambist and baroque cellist, David has performed in many ensembles in Ohio and throughout the United States, including The Newberry Consort, Catacoustic, les soûls d’amour, Les Délices, Ampersand, Three Notch’d Road, The Bach Project, Apollo’s Fire, Burning River Baroque, and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. As a conductor, David directs the Case Camerata Chamber Orchestra and has served as the Executive and Artistic Director for Earth and Air: String Orchestra. He is a native of Solon, Ohio, and currently resides in Cleveland.
Pedro Funes-Whittington is Orchestra Director at Bonnette Junior High in Deer Park ISD and director of Viols of Deer Park, open to orchestra students at Bonnette JH. He received his Master's Degree in Early Music Performance at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, studying viola gamba and vielle with Wendy Gillespie. He co-founded Les Touches in 2011, one of ten finalists in the 2015 York Young Artist International Competition. He founded Aquila Di Guerra (2015-2019) and Viols of the Creek (2019-2023), featuring students from Oak Ridge HS and Woodcreek MS, which performed in VdGSA’s Gamba Gamut at the Boston Early Music Festival in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023. He has appeared across Texas with Austin Baroque Orchestra (principal bass), Ars Lyrica, La Folia, Austin Troubadours, Bach Society of Houston, and Texas Early Music Project. Also the President of Viols of Houston, he served on faculty at the Texas Toot and Conclave.
Julie Jeffrey has been playing the viol since 1976. She has performed throughout the U.S., in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia, and teaches privately and at workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Ms. Jeffrey is a founding member of Sex Chordae Consort of Viols, Wildcat Viols, Antic Faces, and The Barefoot All-Stars, and she embodies half of the viol duo Hallifax & Jeffrey. Ms. Jeffrey is co-founder and co-director of Barefoot Chamber Concerts, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Viola da Gamba Society of America, the Pacifica Viola da Gamba Society, and the San Francisco Early Music Society.
Brady Lanier performs on viola da gamba and Baroque cello with the Governor’s Music, Colonial Williamsburg and teaches viol at William & Mary University. A founding member of Quaver Viol Consort, he has performed with the Houston Symphony, the Alexandria Symphony, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Houston Bach Society, Istanpitta Medieval Ensemble, Ars Lyrica Houston, and Musikanten Montana. Mr. Lanier has taught cello and viol for over 30 years and has served on the faculty of numerous summer workshops, including the Viola da Gamba Society of America’s Conclave and Young Players Weekend, Music on The Mountain, and the Texas Toot. Mr. Lanier is in demand as an arranger and composer, having had works performed by the Houston Symphony and the United States Air Force Orchestra, and at the Grand Teton Music Festival. Mr. Lanier holds a BA from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and a MM from Indiana University.
Loren Ludwig is a viol player and music researcher based in Baltimore, MD. A few current research/performance projects include the modern premiere recording with Science Ficta of viola da gamba quartets by Ottorino Respighi and Henri Casadesus composed for the Société des Instruments Anciens (now out on New Focus Recordings) and ongoing research on New England viols from the decades following the American Revolution. Loren is a co-founder of LeStrange Viols and contemporary/experimental music ensemble Science Ficta, and is a founding member of the seventeenth-century string band ACRONYM.
Adaiha MacAdam-Somer is highly sought after as a teacher, chamber and orchestral musician across the United States and Europe. She splits her time and passion equally between cello, Baroque cello, and all branches of the viola da gamba family. From her home base in Portland, Adaiha performs with a variety of ensembles including Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, 45th Parallel, Sound Salon, Gallery Concerts, Voices of Music, Voice of the Viol, Eugene Opera, and various other chamber and vocal ensembles across the States. As an educator she maintains a studio of private students, coaches the Bridgetown Baroque Ensemble, Trillium Baroque Orchestra, substitute teaches for youth orchestras and chamber ensembles across the Pacific Northwest, and is a regular guest instructor of workshops nationwide.
Sarah Mead is a professor emerita of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she taught historical performance and music history for four decades, and for several years chaired their Medieval and Renaissance Studies program. She served as Conclave Music Director for seven years and will return to that role in 2025. As editor of “News Music" for the VdGSA News, she provides a quarterly selection of music and commentary on both recent and historical works for viols. Her performing editions of historical and original works for viols were published by PRB Productions, and her handbook on Renaissance theory is used in historical music programs around the country. Overseas she has performed, lectured, given master-classes, and led workshops in Brazil, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. She is a sought-after lecturer and ensemble-coach in the US, where she is a founding member and music director of Nota Bene Viol Consort.
John Moran teaches viola da gamba, Baroque cello, and musicology at Peabody Conservatory and has a large private studio at home. He is delighted to be serving as President of the VdGSA. He studied modern and Baroque cello at Oberlin, where he was fortunate to get his foundation on the viol with Catharina Meints. He studied Baroque cello at the Schola Cantorum (Basel) with Hannelore Mueller and subsequently earned a PhD in musicology at King’s College London, where his advisor was Laurence Dreyfus, all the while practicing viol in secret. He is a member of REBEL and a principal player with the Washington Bach Consort. He has played all over the US and in Europe. With violinist Risa Browder, he co-directs Modern Musick, in residence at Georgetown University. He is passionate about consort music and helping musicians learn to teach themselves.
Rosamund Morley has performed on treble, tenor, and bass viols, and their medieval ancestors, with many renowned early music ensembles as diverse as ARTEK, The Boston Camerata, The Crossing, Les Arts Florissants, Piffaro, the Toronto Consort, the Venice Baroque Orchestra, and Sequentia. She is a member of Parthenia, New York's premiere consort of viols, with whom she plays both early and contemporary music; for many years she toured worldwide as a member of the Waverly Consort. She teaches online and at the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven and in her Brooklyn, NY studio. Beginning in 2017 Ros was Conclave Music Director, her 4-year term culminating in the year of the coronavirus with the creation of the first totally online VdGSA workshop.
David Morris has performed across the U.S., Canada, and Europe on Baroque violoncello, viola da gamba, lirone, and bass violin. He has played continuo for the Boston Early Music Festival’s opera productions since 2013 and is a member of Quicksilver, the Galax Quartet, and the Bertamo Trio. He is a frequent guest performer on the New York State Early Music Association and Pegasus Early Music series and has performed with Tafelmusik, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seattle’s Pacific MusicWorks, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. He has produced operas for the Berkeley Early Music Festival and the SF Early Music Society series and has been a guest instructor in early music performance practice at Cornell University, Amherst College, Oberlin College, the University of Colorado at Boulder, UC Berkeley, and the SF Conservatory of Music. He has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, New Albion, Dorian, Drag City Records, CBC/Radio-Canada, and New Line Cinema.
Annalisa Pappano taught viol and performance practice at the University of Cincinnati, is the founder and artistic director of the Catacoustic Consort, and led her early music concert series in Cincinnati for eighteen years before moving to Germany in 2019. As a member of Ensemble Atalante she won a Diapason d’Or and Gramophone Award. She has given concerts with the Houston Grand Opera, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Opera, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and numerous other ensembles in Italy, Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Belgium, England, Switzerland, Ireland, Colombia, and Canada. Beginning originally on the violin, she plays pardessus de viole, lirone and viola da gamba.
James Perretta is a Boston-based viola da gamba player and cellist who is active as a small ensemble director, teacher, and performer. James co-directs and performs with Lyracle, an ensemble dedicated to music for voice and viol-family instruments. An avid arranger, James is active on TikTok and YouTube, where he records his own arrangements of video game music for solo viol or viol consort. James teaches private lessons, group classes, and workshops online and at the Powers Music School in Belmont, MA. James serves on the Website Committee for the Viola da Gamba Society of America and is a board member of the New England chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society. James holds a BM in cello performance from the University of Michigan, where he studied modern cello with Richard Aaron and Baroque cello and viola da gamba with Enid Sutherland.
Sarah Poon is a music educator, performer, conductor, and freelance musician in British Columbia. She studied violoncello with Mary Fisher in Toronto, John Doerksen in North Vancouver, and with Eric Wilson at the University of British Columbia. As an undergraduate she fell in love with early music playing both Baroque cello and viola da gamba. Sarah is director and head instructor at Grace Notes Music Studio, teaching cello, piano, and viola da gamba. She directs several small ensembles, including a youth string ensemble, a viol consort, and the Coast Messiah Orchestra. Outreach continues to be a priority in her life: organizing and hosting workshops for local players, hosting viol “petting zoos,” and matchmaking players to instruments. Additionally, Sarah is delighted to be a faculty member for the Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School’s western workshop, taking place later this summer.
Elisabeth Reed teaches viola da gamba and Baroque cello at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she is co-director of the Baroque Ensemble. Recent teaching highlights include master classes at the Juilliard School, the Shanghai Middle School, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Viola da Gamba Society Conclave. A soloist and chamber musician with Voices of Music, Archetti, Pacific Musicworks, and Wildcat Viols, she has also appeared with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, American Bach Soloists, and the Seattle, Portland, Pacific, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestras. She can be heard on the Virgin Classics, Naxos, Focus, Plectra, and Magnatunes recording labels and has many HD videos on the Voices of Music Youtube channel. She also teaches viola da gamba and Baroque cello at the University of California at Berkeley. She is a Guild-certified practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method of Awareness Through Movement.
Alice Robbins is a member of Arcadia Viols and the Oberlin Consort of Viols and plays principal cello as well as viol with Arcadia Players in western Massachusetts, of which she is a founding member. During a long career, she has performed with many groups dedicated to historical performance, among them the Folger Consort, Four Nations Ensemble, Washington Bach Consort, Early Music Quartet (Studio der frühen Musik), Smithsonian Chamber Players, Boston Camerata, Opera Lafayette, and the Handel+Haydn Society. She was a founding member of Concerto Castello, an international quintet specializing in the music of the early seventeenth century. Alice has earned degrees from Indiana University and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Basel), where she was a student of Hannelore Mueller. She teaches at the Five College Early Music Program at Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges in Western Massachusetts.
Mary Springfels is a veteran of the American early music movement. She began her long career as a member of the New York Pro Musica, and is still performing with the Folger Consort, Ars Lyrica (Houston), the Texas Early Music Project (Austin), and co-directs Severall Friends, a flexible collection of performers based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mary has been active in the VdGSA Circuit Rider program and has been a faculty member at Conclaves for decades.
Marie Dalby Szuts performs on and teaches viola da gamba in the SF Bay Area and around the country. Before moving back to her native California, she spent over a decade living on the East Coast, where she performed as a member of the New York Consort of Viols and various other groups. While completing a Master's degree in medieval history at Yale University, she was on the teaching faculty of the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT; she is also a founding member of Quaver viol consort, which has appeared at multiple VdGSA Conclaves. Marie was President of the VdGSA from 2012 to 2016, and on the Board from 2006 to 2020.
Lisa Terry is an avid chamber music performer and soloist on viola da gamba and violoncello. From her home base in New York City, she performs with Parthenia, Dryden Ensemble, Lyra Consort, Pegasus Early Music, and TENET. She is principal cellist and viol soloist with Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia’s baroque orchestra. Lisa was a founding member of ARTEK, and has performed with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, Juilliard Opera Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Concert Royal. She has appeared to great acclaim as soloist in the Passions of J.S. Bach throughout her career, and she serves the Viola da Gamba Society of America as Past-President. She is often heard in dance bands for Country Dance New York.