You are invited to attend the first annual Early Music Mining Conference on April 10, 2010 in San Francisco , presented by Chalice Consort. You are welcome to share this announcement with your students, peers, and friends.

This conference features the presentation and performance of newly edited and previously unpublished works of Renaissance choral music in what eminent British choral conductor Jeremy Summerly has called “a landmark event for the global early music community.”

Chalice Consort is honored by the participation of our luminary Guest Directors, including early music specialists Davitt Moroney (UC Berkeley), Jeremy Summerly (Royal Academy of Music, London), David Trendell (King’s College, London), and Geoffrey Webber (Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge).

The winners of the Early Music Scholars’ Competition, whose editions will be featured at the Early Music Mining Conference, are Michael Anderson (Eastman School of Music, New York), Jessica Chisholm (Rutgers University, New Jersey), Sean Doherty (Trinity College , Dublin), Daniel Donnelly (McGill University, Montreal), and Peter Poulos (University of Cincinnati, Ohio).

What you can expect at the conference:

Under the direction of Davitt Moroney, Chalice Consort will open the conference with a performance of the little-known Missa “Ave Maria” by the early sixteenth-century English composer Thomas Ashwell. Moroney notes, “If you like the spectacularly florid polyphony of John Taverner, for example, you'll like Ashwell's Mass. In fact, there is some evidence suggesting that Ashwell could have been one of Taverner's teachers…It's written in an amazing musical style: it's confident, wild, and flamboyant, but also at times both serene and mystical.”

The Missa Ave Maria will be followed by the modern-day premiere performance and presentation of the five newly “mined” editions by interesting and obscure composers including, as Moroney jokes, “that famous composer Anonymous, who lived for such a long time and wrote so much!”

After each presentation, there will be a moderated panel discussion of each new edition. The conference will end with all attendees being invited to vote for their two favorite editions, which will then be performed by Chalice Consort at a future concert. Moroney articulated the clout of this final audience vote: “The scholars have done their work, and when the performers have done theirs, the final question will be, which piece provides the most real musical pleasure today? The audience's choice is paramount there.”

According to Summerly, this event is especially significant because the competition and conference, in effect, provide “new” music for all those interested in music of the Renaissance era, something that is not possible in the traditional sense of “new.” Summerly points out that while “performers of contemporary music can commission composers to write new pieces, the equivalent for early musicians” can only be the “rediscovery of forgotten treasures, championed by the editor and realized by dedicated performers.” The Early Music Mining Conference is the realization of this goal.


Date and Time:
April 10, 2010
10:00am to 6:30pm (registration opens at 9:30am)

Conference Location:
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
1111 O’Farrell Street
San Francisco, CA

Online pre-registration: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/311854766

Registration by check: Please email Katie@chaliceconsort.org to receive instructions on how to register by mail.

Early Bird Rates (purchased/postmarked by February 28, 2010):
$50 General Admission
$45 current members of Early Music America & St. Mark's Lutheran Church
$35 Students with ID & Seniors
Please visit our website for information on group pricing

Regular Rates (purchased between March 1, 2010 and April 8, 2010):
$60 General Admission
$50 Current members of Early Music America & St. Mark's Lutheran Church
$40 Students with ID & Seniors

NOTE: All tickets at the door are $60. No group tickets will be available at the door.

For more information, please visit http://www.chaliceconsort.org/emmc.html.

Questions:
Katie Bank, Conference Coordinator
katie@chaliceconsort.org

Donate:
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support the Early Music Mining Conference. Our goal is to raise $5,000 by April 1 -- your gift of $15, $25, $50, or more will help us bring this unique project to life. Thank you!
http://www.communityin.org/chalice_consort.html

Thank you for your support -- we'll see you at the conference!

Chalice Consort
http://www.chaliceconsort.org/

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Chalice Consort would like to thank our conference sponsors Early Music America , St. Mark's Lutheran Church , Whole Foods, and Eventbrite for supporting our mission of “resurrecting forgotten music.”