When: 3:00 PM, Sunday, January 28, 2018
Where: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 211 North Monroe Street
More: $10 suggested donation; free childcare available
William Porter, organist and harpsichordist, will be quite busy with Bach this weekend in Tallahassee. As Bach Parley guest artist, he will play J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 on Sunday, January 28, at 3:00 pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church. As an FSU College of Music Housewright Scholar, he will play selections of Bach’s Clavierübung (German for “keyboard exercises”), Part III on Friday, January 26 at 7:30 pm on the magnificent mechanical Taylor and Boody pipe organ at First Presbyterian Church. Porter will also be teaching an organ masterclass on Saturday, January 27, from 9:00-11:00 am, as well as improvisation to piano students at FSU.
The centerpiece of Sunday’s Bach Parley concert is Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, which features a dazzling harpsichord solo played by William Porter. Valerie Arsenault and Karl Barton will play the violin and flute solos, respectively, along with a large Bach Parley ensemble including violinists Miriam Barfield, Carrie Holden, Minyoung Cho, and Aaron King Vaughn, violist Melissa Brewer, cellist Kim Jones, double bassist Melanie Punter, and Brian Arsenault who will be switch hitting on violin and viola. The rest of the program will be a Corelli concerto grosso, a Chaconne by the lesser known Baroque composer Brescianello, and the gratifying Sonata in G for violin and harpsichord played by Arsenault and Porter.
William Porter has ties to Tallahassee. While in college, Bach Parley Music Director Valerie Arsenault worked with him at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and sang in his church choir. Both current FSU organ professor Iain Quinn and retired professor Michael Corzine studied improvisation with Porter in Boston and at Yale.
Widely known as a performer in the United States and in Europe, William Porter has also achieved international recognition for his skill in improvisation in a wide variety of styles, ancient and modern. From 2002 until 2013 he was Professor of Organ, Harpsichord, and Improvisation at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York; he has also been a member of the music faculty at McGill University in Montreal, the New England Conservatory, Yale University, and Oberlin College. Now residing in Rochester, New York, he returned to the Eastman School of Music in 2015 as part-time Professor of Organ.
Performing on period-style instruments, the Bach Parley offers unique, exceptional concert experiences to educate and engage our community. The French word “parlFey” means discussion and a key element of Bach Parley concerts is the commentary provided by Music Director Valerie Arsenault who gives historical context about the composers and offers suggestions about what to listen for in the music. Two additional concerts are planned for the rest of the 2017-2018 Bach Parley concert season, plus the annual Kids Go for B’roque concert this spring.
At all Sunday Tallahassee Bach Parley concerts this season, patrons will receive an insert in their programs with a discount coupon to use after the concert at participating downtown area restaurants. The organ concert on Friday is free and open to the public. A $10 donation is suggested for Brandenburg No. 5 on Sunday. Free childcare will be offered for both concerts.
For additional information about the Tallahassee Bach Parley, including the Bach Parley String Academy music school, visit http://www.tallahasseebachparley.org.
Enjoy the music, the venue, and the magic of Baroque performance with the Tallahassee Bach Parley!
William Porter, Harpsichord and Organ
*Feature photo: The Tallahassee Bach Parley in performance at St. John’s Episcopal Church (photo: Nick Baldwin)
