About the Artist/Ensemble

The Wren Masters are an early music quartet, playing renaissance and baroque music on period instruments. Hailed by The Washington Post for their “crisp ensemble, mellowness, and admirable stylistic awareness,” the four members are drawn from performing artist music faculty of the College of William & Mary, and Colonial Williamsburg, playing harpsichord, baroque violin, viola da gamba, and recorder.

Concert/Performance Description

• “Birds of the Baroque” – baroque music about birds by a variety of European composers
• “Europe: the Grand Tour” – the soundtrack to a tour throughout Europe in past centuries
• “Jigs & Dirges for Jamestown” – interactive retelling of the 1607 story with period music
• “Les Gouts Reunis” – French baroque music by Rameau, Lully, Couperin, and Marais
• “Music by J.S. Bach” – an entire program of chamber music by Johann Sebastian Bach
• “Pillars of the Baroque” – music by the masters Bach, Handel, Telemann, and Vivaldi
• “Twilight Baroque” – music beyond the baroque by Bach, Telemann, Rameau, and others

And many others; for the full list see https://www.sites.google.com/site/wrenmasters/programs

Educational Programs

The Wren Masters offer unique programming combining early Virginia history with music from Colonial Virginia. In our Jamestown program, for example, we interweave eyewitness accounts of the events of the 1607 English landing at Jamestown (read by audience members) with matching music from the time, including audience sing-alongs. We perform on authentic and replica instruments, demonstrating how they differ from modern ones, and delight in giving audiences up-close looks at our beautiful and unusual instruments.

Fees

Performance Fees: $1200 – $1800 (travel distance considered)

Travel and accommodation expenses are negotiable. Master classes, workshops, and lectures can be arranged on request; fees are negotiable.