There will be virtuosity aplenty to begin the 2022-23 Virtuosi Concerts season.
Montreal-based early music specialists Infusion Baroque present a thoughtfully curated program that shines the spotlight on works that were either composed or performed by women.
Started in 2015, ‘Virtuosa’ is an ongoing project – that includes performances, lectures, tours, and an online web series called “virtuELLES” – to reintroduce relatively unknown women who made substantial contributions to Western classical music, despite considerable barriers and stigma.
“The idea for the Virtuosa project was born out of our own personal experience as a touring all-female ensemble,” says Sallynee Amawat, baroque violinist with Infusion Baroque.
Even in the 21st century, the idea of an “all-female” group of musicians elicited a unique response from audiences, and that got the group wondering what it must have been like for composers and performers of centuries past, says Amawat.
“The general conception is that it is hard to find music composed by women, or associated with women, in the Baroque period,” explains Amawat. “But once you start to do a little bit of research, you actually find that there’s quite a lot of material to work with.”
Opening the Virtuosi Concerts 2022-23 season, Infusion Baroque presents composers such as Barbara Strozzi, Ana Bon and Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre as well as works written for women who were famous instrumentalists of their day.
The concert takes place 3 PM on Sunday, October 30 at St. Andrew’s River Heights United Church (255 Oak Street).
For tickets, visit: www.virtuosiconcerts.ca