Rochester audiences have the rare opportunity to hear 18th-century harp duets performed on period instruments in an upcoming concert at the Eastman Community Music School. The concert, which features music composed by the harp teacher of the ill-fated queen of France Marie Antoinette, will be presented at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, in the Eastman School of Music’s Messinger Hall and is open to the public.
The works will be performed by Mike Parker, a specialist on the single action harp, and Paul Knoke, principal harpist of the Brighton Symphony Orchestra.
The concert is part of a workshop Feb. 25 through 27 by the Historical Harp Society presented by the Eastman Community Music School. The workshop includes a master class on repertory required for harp competitions and presentations on the history, repertory, and playing technique of the pedal harp in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Parker is a musicologist and the author of Child of Pure Harmony, a sourcebook on the single action harp. He was awarded a doctorate by the Institute of Traditional Celtic Music for his work relating to the historical usage of the harp in the Celtic nations. Parker heads the strings program in the Junior department of the London College of Music & Media of Thames Valley University.
Knoke is a charter member and past president of the Historical Harp Society. His primary field of study is the single action pedal harp and his editions of music for the instrument are available through the Historical Harp Society.
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Saturday, February 26
Historical Harp Society Concert. Harp duets from the 18th century performed on period instruments, part of a workshop at the Eastman Community Music School.
8 p.m.
Messinger Hall 1, 10 Gibbs Street
Free, donations to the Historical Harp Society accepted.