The Third Thursday concert series with Eastman’s Italian Baroque Organ returns this month with a special collaboration of Eastman faculty, students, alumni, and guests. Entitled 18th-Century Concertos for Organ and Strings, the concert takes place on Thursday, April 19, at 7:30pm in the Fountain Court of the Memorial Art Gallery.
The program offers a rare opportunity to hear 18th-century organ concertos by Handel and Haydn on Eastman’s unique Italian Baroque Organ, accompanied by period string instruments. The concert also features a transcription for organ of Haydn’s Symphony no. 53, made by Johann Christian Bach. Other works include organ music by Baldassare Galuppi, and a string trio by Telemann.
Among the featured performers is Edoardo Bellotti, Associate Professor of Organ, Harpsichord, and Improvisation at the Eastman School of Music. Bellotti has taught in colleges across Germany, Italy, and the United States, and is renowned as a virtuoso organist, improviser, and leading expert in Renaissance and Baroque keyboard music. He is joined by Eastman organists Naomi Gregory, Thomas Gaynor, and Alex Jones. Gregory holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in organ performance from the Eastman School, where she is currently completing a Ph.D. in musicology. Gaynor and Jones, from New Zealand and the United Kingdom, respectively, are also graduate students of the Eastman organ department.
Boel Gidholm, co-artistic director of local period-instrument ensemble Publick Musick, will play Baroque violin alongside current Eastman student Lydia Becker, while Eastman alumna Glenna Curren will join them on the Baroque cello.
Admission to the concert is included with Gallery admission, which is half-price on Thursday evenings and free to University of Rochester ID holders. The concert is made possible by the Rippey Endowed Trust.
The next Third Thursday concert takes place on May 19 in the Fountain Court of the Memorial Art Gallery. Entitled Baroque Brass, the program will feature Ben David Aronson on sackbut, joined by students from Eastman School of Music and special guests.
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Thursday, April 19
7:30pm
Third Thursdays with Eastman’s Italian Baroque Organ at the Memorial Art Gallery
18th-Century Concertos for Organ and Strings
Memorial Art Gallery
500 University Ave
Rochester, NY 14607
Free with Gallery admission