THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.
For its premiere concert, Filigree delves into the exciting world of early music ornamentation. Inspired by the recently rediscovered Carlo G Manuscript–a treasure trove of highly ornamented early Baroque solos and duets–Filigree takes you on a journey through the Italian Baroque, infusing works by Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, and Strozzi with improvised ornamentation and stylistic fervor.
Filigree enriches modern historical performance by pushing the boundaries of improvised ornamentation, rhetorical drama, and creative programming to reshape the modern concert experience. In addition to enlivening music from past eras, Filigree blurs the lines of old music and new by commissioning contemporary works that embrace the creative ethos of past eras. Similar to jazz, we take more liberties with the written music on the page, making every performance a unique, exciting and joyful experience.
Kim Leeds
With her “rich, smooth mezzo soprano”, Kim Leeds engages audiences in her exploration of life’s essence through music. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Bach Akademie Charlotte, Les Délices, American Bach Soloists Academy, L’Akadémie du Roi Soleil, Handel Society of Dartmouth, Bach Society of St. Louis, the Tafelmusik Baroque Chamber Orchestra and Choir, the Oregon Bach Festival Discovery Series, GRAMMY® nominated True Concord Voices and Orchestra, and Gramophone award winning ensemble Blue Heron. Over the years, Ms. Leeds has garnered multiple accolades including winning the Tafelmusik Vocal Competition in 2016, attending the Carmel Bach Festival as a Virginia Best Adams Fellow in 2017, worked with Philippe Herreweghe as a Britten-Pears Young Artist in 2019, and this year was a semi-finalist in the Oratorio Society of New York Solo Competition.
As a choral artist, Ms. Leeds has worked with Helmuth Rilling in the Weimar Bach Academy and toured with the Junges Stuttgart Bach Ensemble under the direction of Hans Christoph Rademann. In the US, she has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival, Handel and Haydn Society, GRAMMY® nominated ensemble Seraphic Fire, GRAMMY® nominated Clarion choir, GRAMMY® winning ensemble the Crossing, and GRAMMY® winning ensemble Apollo’s Fire.
Christina Kay
Soprano Christina Kay enjoys a versatile career that spans concert, opera, and choral repertoire. An avid performer of early music, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 as soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah with MasterWork Chorus and Orchestra. Her skill with Renaissance and Baroque-era repertoire has led her to notable summer festivals, including the Carmel Bach Festival's Virginia Best Adams Masterclass, the American Bach Soloists Academy, and the Baroque Opera Workshop at Queens College. In New York City, she performs with period ensembles ARTEK and The American Classical Orchestra, and has also appeared with Brooklyn Baroque, Ensemble Leonarda, and Gotham Early Music. Christina is particularly interested in ornamentation and improvisation of late Renaissance and early Baroque repertoire, and loves writing and performing her own ornamented arrangements of popular 16th and 17th century madrigals. Also a passionate advocate of contemporary works, she has performed the role of Lead Singer in Petr Kotik’s Master-Pieces (S.E.M. Ensemble), premiered the role of Daphne in David Chesky’s La Farranucci (Operavocateur), and most recently appeared as Annabelle in an Act I preview of Timothy Lee Miller’s new opera The Bird Lady with OperAvant, Inc.
Jason Priset
Based out of New York City, Dr. Jason Priset is a regular soloist and performer in the United States and abroad. Jason has appeared in concert and as a soloist for Bach Vespers, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Early Music New York, Florida Grand Opera, Great Music in a Great Space, Loft Opera, Long Island Baroque Ensemble, and the Riverside Symphony to name a few. Jason has appeared in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, Scottish Rite Temple in Miami, FL, and L’Auditori and Museo de la Música in Barcelona, Spain. Jason holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) from Stony Brook University and specializes in a variety of lutes, guitars, and other related instruments. Aside from an active performance career Jason is currently the Director for the Lute Society of America Summer Seminar and serves on the faculty at Montclair State University.