Bloomington Early Music Festival

Throughout Festival Week, enjoy artwork created by children of families who have recently joined our community, having left their troubled homelands in other parts of the world. The exhibit will encircle the mainstage space at FAR Center from Opening Night, Sunday, through Friday night. During evening performances, you will be surrounded by the visual art of young children who have had to leave their homes behind, while you are immersed in the music of those who had much the same experience so many centuries ago. We are grateful to our new neighbors for sharing their artwork with us and for contributing their talents to our festival. Thank you and welcome to Bloomington!

Scheduel:

2:00pm | Workshop

Sword Fighting on the High Seas

Blow me down!

Learn how to fight like a pirate without hurting a fly from a certified,  professional stage combat instructor! Set sail across the Mediterranean with our crew of swashbuckling rogues, and thrust and slash your way to victory like the dreaded Redbeard himself. And if you dare to enter the pirate’s den for this seafaring adventure, you get to take home your own (foam!) sword to vanquish your foes—Aaarrrggghhh!

Led by Andrés X. López

Workshop runs 2:00pm-4:00pm

Andrés received his Ph.D. from Indiana University where he examined the transformation of stage combat in nineteenth century England. Also an advanced actor/ combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, Andrés holds certifications in all eight weapon disciplines. He has taught stage combat to people of all ages at workshops and in classrooms for over ten years both in the United States and internationally, and he has been the fight choreographer for several productions, including Vinegar Tom, Water by the Spoonful, Streamers, Cyrano de Bergerac, Don Giovanni, and Carmen. Andrés has also  lectured nationally and internationally at universities, organizations, and theatres on the historical and contemporary practice of stage combat.

Venue: Lotus Firebay 105 S. Rogers Street

5:30pm | Public Screening

Zoe Vandermeer Bards of the British Isles

(Vernon, CT) A beautiful if troubling illustration of the debilitating effects of religious and political persecution, Bards of the British Isles presents music of the late 16th century to the late 18th century from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The music, for harp and soprano voice, was composed by harpers and about harpers, as well as other individuals who suffered under the tyranny of Queen Elizabeth I and Edward I. During Elizabeth I’s ongoing religious persecution of the Catholic church in Wales, many Welsh Pencerddau (head bards) were acting as covert emissaries of Recusants in the Welsh nobility, helping to spread news about secret Catholic masses and pilgrimages. And in an attempt to control Ireland, the Virgin Queen issued a proclamation to “hang harpers, wherever found, and destroy their instruments.” Between 1650 and 1660, Oliver Cromwell ordered the destruction of harps and also organs throughout Ireland in an effort to prevent a surge of nationalism—in Dublin alone, 500 harps were seized and burned. Harpers were reduced to becoming itinerant musicians, begging for a living wherever they could. The music these harpers composed and sang provides a powerful view of the many challenges they faced—from avoiding death by hanging to simply putting food on the table, and from maintaining artistic integrity to efforts to keep the legacy of the Bard alive.

Soprano and harpist Zoe Vandermeer is a prize-winning graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and on the Roster of the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism. She accompanies her singing on Welsh triple harp music primarily from the Baroque and Classical periods. Ms. Vandermeer has performed at the Rio International Harp Festival Brasil, International Festival de Deia Spain, American Harp Society, Glasgow Early Music Festival, Connecticut Early Music Festival, American Swedish Historical Museum Philadelphia, New Britain American Museum of Art, Pollok House National Trust Scotland, Nairn Little Theatre Scotland, and elsewhere. In 2014, she enjoyed her Carnegie Hall debut   as First Place Winner of the B. Alexander International Vocal Competition. Ms. Vandermeer has been a featured guest on radio stations in the US and Scotland; her Dowland recording received a favorable review by the UK Lute Society Journal and her soprano and harp baroque album is forthcoming from Centaur Records in 2024.

5:00pm | Pre-Concert Discussion (screened) with early music specialist and multi-instrumentalist C. Keith Collins and Zoe Vandermeer

Venue: Screening at Lotus Firebay 105 S. Rogers Street

8:00pm | Live Concert

Community Showcase

Bloomington takes the stage!

Honoring the long tradition of Early Music in our community, we present our talented neighbors in a showcase of early music across cultures.
Stay tuned for more details!

Venue: FAR Center for Contemporary Arts 505 W. 4th Street