ARS Presents Recorder Relay Concert and Awards at the Boston Early Music Festival

ARS activities at the 2023 Boston (MA) Early Music Festival (BEMF) in June centered on its Great Recorder Relay on Friday, June 9, at Old South Church. Over 30 players from solo to recorder orchestra, plus others behind the scenes, made the event happen. More information about the individual performances will appear in the BEMF coverage in the Fall American Recorder.

The conclusion of the four-hour free event was the presentation by ARS Board member Jamie Allen of two prestigious awards: the ARS Distinguished Achievement Award to Nina Stern; and its Presidential Special Honor Award to Cléa Galhano.

Each recipient was given a custom-made engraved recorder stand (from RecorderStands.com), handed to each of them by BEMF guest recitalist Erik Bosgraaf, who had fortuitously dropped by the Relay. Nina Stern was introduced by another ARS Board member, Peter Faber, who had traveled up from New York City, NY, where both live. Besides being on the ARS Board, Faber serves on the board of S’Cool Sounds, the nonprofit founded by Stern.

Stern mentioned how fortunate she felt to be able to carve a career in music, with the recorder at its center: “Fortunate that my family supported me when I ran off to Europe at the age of 19 to study at conservatory. Fortunate to have had so many opportunities to perform (which I love) and to teach (which I love). Fortunate to have so much support from you, our community, as I have worked to use the recorder to provide access to music education to so many young people that might not otherwise have the opportunity to make music.”
 
Brazilian American recorder professional and a music faculty member at Indiana University, Galhano mentioned how the ARS had become her community when she moved to the U.S. She appreciated in particular that the ARS calendar had been the means by which one ARS member found her for lessons in multiple locations where she was touring to perform—a relationship that lasted for years and resulted in her adult student underwriting the continuing studies (even through university) of several of her young students who have since become professionals themselves.

The two professionals favored the Relay audience by playing two duets. One of them, the Vivace from G.Ph. Telemann’s canonic sonata no. 1 in B flat major, can be viewed on the ARS YouTube channel here.

Among the schedule of other recorder events was a particularly inspiring one on Sunday morning, involving over 40 young musicians from seven educational institutions playing in BEMF Beyond Borders. The event consisted of two halves. First up was a live performance by the onstage young musicians -- supplemented and conducted by both Stern and Galhano, plus Bosgraaf; and Julienne Pape of Montclair, NJ, whose students traveled to play in the concert (learn more about them here). A highlight of the concert was the premiere of a new work, “A Written Biography is an Elegy,” composed for the event and conducted by Melika Fitzhugh, recipient of the ARS’s first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Grant. The piece was performed by the Green Leaves Ensemble, led by Sarah Cantor.

The second half of BEMF Beyond Borders comprised four video performances from young groups around the world. One, submitted from students of four schools in Kenya, was directed by S’Cool Sounds Kenyan music director Jacob Saya and S'Cool Sounds Kenyan assistant music director Julius Odhiambo. It is currently available on YouTube here.