Members of Apollo's Fire and Oberlin Conservatory present music by Bach and Haydn for Family Promise of Lorain County

OBERLIN, OHIO — On Sunday, February 17, musicians from the widely acclaimed Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra and Oberlin Conservatory of Music will perform in a concert to benefit homeless families served by Family Promise of Lorain County. The concert will begin at 3:00 p.m. at First Church in Oberlin, United Church of Christ. Tickets are not required, and donations are welcome. First Church is located at 106 North Main Street, at corner of Main and Lorain Streets, in Oberlin.

Called the Bach Project, the ensemble includes baroque flutists Kathie Stewart, teacher of baroque flute and curator of harpsichords at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Stephen Schultz, faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the Carnegie Mellon Baroque Orchestra. David Ellis, Master’s Degree student at Oberlin Conservatory will play baroque cello, and Jacob Street, a 2012 graduate of the conservatory, will complete the ensemble on harpsichord. They will perform trios and sonatas from favorite Bach and Haydn repertoire, and will conclude the program with the beloved Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. Performing on period instruments, they offer what promises to be an outstanding musical event.

The Bach Project is in the process of producing their debut compact disc. This concert will be their first performance in Oberlin as an ensemble. Schultz, Stewart, and Ellis have each performed frequently with Apollo’s Fire: the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. Stewart is a founding member of Apollo’s Fire and has performed all over the United States, Europe, and Canada. In addition to performing and teaching baroque flute, she also teaches historical performance at Oberlin Conservatory and tunes and maintains their world-class collection of historical harpsichord reproductions. Stewart has studied baroque flute and recorder at Oberlin Conservatory’s Baroque Performance Institute with Chris Krueger.  

Schultz teaches music history and performance practice at Carnegie Mellon University, and appears on more than fifty recordings, including several performances on electric Baroque flute. He is principal flutist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Musica Angelica, and has played with every major baroque orchestra in North America. He is also the conductor and music director of Carnegie Mellon’s baroque orchestra.   

Ellis, student of Catherina Meints, received in May, 2012, two degrees from Oberlin Conservatory: Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance and Master of Music in Historical Performance. He has won many awards for his studies at Oberlin Conservatory, for excellence in conducting and historical performance.  

Street graduated in 2012 from Oberlin Conservatory with a Master’s Degree in the Historical Performance of Keyboard Instruments. A student of James David Christie, Olivier Latry, and Webb Wiggins, Street has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and in solo performances. He is currently the Organ Scholar at Trinity Church, Copley Square in Boston.

Representing The Bach Project, Stewart cites the words of J.S. Bach: “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul .... It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.”  She adds: “May this performance refresh the souls of the listeners; and may the spirit of Bach inspire the performers to play all the right notes.”

Concert Chairman Carol Longsworth responds: “No one doubts that it will be a truly inspiring performance with all the right notes.”

This premiere event is free and open to the public. A Meet-the-Artists reception will follow the concert in First Church Fellowship Hall.  

Donations to benefit homeless families served by Family Promise of Lorain County and the Interfaith Hospitality Network are welcome. Family Promise cooperates with congregations and Kendal at Oberlin to feed and shelter homeless families, while professional staff helps the parents find housing and jobs to get back on their feet. The organization involves almost 30 congregations in Lorain County. Anyone wishing to be a major donor and join the 179 Club (the dollars necessary to care for one guest for one week) before the concert will be acknowledged in the concert program and be invited to an appreciation event in March. Checks may be written to Family Promise of Lorain County and mailed to Box 179, Elyria, Oh 44035 with the memo “concert donation.” 

For more information, contact Carol.Longsworth@oberlin.edu or the Family Promise web site FamilyPromiseLorainCty.org.

Fact sheet
Saturday, February 17, 2013, 3 p.m.
The Bach Project
A concert to benefit homeless families served by Family Promise of Lorain County

The First Church in Oberlin
106 North Main Street
Oberlin, Ohio 44074

No tickets required; donations welcome

Contact:
Carol Longsworth, Concert Committee Chair
440-774-2226
carol.longsworth@oberlin.edu