VICTORIA SUCHODOLSKI
Pianist, Harpsichordist, Organist
(Pianistin, Cembalistin, Organistin)
Early Music Week at World Fellowship Center, Albany, NH
July 10-14, 2023
Welcome to Early Music Week 2023! Early Music Week is a summer program devoted to the study and performance of music from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods, with a special focus on Baroque music. We welcome amateur and pre-professional instrumentalists and vocalists ages 14 and up. Early Music Week workshops are intimate, personalized, and non-competitive. Our faculty are based in both the United States and Europe, and are all devoted and experienced professionals in the field of early music. The main focus of the program is chamber music, with at least one performance opportunity for participants who are interested.
Early Music Week was founded in 1996 under the directorship of Jane Hershey and Larry Wallach. After more than two successful decades, the founding faculty members decided to pass on their responsibilities to a new team, directed by Victoria Suchodolski, with the hope that Early Music Week will continue to thrive and grow for future generations of early music enthusiasts. Early Music Week took place for the first time under the new leadership in the summer of 2021.
Early Music Week is held at the World Fellowship Center in Albany, NH. WFC is an independent, intergenerational, and
secular summer camp and conference center located near the White Mountain National Forest, whose mission is to promote social justice, community, and a connection with nature. During recreation time, Early Music Week participants can enjoy hikes, bike rides, canoeing or kayaking on the pond, as well as lectures and fun community-building activities.
Current and former sponsors of Early Music Week include ACMP Associated Chamber Music Players.
To register, please complete the questionnaire at the bottom of this page, then visit www.worldfellowship.org/book-now/
to confirm registration with payment by May 1, 2023.
Faculty
Victoria Suchodolski, director, harpsichord
Benjamin Swartz, viola da gamba, Baroque cello
Lidia Chang, traverso flute, recorder
Emily Hale, Baroque violin
Anastasia Black, voice
Victoria Suchodolski is a pianist, harpsichordist, and organist based in Cologne, Germany. Trained first on the piano, Victoria's love of the music of J.S. Bach brought her to the 2015 Baroque Music Workshop at Orford Musique, where she discovered a strong affinity for the harpsichord. Since then, she has been increasingly in demand as a harpsichordist and organist in both the United States and Germany, and has performed major Baroque orchestral and choral works as a continuo player. She has performed Bach concertos on both harpsichord and piano with the Euridice Baroque Ensemble of Amherst, MA and with members of the Lublin Philharmonic as part of the 17th International Piano Festival in Nałęczów, Poland. Victoria has appeared with the Lowell Chamber Orchestra as a harpsichordist, and with l'arte del mondo, the Gütersloh Bach Choir, and the Rodenkirchen Chamber Choir and Orchestra as an organist. Before moving to Cologne, Victoria resided for many years in Boston, where she worked as a staff harpsichordist at the Longy School of Music of Bard College. Victoria holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (MMus). https://www.victoriasuchodolski.com/
Benjamin Swartz has concertized extensively in the United States and Europe with particular emphasis on historically-informed performance and contemporary performance practice. Equally at home on cello, Baroque cello, and viola da gamba, he has gained increasing recognition for multi-instrumental virtuosity spanning the Ars Subtilior to the present day. As a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral player, recent engagements have included New York’s Carnegie Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Berliner Philharmonie, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, KKL Lucerne, and Boston’s Symphony Hall. Highlights of the current concert season include appearances with the Callithumpian Consort, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Microtonal Society, Odyssey Opera, Marsh Chapel Collegium, and Lucerne Festival Orchestra in
Switzerland. Ben is an honors graduate of the Royal Academy of Music (MMus), Peabody Conservatory (BMus), Johns Hopkins University (BA, MA, American history), and was a DAAD Scholar to Germany. A much sought-after teacher, Ben is currently on the cello and chamber music faculties at Bridgewater State University, Endicott College, South Shore Conservatory, Ipswich and Rockport high schools, and as recording artist-in-residence at the Berklee College of Music. He lives in Ipswich in the Rindge-Pinder-
Leatherland house (1718). http://www.benswartz.net/
A versatile musician and well-rounded scholar, Lidia Chang
double majored in Flute Performance and Music History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She went on to earn a Master's in Historical Performance in Baroque flute at McGill’s Schulich School of Music, a Master’s in Historical Musicology at the University of Massachusetts, and a PhD in Musicology from the City University of New York. Lidia has appeared with a number of period instrument ensembles including Arcadia Players, Dorian Baroque, and Ensemble Musica Humana, of which she is a founding member. She has released two albums of Regency era dance music (Twelve Cotillions by Giovanni Gallini, 1770 and Country Dances by Thomas Skillern, 1781), which can be heard on the BBC’s adaptation of Poldark. As a scholar, Lidia’s primary focus is on the intersection of literature, gender, material culture, and music performance practices in the long eighteenth century. She has served as the managing editor for Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture and has presented her research at the Jane Austen Society of North America’s annual and regional meetings, the American Musical Instrument Society, the Galpin Society, the American Musicological Society, the North American British Music Studies Association, and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Lidia currently lives in Paris where she works as a freelance flutist and researcher. https://www.lidiachang.com/
Fueled by a sense of curiosity and discovery, Emily Hale's
performances have been described as animated, intuitive and elegant. Emily has recorded with the Early Opera Company for a BBC Channel 4 series about life in the 18th century, and performed at the Valetta International Baroque Music Festival in Malta and the London Handel Festival. She has collaborated with the Four Nations Ensemble, the Sebastians, and Emmanuel Music. With her ensemble The Halfmoon, Emily curates multi-disciplinary events that connect early music and culture with our lives today. Their event PrintWorks is a multi-century, multi-sensory, interactive event featuring an art installation, printmaking workshop and musical performance. The event features 17th century music, instruments and printing processes, and a specially commissioned electroacoustic work. Emily's Pajama Concerts at libraries and schools offer innovative “musical story-telling,” pairing classic children’s literature with chamber music in an open, inclusive format. Emily holds degrees from the Royal College of Music in London (MPerf), where she won the McKenna Prize for Baroque Music, from Penn State University (MMus) and Houghton College (BMus). She is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Bridgewater State University, and has coached baroque ensembles in the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music. https://www.emilyrhale.com/
Anastasia Black, soprano, is dedicated to the performance and preservation of vocal music from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras, especially music by female composers. Her curated program of French and Italian Baroque music titled From Shipwreck to Sleep featured music by Barbara Strozzi and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, among others. Anastasia has frequently appeared in the Summer Chamber Music on the Hill concert series at Church of St. Andrew, Marblehead. Her recent roles include Eumene in the UK premiere of Cavalli’s Xerse, Pasatea in Cavalli’s L’Ercole Amante, and Abra in a staged production of Vivaldi’s oratorio, Juditha Triumphans. She has appeared as a concert soloist in Rutter’s Magnificat, Bach’s Cantata No. 92, Fauré’s Requiem, and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. Other performances in the Boston area include collaborations between Longy School of Music and the Boston Camerata, Emmanuel Music, and Boston Opera Collaborative, and she has sung as a soloist and section leader at many churches in Eastern Massachusetts. Anastasia holds a Master’s Degree in Early Music from Longy School of Music and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. In addition to performing, Anastasia is a passionate and empathetic voice teacher. She teaches at Note-worthy Experiences in Sudbury, maintains a private studio, and is on the voice faculty at Clark University. https://www.anastasiablack.com/
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I register for Early Music Week?
Please visit: https://worldfellowship.org/book-now/
There you will fill out a reservation form to secure your housing at the World Fellowship Center. Please specify on the form that you are coming to attend Early Music Week, and WFC will bill you for both tuition and housing. Please also submit the Participant Questionnaire at the end of this FAQ section.
Q. How much does it cost to attend Early Music Week?
A. Tuition for summer 2023 is $350. Participants are also responsible for the cost of housing, which should be arranged directly with World Fellowship Center. WFC offers a variety of housing options from tent camping to private guest rooms. The weekly rate ranges from $223-$965 depending on your choice of accommodation, and includes the 7th day for free. This rate includes three meals a day, use of boats and paddles at the pond, guided hikes and bike rides, and activities organized by WFC throughout the week. Participants must provide their own transportation to WFC.
Q. Is there a deadline to register for Early Music Week?
A. Yes, the registration deadline for summer 2023 is May 1. Please note that the $350 tuition must be paid in full by that date, and will be non-refundable once the deadline has passed. In the unlikely event that we have to cancel Early Music Week, you will receive a full refund.
Q. When is arrival and departure for Early Music Week?
A. You should plan to arrive no later than Sunday evening, July 9 (dinner is at 6pm). Departure should be no earlier than 4pm on Friday, July 14, but we strongly encourage you to stay Friday night to participate in Fun Night at WFC! If you stay Saturday, you may take advantage of a free 7th day at WFC.
Q. I am under 18. May I still attend Early Music Week?
A. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or adult chaperone for the entire week. It is possible to arrange for a small group to attend under the supervision of one adult chaperone.
Q. I am an instrumentalist interested in early music, but have never played a period instrument before. Is Early Music Week for me?
A. Yes! If you can read music and play your instrument at a level that allows you to play chamber music with others, we welcome you! Please state in the questionnaire below that you are new to period instrument playing. You should still plan to bring your "modern" instrument (except pianists, since there will be a harpsichord on site).
Q. I have experience playing a period instrument, but do not own one. Does Early Music Week provide instruments to rent for the week?
A. We hope to work with a partner who can provide viols and recorders to rent at a low cost. The sooner we know, the more likely we can make this happen. Please let us know in the questionnaire below if you would need to rent an instrument, and we will let you know as soon as possible if we can accommodate your needs.