Viols in Our Schools - Bringing Early Music to Wider Audiences
Viols in Our Schools - Early Music to New Audiences
The website for Early Music education initiative ‘Viols in Our Schools’ is now launched. Focusing on Music, History (European History) and English (Music of Shakespeare’s time) classes. A pilot program for the Viola da Gamba Society of America and the Spirit of Gambo, a Chicago Consort of Viols, ‘Viols in Our Schools’ focuses on bringing early strings to the classroom setting. With the viola da gamba/ viol’s connection to the evolution of the guitar (via the lute), it is an ideal instrument to introduce earlier repertoire to guitar classes, while it’s frequent use in the madrigal repertoire and use as a continuo instrument makes the viol an ideal for demonstrating to choral classes as well as to music theory and history classes. In addition to music programs, ‘Viols in Our Schools’ demonstrates early European music to European history classes, as well as English/ Literature classes focusing on Elizabethan/ Shakespearean England. You can visit 'Viols in Our Schools' at http://www.violsinourschools.org/.
‘Viols in Our Schools’ exists as a pilot program of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. Dr. Phillip Serna donates time to perform in schools, often pro bono. Renaissance music for viols, as well as performance of early-western string instruments, is almost never heard within the school setting. ‘Viols in Our Schools’ seeks to remedy this by offering performances/ lecture-demonstrations of Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical era literature enhancing the music program experience while entertaining audiences. For in-depth information, you can download information on ‘Viols in Our Schools’ here.
‘Viols in Our Schools’ News - Upcoming 'Viols in Our Schools' Collaborative Performances
March 18, 2008, 8PM
‘Viols in Our Schools’ News - Upcoming Collaborative Concerts
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Collaborative Concert, March 18, 2008, 8PM
G.P. Telemann Concerto in A-Major for Viola da Gamba, TWV51:A5
J.S. Bach Sonata No.3 for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord in G-Minor, BWV 1029
J.S. Bach Concerto for Harpsichord in d-minor, BWV 1052
Phillip W. Serna, bass viol & Jason Moy, harpsichord
Neuqua Valley High School Chamber Strings
Neuqua Valley High School Auditorium, 2360 95th Street, Naperville, IL 60564
- Funded by a generous Artists-in Residence-Grant from the Indian Prairie School District 204 -
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Collaborative Concert, March 26, 2008, 7:00PM
Ignacio Donati Alleluia Haec Dies for Women’s Voices, Violin & Viola da Gamba
Phillip W. Serna, bass viol & Dana Green, violin
Naperville North High School Women’s Choir
Naperville North High School Auditorium, 899 North Mill Street, Naperville, IL 60563
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Collaborative Concert, May 15, 2008, 7:30PM
Telemann Concerto in A-Major for Viola da Gamba, TWV51:A5
Phillip W. Serna, bass viol
Wheeling High School Chamber Orchestra
Wheeling High School Auditorium, 900 South Elmhurst Road, Wheeling, IL 60090
‘Viols in Our Schools’ News - Upcoming 'Viols in Our Schools' Residencies
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Residency, April 10, 2008
High School at the Performing and Visual Arts
4001 Stanford, Houston, TX 77006
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Residency, April 11 2008
Johnston Middle School
10410 Manhattan Drive, Houston, TX 77096
- Both Houston visits funded by a generous Artists-in Residence Grant from the High School at the Performing and Visual Arts -
Further Houston Residencies & Collaborative Concerts TBA
A native of Houston, Texas, Dr. Phillip W. Serna (double bass and viola da gamba) is an active and enthusiastic performer of early music, as well as the contemporary, solo, orchestral, and chamber repertoires. Studying with Jeffrey M. Hill, Dr. Serna earned his high school diploma from the Instrumental Music Department at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX. Afterwards, he earned his Bachelor of Music in double bass performance with Stephen Tramontozzi at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1998. He later completed his Master of Music at Northwestern University School of Music in 2001 as a Civic Orchestra of Chicago Graduate Fellow. In 2007, Phillip Serna received the Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University where he studied double bass with international soloist DaXun Zhang and formerly with Chicago Symphony Orchestra member Michael Hovnanian. Additionally, he studied viola da gamba with Newberry Consort founder Mary Springfels.
Since 2003, Dr. Serna has been Principal Double Bass of the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Board of Directors of the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he has performed regularly with other orchestras such as the Bach Chamber Orchestra & Choir, Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra, Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonic Orchestra, , Racine Symphony Orchestra, Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Virtuosi Chicago as well as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. In March of 2007, Dr. Serna performed Giovanni Bottesini’s Concerto No.2 in b-minor with the Waubonsie Valley High School Orchestra in Aurora, IL after having performed Estonian composer Eduard Tubin’s stirring Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra with Northwestern University’s Summer Orchestra under the direction of Robert Hasty in July of 2003. Dr. Serna is a member of the board of the Early Music Chicago arts advocacy and performance organization, as well as the current president of the Viola da Gamba Society Third Coast, the Chicago chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. Dr. Serna regularly performs on violas da gamba (treble viol, tenor viol and bass viol), period double bass/ violone and vielle with period instrument ensembles and organizations such as the Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Ars Antigua, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Bottom Line Continuo Consort, Chicago Early Music Consort, Period Opera Cosi fan Tutte with Chicago Opera Theater, Classical Arts Orchestra, Comic Intermezzo, Early Music Chicago, the Janus Ensemble, the Newberry Consort, the Evelyn Dunbar Memorial Early Music Festival at Northwestern University, the Oriana Singers, the Second City Musick, the Spirit of Gambo - a Chicago Consort of Viols, the Viola da Gamba Society of America Conclave Consort Cooperative, as well as the Concert for Compassion Viol Consort and the Forces of Virtue Ensemble and Choir, dedicated to raising money for disaster relief and other charities. In January 2007, the Viola da Gamba Society awarded Dr. Serna a grant as part of its Grants-in-Aid to Young Artists which will assist in Dr. Serna’s many early music endeavors.
In addition to his intense performance schedule, Dr. Serna teaches lessons on double bass, bass guitar, guitar, and viola da gamba. Dr. Serna also presents master classes and workshops on modern and period double bass, most recently for the Illinois American String Teachers Association Teacher Enrichment Workshop in Aurora, IL. As a passionate advocate of early music, Dr. Serna has championed the viola da gamba with his initiative ‘Viols in Our Schools,’ bringing solo and chamber music for viols into Chicago area classrooms. Additionally in 2008, Dr. Serna joins the viola da gamba faculty at the Music on the Mountain Winter Workshop, Whitewater Early Music Festival and becomes Ad Hoc Consort Coordinator at the Viola da Gamba Society’s Summer Conclave in 2008. Dr. Serna currently teaches at the Carl Sandburg High School in School District 230, Glenbard East High School and Glenbard South High School in School District 87, Willowbrook High School in DuPage High School District 88, Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville’s Indian Prairie School District 204 and Wheeling High School in School District 214. Dr. Serna formerly taught at Beautiful Music in Downers Grove, the Illinois Math and Science Academy, Maine Township West High School, Maine Township East High School, and Maine Township South High School in School District 207 and the Sherwood Conservatory of Music in Chicago, IL. Dr. Serna lives in Plainfield, IL with his best friend and wife, Magdalena.
Harpsichordist Jason J. Moy holds the Bachelor of Harpsichord Performance and Master of Early Music Performance degrees from McGill University in Montreal, where he trained under Hank Knox and Luc Beauséjour. In addition to his principal teachers, he received much valuable guidance from Bruce Haynes, Jory Vinikour, and other mentors. Jason has concertized extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe; currently based in his native Chicago, he wrapped up his Montreal sojourn this past year by performing J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto with the McGill Baroque Orchestra. While he loves the solo repertoire, particularly that of eighteenth-century Germany and France, Jason is especially fond of chamber music. His continuo playing, on organ and harpsichord, has been described as both “highly rhetorical” and “sensitive and very vibrant.”
Jason began his harpsichord studies at Northwestern University, where he was its first Harpsichord Performance & Early Music Studies major and continuo player for the Northwestern University Early Music Ensemble. Since then, he has attended various international master classes and festivals where he trained with Early Music specialists like Arthur Haas, Huguette Dreyfus, Hervé Niquet, and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Increasingly in demand as a chamber musician and accompanist, Jason has performed with many of the major Chicago Early Music groups, as well as the Miami-based Project Copernicus ensemble, of which he is a founding member.
‘Viols in Our Schools’ is a project conceived and directed by Phillip W. Serna. Dr. Serna donates time to demonstrate and perform viols in schools, often pro bono. Please help us make viols accessible to both young and old. Any donation you make will directly affect future in-school endeavors. You can donate instruments, donate directly to ‘Viols in Our Schools’ (http://www.violsinourschools.org/), or visit our Cafe Press Store (http://www.cafepress.com/violadagamba). Any suggestions for the website and future in-school activities are welcome.
Viols in Our Schools - Early Music to New Audiences
The website for Early Music education initiative ‘Viols in Our Schools’ is now launched. Focusing on Music, History (European History) and English (Music of Shakespeare’s time) classes. A pilot program for the Viola da Gamba Society of America and the Spirit of Gambo, a Chicago Consort of Viols, ‘Viols in Our Schools’ focuses on bringing early strings to the classroom setting. With the viola da gamba/ viol’s connection to the evolution of the guitar (via the lute), it is an ideal instrument to introduce earlier repertoire to guitar classes, while it’s frequent use in the madrigal repertoire and use as a continuo instrument makes the viol an ideal for demonstrating to choral classes as well as to music theory and history classes. In addition to music programs, ‘Viols in Our Schools’ demonstrates early European music to European history classes, as well as English/ Literature classes focusing on Elizabethan/ Shakespearean England. You can visit 'Viols in Our Schools' at http://www.violsinourschools.org/.
‘Viols in Our Schools’ exists as a pilot program of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. Dr. Phillip Serna donates time to perform in schools, often pro bono. Renaissance music for viols, as well as performance of early-western string instruments, is almost never heard within the school setting. ‘Viols in Our Schools’ seeks to remedy this by offering performances/ lecture-demonstrations of Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical era literature enhancing the music program experience while entertaining audiences. For in-depth information, you can download information on ‘Viols in Our Schools’ here.
Dr. Phillip W. Serna, DMus
(847) 722-2093
info@violsinourschools.org
http://www.phillipwserna.com/
http://www.spiritofgambo.org/
http://www.violsinourschools.org/
http://www.chicagoearlymusicconsort.org/
To view photos of recent school residencies, please visit:
http://www.violsinourschools.org/Photos%202006.html
http://www.violsinourschools.org/Photos%202007.html
http://www.violsinourschools.org/Photos%202008.html
‘Viols in Our Schools’ News - Upcoming 'Viols in Our Schools' Collaborative Performances
March 18, 2008, 8PM
‘Viols in Our Schools’ News - Upcoming Collaborative Concerts
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Collaborative Concert, March 18, 2008, 8PM
G.P. Telemann Concerto in A-Major for Viola da Gamba, TWV51:A5
J.S. Bach Sonata No.3 for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord in G-Minor, BWV 1029
J.S. Bach Concerto for Harpsichord in d-minor, BWV 1052
Phillip W. Serna, bass viol & Jason Moy, harpsichord
Neuqua Valley High School Chamber Strings
Neuqua Valley High School Auditorium, 2360 95th Street, Naperville, IL 60564
- Funded by a generous Artists-in Residence-Grant from the Indian Prairie School District 204 -
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Collaborative Concert, March 26, 2008, 7:00PM
Ignacio Donati Alleluia Haec Dies for Women’s Voices, Violin & Viola da Gamba
Phillip W. Serna, bass viol & Dana Green, violin
Naperville North High School Women’s Choir
Naperville North High School Auditorium, 899 North Mill Street, Naperville, IL 60563
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Collaborative Concert, May 15, 2008, 7:30PM
Telemann Concerto in A-Major for Viola da Gamba, TWV51:A5
Phillip W. Serna, bass viol
Wheeling High School Chamber Orchestra
Wheeling High School Auditorium, 900 South Elmhurst Road, Wheeling, IL 60090
‘Viols in Our Schools’ News - Upcoming 'Viols in Our Schools' Residencies
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Residency, April 10, 2008
High School at the Performing and Visual Arts
4001 Stanford, Houston, TX 77006
‘Viols in Our Schools’ Residency, April 11 2008
Johnston Middle School
10410 Manhattan Drive, Houston, TX 77096
- Both Houston visits funded by a generous Artists-in Residence Grant from the High School at the Performing and Visual Arts -
Further Houston Residencies & Collaborative Concerts TBA
To view photos of past and future residencies, please visit http://www.violsinourschools.org/.
About the Performers – ‘Viols in Our Schools’
Dr. Phillip W. Serna
A native of Houston, Texas, Dr. Phillip W. Serna (double bass and viola da gamba) is an active and enthusiastic performer of early music, as well as the contemporary, solo, orchestral, and chamber repertoires. Studying with Jeffrey M. Hill, Dr. Serna earned his high school diploma from the Instrumental Music Department at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX. Afterwards, he earned his Bachelor of Music in double bass performance with Stephen Tramontozzi at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1998. He later completed his Master of Music at Northwestern University School of Music in 2001 as a Civic Orchestra of Chicago Graduate Fellow. In 2007, Phillip Serna received the Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University where he studied double bass with international soloist DaXun Zhang and formerly with Chicago Symphony Orchestra member Michael Hovnanian. Additionally, he studied viola da gamba with Newberry Consort founder Mary Springfels.
Since 2003, Dr. Serna has been Principal Double Bass of the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Board of Directors of the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he has performed regularly with other orchestras such as the Bach Chamber Orchestra & Choir, Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra, Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonic Orchestra, , Racine Symphony Orchestra, Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Virtuosi Chicago as well as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. In March of 2007, Dr. Serna performed Giovanni Bottesini’s Concerto No.2 in b-minor with the Waubonsie Valley High School Orchestra in Aurora, IL after having performed Estonian composer Eduard Tubin’s stirring Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra with Northwestern University’s Summer Orchestra under the direction of Robert Hasty in July of 2003. Dr. Serna is a member of the board of the Early Music Chicago arts advocacy and performance organization, as well as the current president of the Viola da Gamba Society Third Coast, the Chicago chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. Dr. Serna regularly performs on violas da gamba (treble viol, tenor viol and bass viol), period double bass/ violone and vielle with period instrument ensembles and organizations such as the Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Ars Antigua, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Bottom Line Continuo Consort, Chicago Early Music Consort, Period Opera Cosi fan Tutte with Chicago Opera Theater, Classical Arts Orchestra, Comic Intermezzo, Early Music Chicago, the Janus Ensemble, the Newberry Consort, the Evelyn Dunbar Memorial Early Music Festival at Northwestern University, the Oriana Singers, the Second City Musick, the Spirit of Gambo - a Chicago Consort of Viols, the Viola da Gamba Society of America Conclave Consort Cooperative, as well as the Concert for Compassion Viol Consort and the Forces of Virtue Ensemble and Choir, dedicated to raising money for disaster relief and other charities. In January 2007, the Viola da Gamba Society awarded Dr. Serna a grant as part of its Grants-in-Aid to Young Artists which will assist in Dr. Serna’s many early music endeavors.
In addition to his intense performance schedule, Dr. Serna teaches lessons on double bass, bass guitar, guitar, and viola da gamba. Dr. Serna also presents master classes and workshops on modern and period double bass, most recently for the Illinois American String Teachers Association Teacher Enrichment Workshop in Aurora, IL. As a passionate advocate of early music, Dr. Serna has championed the viola da gamba with his initiative ‘Viols in Our Schools,’ bringing solo and chamber music for viols into Chicago area classrooms. Additionally in 2008, Dr. Serna joins the viola da gamba faculty at the Music on the Mountain Winter Workshop, Whitewater Early Music Festival and becomes Ad Hoc Consort Coordinator at the Viola da Gamba Society’s Summer Conclave in 2008. Dr. Serna currently teaches at the Carl Sandburg High School in School District 230, Glenbard East High School and Glenbard South High School in School District 87, Willowbrook High School in DuPage High School District 88, Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville’s Indian Prairie School District 204 and Wheeling High School in School District 214. Dr. Serna formerly taught at Beautiful Music in Downers Grove, the Illinois Math and Science Academy, Maine Township West High School, Maine Township East High School, and Maine Township South High School in School District 207 and the Sherwood Conservatory of Music in Chicago, IL. Dr. Serna lives in Plainfield, IL with his best friend and wife, Magdalena.
For a photograph of Phillip W. Serna, click http://phillipwserna.com/myPictures%205/Dr.%20Phillip%20W.%20Serna%20200...
Jason Moy
Harpsichordist Jason J. Moy holds the Bachelor of Harpsichord Performance and Master of Early Music Performance degrees from McGill University in Montreal, where he trained under Hank Knox and Luc Beauséjour. In addition to his principal teachers, he received much valuable guidance from Bruce Haynes, Jory Vinikour, and other mentors. Jason has concertized extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe; currently based in his native Chicago, he wrapped up his Montreal sojourn this past year by performing J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto with the McGill Baroque Orchestra. While he loves the solo repertoire, particularly that of eighteenth-century Germany and France, Jason is especially fond of chamber music. His continuo playing, on organ and harpsichord, has been described as both “highly rhetorical” and “sensitive and very vibrant.”
Jason began his harpsichord studies at Northwestern University, where he was its first Harpsichord Performance & Early Music Studies major and continuo player for the Northwestern University Early Music Ensemble. Since then, he has attended various international master classes and festivals where he trained with Early Music specialists like Arthur Haas, Huguette Dreyfus, Hervé Niquet, and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Increasingly in demand as a chamber musician and accompanist, Jason has performed with many of the major Chicago Early Music groups, as well as the Miami-based Project Copernicus ensemble, of which he is a founding member.
For a photograph of Jason Moy, click http://www.jjmoy.com/Contact_files/Jason1%20%28colour%29.jpg
‘Viols in Our Schools’ is a project conceived and directed by Phillip W. Serna. Dr. Serna donates time to demonstrate and perform viols in schools, often pro bono. Please help us make viols accessible to both young and old. Any donation you make will directly affect future in-school endeavors. You can donate instruments, donate directly to ‘Viols in Our Schools’ (http://www.violsinourschools.org/), or visit our Cafe Press Store (http://www.cafepress.com/violadagamba). Any suggestions for the website and future in-school activities are welcome.
‘Viols in Our Schools’ and all related website content is © 2008, Phillip W. Serna. Promotional use accepted.
For more in formation on ‘Viols in Our Schools’ visit http://www.violsinourschools.org/ and for more about Phillip W. Serna, visit http://www.phillipwserna.com/.