One thing the composers Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) and George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) had in common was their friendship with the highly successful composer, Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 – 1767). Telemann was godfather to one of Bach’s sons, and he corresponded with Handel, with whom he shared a love of gardening. When Handel was in England and Telemann was in Germany, as a mark of their friendship Handel sent Telemann a crate of rare English plants.
This concert will feature Handel’s great holiday music, Bach’s famous music for solo cello, and Telemann’s Suite in A minor for recorder. The performers will be Ruthanne Schempf, harpsichord; Christiana Fortune-Reader, viola and violin; Susan Seligman, cello; and Gregory Bynum, recorder.
$20 General Admission
$15 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active military personnel and their families, and veterans
$10 Youth Admission for kids ages 13-17
Free for children ages 12 and under
Meet the Musicians
Gregory Bynum, recorder player, has studied with Marion Verbruggen, Han Tol, and Mattias Weilenman. He has performed with members of the Mannes School of Music and SUNY New Paltz music faculties, and with Yale music faculty including Jaap Schroeder. Mr. Bynum has taught at the Bloomingdale House of Music in Manhattan and has performed at many venues including the Morris-Jumel Mansion, the Middletown Thrall Library, and the Old Stone House in Brooklyn. As a member of Hudson Valley Baroque, he has performed in New Paltz, NY at Historic Huguenot Street and SUNY New Paltz. As a guest performer with Brooklyn Baroque, he can be heard on the ensemble’s recordings Northern Lights, The Pleasures of the French, and a recording of Beth Anderson’s music entitled The Praying Mantis and the Bluebird (MSR Classics). He has appeared on WKCR and appears on the Quill Classics YouTube channel with Ensemble Luini. Dr. Bynum is Associate Professor in the School of Education at SUNY New Paltz, and the founder of the Music at Morris-Jumel chamber music series.
Christiana Fortune-Reader, violist and violinist, teaches violin and viola in the Music Department at SUNY New Paltz as Assistant Professor of Music, and conducts the College Youth Symphony. Prior to this appointment, she taught at Illinois State University,where she also served as the Assistant Principal Viola of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She performs regularly with the Minnesota and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras and the Innigkeit Quartet, and has held positions with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the contemporary music ensemble, “American Wild,” a septet dedicated to commissioning new works by American composers inspired by the outdoors and National Parks sites around the United States. She earned a doctoral degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Carol Rodland, and is completing a doctorate in music education (ABD). She graduated from the University of Southern California (BM) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (MM), studying with Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, Donald McInnes, and Karen Ritscher.
Ruthanne Schempf, harpsichordist, is an active chamber and solo musician in the Hudson Valley. She is on the faculties of SUNY New Paltz and Interlochen Arts Camp, and is a member of the Poné Ensemble for New Music. She is also a co-founder of the non-profit Hudson Valley Society for Music which produces Potluck Concerts and an annual Hudson Valley BachFest. Dr. Schempf maintains a busy piano teaching studio and is the organist and choir director at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church. She earned undergraduate and masters degrees from Michigan State University and a D.M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music. Her solo piano recording, An American Mirage: Exotic Piano Images, was released in March of 2009 on the MSR Classics label. In her spare time, she likes to ski, garden, and dabble in various domestic activities. She is married to oboist, Joël Evans.
Susan Seligman has been principal cellist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic since 1984. She is a member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Quartet, the piano trio Innisfree, the Poné Ensemble featuring new and American chamber music, HudsonValley Baroque, and the Hudson Consort. In 1999, Ms. Seligman was favorably reviewed in the New York Times for her performance in works of Robert Starer. In the summer, Ms. Seligman is on the faculty of the Chamber Music Institute at Ithaca College. During the academic year, she is on the faculty of SUNY New Paltz and has a busy private cello studio as well. Her discography includes CDs on the Albany, Soundspells, and Parnassus Records labels. A recent recording with Innisfree of the music of Henry Martin includes Sonata No. 1 for Solo Cello, written for her by the composer.
Historic Huguenot Street’s programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.