Debut concert on commissioned Acker harpsichord with Savannah Baroque
Savannah Baroque presented “A Baroque Celebration” featuring the debut of a highly decorated new harpsichord by ensemble member and harpsichord builder Anne Acker on March 7, 2023, 7:30 p.m. in the fantastic acoustic of St. Francis of the Islands, 590 Walthour Rd, Savannah, 31410. The program included joyful, celebratory, and dance inspired works. Along with more familiar names, the program continued the ensemble’s tradition of including works by long neglected brilliant women composers. The harpsichord was commissioned by a client in California so this will be the only chance to hear and see it before it leaves Savannah. Savannah Baroque members Marcy Brenner, viola da gamba and Ann Cafferty, baroque violin joined Anne playing the new harpsichord.
Reviving Nannette Streicher, Part 2: The 1816 piano replica project
The second part of the article about the process of my completing the replica of an 1816 Nannette Streicher fortepiano, begun by my friend and colleague Margaret Hood before her too early passing appeared in the March 22, 2022 issue of The Piano Technicians Journal.
Reviving Nannette Streicher, Part 1: The 1816 Streicher piano replica project
Published in The Piano Technicians Journal (vol. 65, no. 2, Feb. 2022, pp 15-18): The first half of an article I wrote about my journey in completing a replica of an 1816 fortepiano by the famed piano builder Nannette Streicher that was begun by a mentor and friend, Margaret Hood, but who sadly passed away too young before its completion. Interestingly, the veneer of Cuban mahogany comes from a log, gifted to me by a Miami sculptor in my days there, that I sent to Margaret and that she sawed herself for the veneer. Now it has come back to me. The instrument debuted at the Boston Early Music Festival in 2019 and is now part of my personal collection.
Goliards Christmas Concert 2021, December 19, 2021
On Dec. 19 in the afternoon, I greatly enjoyed playing positive organ and hurdy gurdy with The Goliards under fearless leader, vielle player and arranger John Hillenbrand, at The Collegiate Church of St. Paul’s, 1802 Abercorn St., Savannah, Georgia to a fine, warm audience on a bleak damp winter afternoon. The gut strings behaved quite well. Other performers were Marcy Brenner, gamba, and singers Mac Fogle, Cuffy Sullivan, Verity Sullivan, and Fiona Sullivan .
Video of Anne performing Bach B Minor Mass on harpsichord
Please enjoy this video of Anne playing the Bach B Minor Mass on an AMD French Single Harpsichord with the Wesley Monumental Choir and orchestra, 2018.
Inaugural Concert of 2021 Acker harpsichord commissioned by Central United Methodist Church of Florence, SC
Savannah Baroque Members Anne Acker, harpsichord and Marcy Brenner, viola da gamba and tenor viol will play works by anonymous, Dowland, Kerll, Froberger, Marais,Sweelinck, Bach, and Vivaldi and others, for the inaugural concert of the 2021 Acker harpsichord commissioned by Central United Methodist Church of Florence, SC. In person limited attendance. 265 West Cheves Street, Florence, South Carolina 29501 | p: 843-662-3218 April 17, 2021 Central United Methodist Church 265 West Cheves St. Florence, SC 29501 3 p.m.
December 14, 2019: Handel’s Messiah at Wesley Monumental Methodist Church, Savannah
I am delighted to be playing harpsichord and organ continuo for Wesley Monumental Methodist Church’s presentation of Handel’s great work Messiah. Handel’s Messiah Wesley Monumental Methodist Church 429 Abercorn St. Savannah Georgia 31401 Saturday, December 14, 2019 7:30 PM Tickets: $35.00. Available at MessiahSavannah.eventbrite.com or the church office. Experience Handel’s magnificent masterpiece, Messiah, in one of Savannah’s beautiful historic churches: Performed by the Wesley Monumental Choir with Orchestra. Part I: Prophecy of the Coming of a Messiah and Christ’s Nativity Part II: Christ’s Suffering, Death, and Resurrection Part III: Affirmation of Christian Faith and Glimpses of Revelation Dr. Monica Harper Dekle, conductor. Tina William, soprano. Claire Watts, mezzo-soprano. Timothy Miller, tenor. Robert Cantrell, bass. Ticket-price is tax deductible, and all proceeds benefit Wesley’s music program. Tickets are also available from the church office or from any choir member. Reduced price tickets for students with a current ID are available from the church office. (above details clipped and edited from Wesley Monumental’s website)
Nov. 17, 2019: The Goliards Present Ten Unconventional Women of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Featuring John Hillenbrand, vielle; Marcy Brenner, tenor viol; Cuffy Sullivan and Sheila Berg, vocals; and myself on organ, harpsichord and sinfonye. Sunday, November 17, at 3:00 P.M. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (34th & Abercorn) admission $10.00. For further information, please call (912) 604-8983. The performance will focus on ten women who lived from 1098-1603, whose influence in a phallocratic world was far greater than would normally be expected. Some were musicians and poets: St. Birgitta, St. Hildegard, Maddalena Casulana, Beatritz de Dia, and Christine de Pizan. Others wielded political power and were the inspiration for musical creation: Elizabeth I of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of Spain and Lucrezia Borgia. One (St. Joan of Arc) led her army to Orléans, where she defeated the besieging English and reversed, some might say however temporarily, the course of the Hundred Years’ War. The Goliards will present a rich tapestry of music from this 400 year span, sung in Latin, Occitan (Provençal), Old French, Middle English, Spanish and Italian, with accompaniments by players of replicas of period instruments. The Goliards, now in their 21st year (14th in Savannah) have specialized in the pre-1400 European repertory since their founding, and have now expanded their […]
Westfield Center for Historic Keyboard Studies 2019 Fall Meeting at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music: Blending Past & Present: Collections and Collectors
What a terrific meeting of music, minds, ideas and instruments as always at a Westfield Center meeting! I had the privilege of organizing and chairing a panel titled: Builder/Restorer/Technician and Performer/Player Roundtable. So thrilled to have a notable panel to set to discussions about the present state and future hopes and issues related to continuing progress with historic keyboards, replicas, and performers. A major concern discussed is how to pass on knowledge regarding care and maintenance as many of the groundbreaking builders are aging. With Stephen Birkett, David Breitman, Robert Murphy, John Phillips and Allan Winkler.
Conference at Mount Vernon celebrating the replica of Washington’s Harpsichord
I had the great pleasure of being invited to attend a marvelous two day conference at Mount Vernon where the replica of the harpsichord George Washington bought for his niece Nellie Custis made by John Watson. Presentations and concerts discussed the people, times and music from the world of George and Martha Washington and Nellie Custis and her family.
