Andrew Arceci performs regularly on viola da gamba, violone, and bass throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has appeared with the Washington Bach Consort, Tempesta di Mare: Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra, Pro Musica Rara, Harmonious Blacksmith, L'Académie, and recently won a Double Bass fellowship with England's Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Festival highlights include the Washington Early Music Festival, Indianapolis Early Music Festival, the Shandelee Music Festival, and the 2011 FOCUS! Festival, where Mr. Arceci gave the North American premiere of Elżbieta Sikora’s Canzona for viola da gamba and orchestra (with the New Juilliard Ensemble) at Alice Tully Hall. Radio credits include WETA-District of Columbia, WLOY-Maryland, WBJC-Maryland, WQXR-New York, Harmonia-Indiana Public Media, NPR: National Public Radio, DeutschlandRadio (Germany), and Taipei Broadcasting Station (Taiwan). As a composer, Mr. Arceci often includes original works for unaccompanied viola da gamba on recitals throughout the United States. In addition, his Suite in d minor: for Viola da Gamba and Chamber Orchestra was premiered in March 2007 by the Peabody Camerata, and later presented by the Peabody Sinfonietta in May 2007. In January 2008, Mr. Arceci’s Suite 2 in g minor: for Viola da Gamba, String Orchestra & Percussion was premiered in Baltimore, MD, and will be presented by Boston’s L'Académie in February 2012. Mr. Arceci received a B.Mus. in Double Bass, a B.Mus. in Viola da Gamba, and an Academic Concentration in Art History from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University. He recently completed a M.Mus. in Historical Performance from The Juilliard School, and is currently pursuing a Master of Studies (performance/musicology) at the University of Oxford.
American harpsichordist John McKean encountered his instrument and the field of historical performance in his early youth. In addition to studies with Lisa Crawford and Webb Wiggins at Oberlin Conservatory and with Robert Hill at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany, Mr. McKean has received instruction from some of the greatest modern masters of historic keyboards, including Jacques Ogg, Skip Sempé, Jesper Christensen, Mitzi Meyerson, and Gustav Leonhardt. He also holds a degree in German Studies from Oberlin College. He has concertized throughout Europe and North America as both a soloist and as a member of numerous ensembles and baroque orchestras, including the Catacoustic Consort, Camerata Vocale Freiburg, Apollo’s Fire, and is a founding member of the Habsburger Camerata. Recent concert engagements have brought him to the Fondazione Cini in Venice and the Montisi Music Festival in Italy, Festwochen Attersee and St. Florian in Austria, and the Festival van Vlaanderen in Belgium. In the spring of 2009, Mr. McKean gave a recital on the original 1624 Ruckers harpsichord at the Musée Unterlinden in Colmar, France and was later featured in a live performance on Deutschland Radio Berlin. Mr. McKean’s musical expertise extends beyond the realm of performance to encompass music typesetting, musicology, and instrument building; he regularly performs on his own reconstruction of a 17th century Flemish harpsichord. Alongside his performing career, Mr. McKean is currently pursuing doctoral work in musicology at the University of Cambridge.