Program:
Fugue in E-flat Major, BWV 552 by Johann Sebastian Bach / Alice Van Wambeke, organ
Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911 / Ling-Ju Lai, piano
Violin Sonata in E Minor, BWV 1023 / Phoebe Gelzer-Govatos, violin and Shin-Ae Chun, continuo organ
Wohl mir, dass from ich Jesum habe from Cantata BWV 174 / Early Music Singers
And more
Alice Van Wambeke studied organ with Prof. Eric Goldschmidt ( now deceased) at Eastern Michigan University, and Harpsichord study with professor emeritus Edward Parmentier, at the University of Michigan. She is organist and choir director at St.James Episcopal Church in Dexter.
Ling-Ju Lai, a native of Taiwan, has garnered consistently favorable reviews for her creative interpretation of Baroque keyboard music, particularly the music of J.S. Bach. Sir András Schiff expresses, “Ms. Lai has a questing musical mind. Her approach is unusual and valuable, a very gifted musician and
pianist.” The Baltimore Sun writes, “The depth of the sound sinks in with startling poignancy as Ling-Ju Lai lets the notes linger long in the air…a moment of musical insight to savor.” Lai received graduate degrees in
Piano and Harpsichord Performance from the University of Michigan and Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the Performer’s Certificate for her excellence in performance.
Phoebe Gelzer-Govatos holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, respectively. Her principal teachers include Igor Markstein, Alvaro Gomez, and Routa Kroumovitch, a former pupil of David Oistrakh. She has a particular love of early music and is a current member of the Michigan Bach Collective, and of Ensemble l’Invenzione, a quartet comprised of period strings and recorder.
Early Music Singers is a newly created vocal ensemble for the Coffee Break Concert Series that focuses on singing sacred music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras.