"Music for the Home," a concert of chamber music presented by Hudson Valley Baroque

This concert features a less-known but exquisitely charming type of Baroque music: music written for people to enjoy in the comfort of their homes and other informal settings. In the eighteenth century, before the internet, television, and radio, people who wanted music in their homes often made it themselves, and amateur musicians often reached a high standard of performance.

The concert features music by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), Joseph Bodin de Boimortier (1689–1755), and members of the Flemish Loeillet family—composers who profited significantly from composing and selling mail-order music for domestic settings.

Performers:
- Joel Evans, oboe
- Ruthanne Schempf, harpsichord
- Christiana Fortune-Reader, viola and violin
- Susan Seligman, cello
- Gregory Bynum, recorder

Admission:
- $20 General Admission
- $15 for HHS members, seniors, students, active military personnel and their families, and veterans
- $10 for youth ages 13–17
- Free for children ages 12 and under

Meet the musicians

Gregory Bynum, recorder, 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. He has taught at the Bloomingdale House of Music in Manhattan and performed at 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 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 and The Pleasures of the French, and on a recording of Beth Anderson’s music, The Praying Mantis and the Bluebird (MSR Classics). He has appeared on WKCR and on the Quill Classics YouTube channel with Ensemble Luini. Dr. Bynum is Associate Professor in the School of Education at SUNY New Paltz and founder of the Music at Morris-Jumel chamber music series.

Joël Evans, oboist and solo English hornist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, has been a familiar musical voice in the valley for many years. He is oboist with the Poné Ensemble and plays baroque and classical oboes with Hudson Valley Baroque, the resident historic ensemble at SUNY New Paltz, where he also serves as Emeritus Professor of Music. Dr. Evans has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, and was principal oboist of the Albany Symphony from 1982 to 1985. He has recorded for Philo, Rounder, Koch International, CRI, and New World, and has appeared as a featured soloist at Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, Saratoga, the Charles Ives Center, and Carnegie Hall. He retired as principal oboist of the West Point Band after nearly thirty years of service. Dr. Evans holds degrees from the University of Maine, Columbia University, and the City University of New York.

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. Previously, she taught at Illinois State University, where she also served as 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 “American Wild,” a contemporary music septet dedicated to commissioning new works by American composers inspired by the outdoors and National Parks sites. 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 nonprofit Hudson Valley Society for Music, which produces Potluck Concerts and an annual Hudson Valley BachFest. Dr. Schempf is the organist and choir director at Cornwall Presbyterian Church. She earned undergraduate and master’s 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 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, Hudson Valley Baroque, and the Hudson Consort. In 1999, the New York Times favorably reviewed her performance in works by Robert Starer. She is on the faculty of the Chamber Music Institute at Ithaca College in the summer and SUNY New Paltz during the academic year, and also maintains a private cello studio. Her discography includes CDs on the Albany, Soundspells, and Parnassus Records labels. A recent recording with Innisfree of music by Henry Martin includes Sonata No. 1 for Solo Cello, written for her by the composer.