"Musical Friends: A Holiday Celebration," a concert of chamber music presented by Hudson Valley Baroque

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) were both friends with the successful composer Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767). Telemann was godfather to one of Bach’s sons and corresponded with Handel, sharing his love of gardening. While Handel was in England and Telemann was in Germany, Handel sent him a crate of rare English plants as a mark of their friendship.

The concert features Handel’s holiday music, Bach’s famous music for solo cello, and Telemann’s Suite in A minor for recorder.

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

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

Meet the musicians

Gregory Bynum, recorder, 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, Middletown Thrall Library, and the Old Stone House in Brooklyn. With 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 appears on the ensemble’s recordings Northern Lights, The Pleasures of the French, and Beth Anderson’s 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.

Christiana Fortune-Reader, violist and violinist, is Assistant Professor of Music in the SUNY New Paltz Music Department, where she teaches violin and viola and conducts the College Youth Symphony. Previously, she taught at Illinois State University and was 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 Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with American Wild, a contemporary music ensemble that commissions 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 teaches at SUNY New Paltz and Interlochen Arts Camp and is a member of the Poné Ensemble for New Music. She co-founded the nonprofit Hudson Valley Society for Music, which produces Potluck Concerts and an annual Hudson Valley BachFest. Dr. Schempf also maintains a piano teaching studio and is organist and choir director at Cornwall Presbyterian Church. She earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Michigan State University and a DMA 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 teaches at the Chamber Music Institute at Ithaca College in the summer and at SUNY New Paltz during the academic year, and maintains a private cello studio. Her recordings include 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.