Baroque Workshop

Faculty 2024

Lindsey Strand-Polyak

director and violin

A Pacific Northwest native, Lindsey Strand-Polyak lives a hyphenated life to go along with her hyphenated name: divided between viola and violin; living in Whidbey Island, WA and Santa Monica, CA. In California, she serves as Artistic Director of Los Angeles Baroque, Adjunct Professor of Baroque Violin at Claremont Graduate University, and is excited to be joining SFEMS as Director of the Baroque Workshop. In Washington, she performs as Principal Violist for Seattle Baroque Orchestra and tours regionally with the Salish Sea Early Music Festival. She has performed across the West in concert and festival appearances, including Musica Angelica, Baroque Music Montana, Bach Collegium San Diego, American Bach Soloists, Pacific MusicWorks, Baroque Festival Corona del Mar, Oregon Bach Festival, and fringe concerts of Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals. She holds a PhD/MM in Musicology and Violin performance from UCLA.

  • Dr. Strand-Polyak is also a passionate educator and arts advocate. In 2016, she co-founded the community baroque orchestra Los Angeles Baroque (LAB), and has grown the organization to include the flagship “Big Band” Baroque Orchestra, chamber music, and two Consort Clubs serving viol players (more info at losangelesbaroque.org). Previously, she restarted the UCLA Early Music Ensemble with Elisabeth LeGuin in 2010, and then served as its Associate Director. Guest talks and residencies have included Michigan State University, University of Southern California, University of Oregon, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, University of Richmond, Sacramento State University, Montana State University, University of the Pacific, and California State University-San Bernardino. In 2021-22, Dr. Strand-Polyak consulted with and designed workshops for Bitterroot Baroque in Hamilton, MT, and served as Artistic Advisor to Kensington Baroque Orchestra in San Diego. She serves on the Boards of Early Music Seattle as SBO Orchestra Liaison and Pacific Northwest Viols as Program Chair.

recorder

Cléa Galhano

  • Galhano has performed in the United States, Canada, South America and Europe as a chamber musician, collaborating with recorder player Marion Verbruggen, Jacques Ogg, Belladonna, Lanzelotte/Galhano Duo and Kingsbery Ensemble. As a featured soloist, Galhano has worked with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony, Musical Offering and Lyra Baroque Orchestra.

    Among other important music festivals, Ms. Galhano has performed at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Tage Alter Music Festival in Germany and at Wigmore Hall in London, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall in New York and Palazzo Santa Croce in Rome, always receiving acclaimed reviews. Ms. Galhano was featured in 2006 in the Second International Recorder Congress in Leiden, Holland in 2007 and 2013 at the International Recorder Conference in Montréal and in 2012 at the ARS International Conference, Portland, Oregon.

    She gave her Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall debut in May 2010 and her second Weil Hall recital on December 2013 with the international Cuban guitarist Rene Izquierdo.

    Galhano studied in Brazil at Faculdade Santa Marcelina, the Royal Conservatory (The Hague), and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, earning a LASPAU, Fulbright Scholarship and support from the Dutch government. As an advocate of recorder music and educational initiatives, she served for six years on the national board of the American Recorder Society, and is the Music Director of the Recorder Orchestra of the Midwest. Ms. Galhano recently received the prestigious 2013 McKnight fellowship award, MSAB Cultural collaborative and MSAB Arts Initiative.

    Currently, she is a faculty member at Macalester College, Music Director of the Recorder Orchestra of the Midwest, and has being recently appointed Adjunct Lecturer in Music, Recorder at HPI, Jacobs School of Music, IU.

    Ms. Galhano has recordings available on Dorian, Ten Thousand Lakes and Eldorado label and she is the recipient of the National Arts Associate of Sigma Alpha Iota.

Curtis Foster

recorder, oboe

  • Curtis Foster, Baroque oboe and recorder, who's playing has been praised for its “brilliantly introverted charm” (Seattle Times), has appeared with many of North America’s most respected early music ensembles, including the Handel & Haydn Society, the Seattle and Pacific Baroque Orchestras, Arion Baroque, and Victoria Baroque Players. He has also performed with Portland Baroque, American Bach Soloists, Les Boréades, and Mercury Baroque. In the summer, he can typically be found performing and teaching at various festivals, including the Oregon Bach Festival, Vancouver Bach Festival, Victoria Baroque Instrumental Academy, Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, and the Whidbey Island Music Festival.

    An enthusiastic advocate for music of our own time, Curtis regularly commissions and presents new works by contemporary composers for old instruments. An equally dedicated pedagogue, Mr. Foster teaches Baroque oboe as part of the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme at the University of British Columbia, and is regularly invited to present workshops and masterclasses around the US and Canada. He can be heard on recordings from ATMA Classique, Naxos, Coro, Cedille Records, and IU Press.

    Originally hailing from Wichita, Kansas, Curtis holds degrees from Wichita State University and Indiana University’s Early Music Institute. He also has a passion for restoring and repairing antique and vintage oboes and other woodwinds, having studied instrument repair at Renton Technical College.

    Curtis is thrilled to be relocating to the Twin Cities to join the Lyra Baroque family as their next Executive Director!

    “I’m excited to join the marvelous faculty at the SFEMS Baroque Workshop this year! I know that we'll have a lot of fun learning and exploring together in a supportive and welcoming environment.”

Eva Lymenstull

cello, viola da gamba

  • Los Angeles-based baroque cellist and violist da gamba Eva Lymenstull enjoys a diverse career

    that has taken her across North America and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician, continuo

    player and orchestral musician. She has performed as concerto soloist and principal cellist with

    the Lyra Baroque Orchestra, guest principal cellist of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Apollo’s

    Fire, and Musica Angelica, and has also appeared with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Tesserae,

    the LA Master Chorale, Bach Collegium San Diego, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,

    and Holland Baroque. A winner of the Voices of Music Bach Competition, she has performed at

    the Carmel Bach, Whidbey Island, and Pacific Baroque Festivals, and on the Gotham Early

    Music and Academy of Early Music series. Recent recordings can be heard on the Brilliant

    Classics and Violet Ear labels. As an educator, Ms. Lymenstull teaches baroque cello and viola

    da gamba as a guest artist in residence at the University of Michigan, and has given

    masterclasses at Michigan State, McGill, and USC. She holds degrees from the Royal

    Conservatory of The Hague, Rice University, and University of Michigan, and a doctorate in

    historical performance practice from Case Western Reserve University.

    “I’m excited to teach at SFEMS this summer because I love working with baroque cellists and

    viola da gamba players of all backgrounds and experience levels, especially helping students to

    build confidence in their abilities as players and musicians. We’ll work on developing tools to

    improve technical proficiency, musical fluency, and ensemble playing skills, exploring the

    intricacies of playing continuo, identifying musical-rhetorical figures in order to more deeply

    understand and convey meaning in the music, and honing ensemble skills in order to have the

    best music-making experiences possible. I hope you’ll consider joining us this summer!”

Rita Lilly

Anna Marsh

bassoon

  • Anna Marsh, baroque bassoon and recorder is a multi-instrumentalist fluent in Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Modern styles. Originally from Tacoma, WA, Anna holds a doctorate of music in historical performance from Indiana University and has appeared worldwide with Opera Lafayette, Tempesta di Mare, Folger Consort, Musica Angelica, Tafelmusik, Washington Bach Consort and Atlanta Baroque among others. She has taught privately & at festivals at the Eastman School of Music, Los Angeles Music and Art School, Amherst Early Music, San Francisco Early Music Society & Western Double Reed Workshops. She also has been heard on dozens of recordings & on Performance Today, Harmonia, CBC radio & recorded for Chandos, Analekta, Centaur, Naxos, the Super Bowl, Avie, and Musica Omnia's Grammy nominated album, Handel's Israel in Egypt. www.annamarshmusic.com

    “I am excited to return to the SFEMS Baroque Workshop again for the people and merry music making! The friendships we make at the workshop are so dear. It has been a pleasure to be part of the baroque workshop team since 2011. “

traverso

Lars Johannesson

  • Lars Johannesson was born in a Swedish family and has lived in Liberia, Sweden, Holland and the San Francisco Bay Area. Lars studied music and flute playing at San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Tim Day. Here he was introduced to the baroque flute and performance practice by Stephen Schultz. Deciding to continue on this track, Lars spent the next two years studying baroque flute with Wilbert Hazelzet at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague in Holland.

    Upon returning to California, Lars settled in Santa Cruz where he has worked as a flutist and teacher over the last 30 years. Lars performs regularly with the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra, Santa Cruz Chamber Players, and New Music Works. As a baroque flutist, he currently plays with Carmel Bach Festival, California Bach Society, Musica Angelica, San Francisco Bach Choir, Bach Collegium San Diego, and various other period instrument groups.

    Having an interest in other musical genres, Lars has recorded for many folk music releases on the Gourd Music label, as well as for a number of other SF Bay Area artists. He can be found at the occasional 'seisun' jamming with the Santa Cruz Irish music crowd.

    “Telemann was great for flute players, not only in providing much well written music for the instrument, but also for publishing lessons in his period's performance practice of improvisation over simple melodies. I'm greatly looking forward to sharing this and exploring the repertoire with the students.”

voice

  • Rita Lilly is familiar to audiences in oratorio, recital, and opera, but most notably for her performances of baroque and early music. Ms. Lilly is a native New Yorker who has appeared as a featured soloist with the American Boychoir, American Classical Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, among other organizations. Since coming to the Bay Area, Ms. Lilly has been a soloist with the Albany Consort, American Bach Soloists, AVE, Bay Choral Guild, Berkeley Early Music Festival, California Bach Society, Chora Nova, Magnificat Baroque Ensemble, Musicsources, S.F. Concert Chorale, S.F. Renaissance Voices, and other groups. Ms. Lilly is on the faculty of the SFEMS Baroque Summer Workshop as voice instructor and maintains an active vocal studio in her home in the Bay Area. Ms. Lilly is on the faculty as Choral Director at Mills College, served for five years as Music Director at St. Jerome Catholic Church in El Cerrito and is presently the Music Director of the Lafayette Christian Church in Lafayette, CA. Ms. Lilly is the vocal instructor and coach for the SFEMS Baroque Summer Workshop and Marin Baroque Workshop and maintains an active vocal studio in her home.

Jennifer Meller

Baroque dance instructor

Peter Sykes

  • Jennifer Meller is a musician and dancer, and enjoys exploring connections between the two disciplines. She works with early music ensembles in the Bay Area to create performances, reconstruct ancient operas, teach classes and organize workshops and events centered around early dance and music. She has taught master classes in historical dance at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, St. Mary’s College, Dominican University, and College of the Pacific and works regularly in collaboration with the Educational Department of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, with the San Francisco Early Music Society, and is Professor of Baroque Dance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Jennifer teaches Baroque Dance classes at ODC in San Francisco and became Artistic Director of Dance Through Time in 2019.

  • Peter Sykes is Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Historical Performance Department at Boston University, where he teaches organ, harpsichord, clavichord, performance practice, and continuo realization, Music Director of First Church in Cambridge, and instructor of harpsichord in the Historical Performance Department of the Juilliard School in New York City. He performs extensively on the harpsichord, clavichord, and organ, including recent appearances in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Sao Paulo, and Leipzig, and has made ten solo recordings of organ repertoire including his acclaimed organ transcription of Holst’s “The Planets.” Newly released is a recording of the complete Bach harpsichord partitas on the Centaur label, and an all-Bach clavichord recording on the Raven label; soon to be released will be the complete Bach obbligato violin sonatas with Daniel Stepner. He also performs and records with Boston Baroque and Aston Magna. A founding board member and current president of the Boston Clavichord Society, he is the recipient of the Chadwick Medal (1978) and Outstanding Alumni Award (2005) from the New England Conservatory, the Erwin Bodky Prize (1993) from the Cambridge Society for Early Music, and the Distinguished Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club Foundation (2011). He is the newly elected President of the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies.

harpsichord, continuo

David Wilson

violin, viola

  • An avid chamber musician, David Wilson is a member of the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, Heartland Baroque, the Galax Quartet, and other ensembles. In recent years he has performed and recorded classical music of India and the Ottoman Empire with Lux Musica, contemporary music with Wyoming Baroque and the Galax Quartet, and 17th century chamber music with Heartland Baroque. He has taught baroque violin at Indiana University, where he earned the Doctor of Music degree in Early Music, and he holds degrees in violin from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His interests outside of music include cosmology, zymurgy, and science fiction (and he would love to discover a science fiction novel about a homebrewing cosmologist). He is the author of Georg Muffat on Performance Practice, published by Indiana University Press, and of the article on Georg Muffat in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Historical Performance in Music.

    “I always look forward to the SFEMS Baroque Workshop. I’m inspired by the way the participants are supported by each other and by the faculty, and I think the near-unique quality of being open to players of all levels gives Baroque Workshop a wonderful energy. It’s an exciting week of honing old skills and developing new ones, and as a faculty member I feel I benefit from the process as much as the participants.”