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Viola of Love.

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Dan McCarthy

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A viol family instrument strung with sympathetic strings, the viola d'amore has always been an instrument that evokes a particular kind of aesthetic. Leopold Mozart described it sounding “especially charming in the stillness of the evening.” This tender sweetness is richly portrayed by many composers from Vivaldi to Bach as is deserved of an instrument called the viola of love.

Dan McCarthy, viola d'amore
Clifton Massey, countertenor
David Ross, baroque flute
Arnie Tanimoto, viola da gamba
Gwendolyn Toth, harpsichord

1:15 – 2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

This concert will be live streamed on our website, and on YouTube and Facebook, followed by an intimate chat on Zoom.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94474265453
Meeting ID: 944 7426 5453


Dan McCarthy's playing has been described as “virtuosic” by Seen and Heard International. He was a part of the first class of baroque violists ever to be accepted into the historical performance program at The Juilliard School, where he also began playing viola d'amore. Dan has served as section violist with the Trinity Wall Street Baroque Orchestra, concertmaster of the Austin Baroque Orchestra, and tenor gambist with Parthenia. He has also toured extensively throughout North America, East Asia, and Europe with artists and groups including Jordi Savall, Masaaki Suzuki, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and American Bach Soloists. Here on the east coast he plays with Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Washington Bach Consort, New York State Baroque, Artek, REBEL, Clarion Music Society, Grand Harmonie, Teatro Nuovo, Queens Consort, and Academy of Sacred Drama. Artist Website

Clifton Massey, countertenor, was raised on a steady diet of country & western, bluegrass, and other close-harmony singing in Dallas, Texas. He has participated in the Ojai Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and the early-music festivals of Berkeley, Boston, and Utrecht. As a soloist, he collaborates frequently with notable early music ensembles including the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and the American Classical Orchestra. He is an alumnus of the Grammy award-winning group Chanticleer. Highlights of recent seasons include performing with pop icon Madonna at the Met Gala, modern premieres of Bassani’s Giona and Stradella’s La Susanna with the Academy of Sacred Music, and performing in the inaugural two-month installation of Reich Richter Pärt at The Shed, a vibrant new venue in NYC.

David Ross is an historical flutist based in New York City. Since 2009 his training and career have focused exclusively in historical performance ranging from one-keyed baroque flutes to many-keyed flutes and piccolos from the Classical and Romantic periods. In the 2019-20 season he performed as soloist or principal flute with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Trinity Wall Street Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Sebastians, Mercury, and plays 19th-century piccolo with Teatro Nuovo. David also performs flute and harpsichord recitals with Jeffrey Grossman and baroque flute duet recitals with Immanuel Davis.

Gold medalist of the 7th International Bach-Abel Competition, Arnie Tanimoto is equally at home on the viola da gamba and baroque cello. He was the first-ever viola da gamba major at The Juilliard School, where he soloed on both instruments. Described by The New York Times as a “fine instrumental soloist” Arnie performs in venues across the United States, Europe, and Japan. The recipient of a 2017 Frank Huntington Beebe Fund Fellowship he has also performed and recorded with Barthold Kuijken, the Boston Early Music Festival Ensemble, and the Smithsonian Consort of Viols.

Recognized as one of America's leading performers on early keyboard instruments, Gwendolyn Toth performs with equal ease on the harpsichord, organ, fortepiano, and clavichord. She has been heard in concert throughout North America, Europe and the Far East, and on radio networks in Holland, Germany, France, and America's National Public Radio. She has performed in early music festivals in Boston, USA; Utrecht, Holland; Regensburg, Germany; and the Czech Republic. She is the director and founder of New York City's virtuoso period instrument ensemble ARTEK. Gwendolyn is Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New York City and is on the faculties of The Graduate Center, CUNY; Manhattan College; and Mount Saint Vincent College.

GEMS is a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes the artists and organizations in New York devoted to early music — playing repertoire from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical periods.