The Stevenson High School Baroque Ensemble debuted as the youngest performers in the early music series held each year at the Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake.
They were so well-received, according to music series director Joel Spears, that they have been invited to return Dec. 11 to perform on baroque style instruments pieces written by composers who wrote from roughly 1600 to 1750.
The music should appeal to not only baroque music lovers, but all music lovers, according to their director Enrique Vilaseco, who also teaches orchestra Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.
“They’re playing the techno and pop music of the baroque period,” Vilaseco said. “It’s so accessible and so easy to understand. The music is based on dance. You’ll see the kids moving and doing their thing and really getting into it.”
The ensemble consists of music students from Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire who learn to play baroque-era style instruments such as harpsichord, theorbo (a type of lute), baroque violin, baroque cello, baroque guitar and baroque bass.
The instruments they play are copies of original baroque instruments. “They were built with the same materials they used in the baroque period. The strings are not metal, but gut strings,” Vilaseco said, adding each is designed with the unique angle of the neck popular during the baroque era.
Vilaseco is especially excited because the school recently purchased a baroque bass for the group, and it will be the first time the ensemble will use this instrument in a live performance, he said.
“The school has been very supportive since we started the program,” he said. Vilaseco said being invited to perform with the early music series for the first time last year was an honor. “This is a high school ensemble performing at a venue where there were paying customers,” he said.
“It was a little bit stressful for the students. They were all about doing the very best we could. They met the expectations beautifully. They played musically. Our audience was very receptive to them.”
The ensemble has performed with well-known violinist Rachel Barton Pine in New Mexico and at Church of Ascension in downtown Chicago, said Vilaseco, who also teaches full-time at Stevenson High School and leads its main orchestra.
When Vilaseco came to the high school, he introduced students to baroque period instruments. “I was modeling for them what excited me,” he said. “When students see that energy, they want to be a part of that. It gives them a sense of belonging.” Vilaseco added baroque music has particular attributes that give students a chance to have their voices heard.
“Every part has a function, and you have the ability to improvise. Baroque is the jazz of the time. Composers gave you an outline and it was expected the musicians to put in their character, their touch, their personality.” The students learn to be independent and yet work closely as an ensemble, he said. “You can’t really do that in a large modern orchestra setting,” Vilaseco said.
Last year, the group performed the popular “Christmas Concerto” by Arcangelo Corelli. This year, they’re performing a Concerto Grosso written by Corelli that features solo violins and cello against a larger ensemble. “Corelli is one of the forefathers of our baroque literature. He set the tone for the time and expanded the repertoire for violin.”
The group will also perform “Christmas Concerto” by Giuseppe Torelli. “This will be the first time the ensemble is performing this piece,” Vilaseco said. “There are violin and cello soloists. It’s a three-movement piece, lighthearted and in the spirit of the holiday season.”
The ensemble also will perform a G.P. Handel piece with six movements. “”It’s a well-rounded piece, very demanding for the musicians. It’s one of our biggest challenges, but the kids are doing a great job with it,” Vilesco said. The concert will also include music from English composer John Eccles. Velasco will play baroque violin and Spears will play the lute in a movement from “The Mad Lover.”
Vilaseco said the students are encouraged by audience support. “I think the audience will be nourished by the beautiful talents of these students,” he added.
Early Music Series: Stevenson Baroque Ensemble
When: 4 p.m. Dec. 11
Where: Byron Colby Barn, 1561 Jones Point Road, Grayslake
Tickets: $20 at the door only, under age 16 are free
Information: 847-543-1202; facebook.com and search Early Music at the Barn
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
