04/03/19
HAYS, Kan. – Lovers of chamber music all over Western Kansas can indulge their passion at the Cottonwood Music Festival, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, at the First Presbyterian Church in Hays, 2900 Hall.

This year is a very special festival that will feature an evening of Baroque chamber music performed on period instruments – re-creations of instruments that would have been used during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Fans of chamber music will be able to travel back in time through the sounds of Baroque violin and cello, Baroque flute, viola da gamba and harpsichord.

“For people who love the music of Bach, Vivaldi, and other Baroque masterpieces, this will be a unique concert,” said Ben Cline, chair of the Department of Music and Theatre at Fort Hays State University.

“These kind of specialized historical musical performances most often happen only in large metropolitan areas, so people in Western Kansas should be sure to catch this performance,” he said.

Guest artists are:

• Ingrid Matthews, formerly the music director for the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Baroque violin.
• Frank Nowell, founder of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, harpsichord.
• Jim Fittz, professor emeritus of the of the School of Music at the University of Northern Colorado, Baroque cello.
• Hilary Shepard, from the music faculty at Fort Hays State, Baroque flute.
• And Cline, Baroque cello and viola da gamba.

Free tickets are available online at www.hayssymphony.org, at the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, or at the Downtown Hays Development Corporation.

A post-concert reception in the church lobby is sponsored by Cathy’s Breads.

Cottonwood is dedicated to promoting chamber music for strings and piano, and is generously supported by Claire Matthews.