Montana Early Music Festival
An early music festival? In Montana?!? So began a dream shared by Katherine Skinner and Dan Comstock in the late 1990s. That dream was soon embraced by many of their friends who shared their passion for early music.
The first emergence into the public light came in 2001 in the form of a single concert by Montana Cappella of Voices and Instruments, with J. S. Bach’s Cantata No. 106 and a complement of Baroque instrumental chamber works.
Gregorian chant seminars led by Dr. Robert Fowells, concerts by Renaissance choral ensemble Cantanti Missoula, period instrument ensemble Mostly Baroque and the Backyard Recorder Consort joined together in subsequent years to offer several days of concerts that could be truly billed as a Festival.
In 2004, Maestra Kerry Krebill’s ensemble, Musikanten (Bethesda, Maryland) emerged in Helena as Musikanten Montana. Skinner met Krebill under the cloak of Monteverdi in that summer’s Helena Choral Week and the die was cast.
April 2005 saw the first collaboration of Helena and Missoula musicians with guest soloists from coast to coast. Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 was performed in both communities, as well as a concert by the Brandhout Ensemble. The Vespers honoring the Virgin Mary was particularly significant as Pope John Paul II died the day before the first performance; the concerts were dedicated to his memory.
J. S. Bach’s monumental Mass in b minor was the following year’s centerpiece. MEMF—V (2007) was a celebration of the renewed organs at St. Peter's Episcopal Cathedral in Helena and St. Paul Lutheran Church in Missoula, with concerts featuring the Queen of Instruments, with lots of Bach and friends.
The 2008 MEMF featured J. S. Bach’s sublime setting of the Passion According to St. John, the dramatic re-enactment of Jesus’ last day on Earth.
In 2009, the annual celebration of early music presented 17th and 18th century oratorios, cantatas, concerti, a suite, a Stabat Mater and a Mass—certainly something for everyone. Go for Baroque!!! CLICK HERE for a copy of the Go for Baroque flier. CLICK HERE for a Go for Baroque program.
In 2010, we landed our first Montana Cultural Trust grant to help produce "Music Before 1800" in Montana! The 8th Annual Montana Early Music Festival "Five Evenings of Vintage Music" featured Handel’s action-packed oratorio Israel in Egypt. CLICK HERE for more information.
The 2011 9th Annual Montana Early Music Festival is bringing our Baroque music to a new community, with an April 10 performance of Monteverdi the Master at Anaconda's historic Washoe Theatre. CLICK HERE for more information.
