Red Priest Baroque Band to perform April 29 as Coastal Concerts Wild Card
Founded in 1997 and named after the flame-haired composer and cleric Antonio Vivaldi, Red Priest is a Baroque music ensemble like no other. When this quartet of virtuosic musicians takes the stage in Lewes at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 29, the audience will have a chance to experience the only early music group in the world to have been compared in the press to the Rolling Stones, the Marx Brothers and Cirque de Soleil.
In a bonus offering for ticketholders before the concert, Red Priest will present a Musical Perspectives program at 6:30 in which the players will offer insight into what motivates their unique and wildly unconventional interpretation of Baroque works.
Praised by the British magazine Gramophone for producing "some of the most extraordinary instrumental music you're likely to hear," Red Priest has become an international phenomenon. By adopting a no-holds-barred approach to period performance that combines compelling musicianship with theatrical stagecraft, these four players, three from the United Kingdom and one from Nova Scotia, are committed to defying expectations.
The group's leader, Piers Adams, hailed by The Washington Post as "the reigning recorder virtuoso in the world today," maintains that taking imaginative liberties with Baroque repertoire is entirely in the spirit of this music. That period was a time, he has said, when "the personal whim and creativity of the performer was paramount."
In addition to Adams, the ensemble features David Greenberg on violin, Angela East on cello and David Wright on harpsichord, all esteemed performers in their own right. They will offer a program titled “Viva Baroque,” presenting in the first half their own special take on music from Handel's "Messiah," including the famous "Hallelujah" chorus. Interspersed with the "Messiah" selections will be other Handel pieces. After intermission, Red Priest will perform Vivaldi's signature "The Four Seasons."
The 8 p.m. Wild Card concert, sponsored in part by Dogfish Head Craft Brewing, will take place at the renovated and fully accessible Bethel United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, Fourth and Market streets, Lewes, with the preconcert Musical Perspectives program beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20. Ages 10-18, as well as one adult per youth, are admitted free with advance reservations at 888-212-6458. Admission for $10 is available to students 19 years and older and to active-duty or retired career military personnel. ID is required.
For online tickets and more information, go to coastalconcerts.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door on the evening of the performance or in advance (cash or check only) at the Lewes Chamber of Commerce, the Inn at Canal Square, Lewes Gourmet/Puzzles or Teller Wines. All credit-card purchases are subject to a $4 transaction fee.
Coastal Concerts is a nonprofit organization promoting classical music appreciation through live concerts, outreach and educational activities. The engagement of Red Priest is made possible through the Delaware Special Presenters Initiative program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts.
