Arcadia Players - New England's Period Instrument Ensemble
Arcadia Players embraces
historical performance practice to illuminate and invigorate the great Western heritage of vocal and instrumental music. |
Announcing our 2022-2023 Concert Season
Handel's Messiah
Abbey Chapel, Mount Holyoke College Saturday, December 17, 7:00 PM After years of waiting, Arcadia Players renews a treasured holiday tradition: George Frideric Handel's masterpiece Messiah live in concert. This production, led by Artistic Director Andrew Arceci, brings together a strong cast of local and regional artists, including Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble and soloists Hailey Fuqua, Christina English, Zachary Fisher and John Taylor Ward. Performed on instruments similar to those Handel would have known, this Messiah will offer moments of intimacy and tenderness alongside the well-known dramatic choruses.
Note: For this season, due to COVID uncertainties, we will be not be offering season tickets. You may purchase tickets for all shows individually, and we have reduced prices to offset season-ticket savings. Also because of COVID, we are not offering preferred seating this season in order to encourage people to spread out as much as possible during concerts. Our apologies for any inconveniences these changes may cause, and we look forward to a return to greater normality in seasons to come!
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Arcadia Viols Wesley United Methodist Church, Hadley Sunday, February 19, 3:00 PM Arcadia Viols will be joined by Andrew Arceci for an intimate program of consort repertoire from the Renaissance. Featured composers include Orlando Gibbons, John Coprario, Thomas Lupo and Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger. _____________________________________
Johann Theile's St. Matthew Passion Sunday, April 2, 4:00 PM Bombyx Center, Florence, MA After years of waiting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Arcadia Players proudly presents Johann Theile’s St. Matthew Passion. Theile’s elegant setting of the Passion text predates that of Johann Sebastian Bach and is a hidden masterpiece of the German Baroque. Tenor William Hite sings the role of the Evangelist; baritone John Salvi that of Jesus. Andrew Arceci conducts the Arcadia Players ensemble, soloists and chorus. 
Meet Our New Artistic Director!
We’re excited to announce that Andrew Arceci is Arcadia Players’ new Artistic Director. Arceci is a well-known performer, teacher, composer, and scholar who has appeared with Arcadia Players playing viola da gamba, violone, and double bass. He holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, The Juilliard School, and the University of Oxford. He directed the Collegium Musicum at Wellesley College from 2015-2020, and since 2016, has led the Winchendon Music Festival in Winchendon, Massachusetts. He succeeds Ian Watson, who led Arcadia Players for 15 years, departing after the 2018 concert season. We are delighted that Andrew is joining us as we move into the new realities and new opportunities of the post-COVID era. We look forward to working with him to continue our long tradition of bringing inspired historically-informed performances of great music to audiences in the Pioneer Valley and beyond. 
We’re sad to announce the passing of our friend, colleague and long-time Arcadia Players board member, Arthur F. Kinney.
A world-renowned scholar, editor, author and pedagogue, Arthur taught at UMass Amherst for 50 years and in 1998 established the Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies which now bears his name. From the beginning he envisioned the Center as a gathering place filled with music, dance and gardens as well as books and scholarly talks. To that end, he partnered with our founder Margaret Irwin-Brandon for Arcadia Players to be the 'Artists in Residence" at the Center, where over the years we have co-presented musical programs (Meg played at the Center several times, and kept her virginal there for spontaneous concerts) and have also taken advantage of the beautiful facility for Board meetings. When Arthur became frail in recent years, he opened his home to us for meetings so that he could still take part in our work, and he insisted on attending Arcadia Players concerts even though confined to a wheelchair. He was a loyal and generous member of the Arcadia Players family, and we will miss his creativity, his wit, and his presence in our midst. JOIN US (virtually) FOR HANDEL’S MESSIAH!
It was a dark and stormy night (really!) in December of 2019 when several hundred hardy folks gathered at Our Lady of the Valley Parish in Easthampton for Arcadia Players’ presentation of “Messiah.” Luckily, that performance was filmed, and we are happy to offer it again for those who couldn’t make it that night and for everyone who will miss attending a live performance of Handel’s oratorio this year.
Conductor Woodrow Bynum leads a brisk performance featuring the Arcadia Players, the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, Albany, and soloists Sarah Yanovitch, soprano, Margaret Lias, alto, David Vanderwal, tenor and David Tinervia, baritone. You can enjoy the webcast on YouTube any time, free of charge.
Arcadia Players mourns the passing of distinguished American artist Robert Cumming, who died on December 16th in California from the effects of Parkinson’s Disease. A close friend of Arcadia Players’ founding Artistic Director Margaret Irwin-Brandon, Robert created the Arcadia Players tree logo and designed the organization’s sandwich board, early posters, stationery, and publicity materials, as well as photographing Arcadia concerts and events. The recipient of numerous awards and the subject of one-man shows at some of America’s most distinguished art museums, Robert created work that will endure as a testament to his genius as a sculptor, painter, photographer, and printmaker. We remember, with affection and thanks, his long-time support as a good friend of Arcadia Players.
https://www.palmspringslife.com/robert-cumming-artist/ Click Here for a Message from the PresidentArcadia Players is being as careful as possible during the coronavirus outbreak.
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Arcadia Players’ 2022-2023 concert season is made possible through the support of our patrons and donors,
by our media sponsor New England Public Media, and by the Cultural Councils of Amherst and South Hadley,
local agencies supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council,
and by direct support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
Arcadia Players is Ensemble-in-Residence at the Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies.
by our media sponsor New England Public Media, and by the Cultural Councils of Amherst and South Hadley,
local agencies supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council,
and by direct support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
Arcadia Players is Ensemble-in-Residence at the Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies.
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Arcadia Players
New England's Period Instrument Ensemble
160 Main St. Suite 27
Northampton, MA 01060
413 586-8742 (413 58-MUSIC)
New England's Period Instrument Ensemble
160 Main St. Suite 27
Northampton, MA 01060
413 586-8742 (413 58-MUSIC)
