St. John's to present soloists in concert

St. John’s Episcopal Church Epiphany Concert Series will present the Columbia Baroque Soloists at 6 p.m. Sunday in the parish hall.

There is no charge for the concert, but donations are accepted. Light refreshments will be provided, and a nursery will be available.

The Episcopal service of Evening Prayer will precede the concert at 5:30 p.m. in the chapel. The public is welcome to attend the service. St. John’s is at 252 S. Dargan St., Florence. Parking is available behind the church.

The Columbia Baroque Soloists specializes in the performance of 17th and 18th century European Baroque vocal and instrumental chamber music at the highest level of artistic excellence. The ensemble was formed to educate, foster appreciation, and develop audience support for Baroque music in South Carolina and to support the development of artists of Baroque music throughout the Southeast.

It is South Carolina’s only Baroque ensemble performing on period instruments using authentic temperament and pitch. The ensemble is in residence at Shandon United Methodist Church in Columbia.

Director Timothy Hein specializes in the works of J. S. Bach, having studied with the eminent German conductor-scholar, Helmuth Rilling. For a number of years, he performed and toured as recorder soloist with the Illinois Baroque Soloists.

Since 1999, Hein has been director of music and arts at Shandon UMC, where in 2004 he received the Award of Distinction from the National Religious Music Week Alliance “for developing and maintaining one of our nation’s finest worship music programs.”

He has conducted choral and instrumental ensembles in Germany, Belgium, Holland, England, Ireland and 17 American states.

Dr. Brittnee Siemon, mezzo-soprano, is an avid performer of concert, recital and opera literature. In the United States and abroad, she has been affiliated with well-known ensembles at Boston’s Old South Church, the Handel and Haydn Society, and Boston Baroque. As a concert soloist, Siemon has appeared in Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions, numerous Bach Cantatas, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria.

In 2006, she made solo debuts in Mozart’s Davidde penitente with the South Carolina Philharmonic, Haydn’s Paukenmesse with The Augusta Choral Society and, in 2007, Handel’s Messiah.

The Springfield, Ohio, native holds bachelor degrees in voice performance and music therapy from Ohio University, a masters with honors in voice performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and a doctorate in music from the University of South Carolina. Siemon is on the voice faculty of the Musical Arts Studios at Columbia College, and founder of Bryan Street Studio.

Dr. Jerry Curry is well-known throughout the southeast as a consummate performer of Baroque music. He is distinguished professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina, where since 1970, he taught, and after retiring in 2007, continues to teach undergraduate and graduate music theory and harpsichord.

Additionally, he is sought after for his knowledge of Baroque performance practice. Curry has performed as soloist and chamber musician with numerous musical groups at the university, in the state, and around the region. He was harpsichordist with the Columbia Consort and plays continuo with the South Carolina Philharmonic.

In the late 1960s, while at the University of Iowa working on his doctorate in music theory, Curry performed in an ensemble directed by the well-known early music specialist Robert Donington. He subsequently studied in master classes with the French harpsichordist Kenneth Gilbert. Curry performs on a Richard Kingston single manual French syle harpsichord.

Jean Hein was previously a member of the Baroque Soloists of Illinois, director of the St. Luke’s Recorder Ensemble in Oklahoma City and featured as recorder soloist on the St. Luke’s Sunday at Five Concert Series. She has toured Ireland and Wales performing Baroque and Celtic music and presented recitals in the Midwest, Southwest, and in several East Coast states.

Hein has an extensive background as a clarinet teacher and performer. Currently teaching at Columbia College and the Palmetto Center for the Arts, she maintains a large clarinet studio in Northeast Columbia, while performing with several area orchestras and chamber music groups.

She holds degrees in music from the Oberlin Conservatory and Northwestern University, with further study at the University of Iowa and the Indiana University Summer Recorder Institute. She has taught music history at Cornell College. Hein performs on a handmade Thomas Prescott recorder after P. Bressan.