Jörg Reddin’s final concert with this season’s SC Baroque Festivals was a sensory tour through the vocal glories of the 16th century. Given fresh voice by the superb UC Santa Cruz Chamber Singers directed by Michael McGushin, the program offered a steady stream of enchanting solos, duets, trios and quartets, each underscored by the bass work of Roy Whelden and lively harpsichord of virtuoso Jonathan Salzedo.
Outstanding programming in this penultimate concert of the Baroque Festival’s 2026 season had the audience cheering its approval.
Ensemble Monterey delivers
Lori Schulman’s adroit vocal abilities and the edgy spirituality of Caroline Shaw’s compositions are a perfect match. Shaw, the youngest Pulitzer Prize-winner for Music, moves through musical genres like smoke on the water. She writes outside predictable musical tropes, using the voice as an ecstatic cry, or moan, or gospel prayer. In her compositions—and in Schulman’s effortless vocals—the human voice becomes renewed as both animal and angel, reaching into new sonic territories.
Shaw, a founder of Roomful of Teeth, likes to lean the voice against percussion punctuation, and in the two pieces Schulman interpreted the strings played as syncopated percussion.
Great programming on the part of Director Erica Horn’s musical team. As was the pairing of Peter Lemberg’s satiny oboe and Schulman’s coloratura on Bach’s Wedding Cantata. Supported and interlaced with the Ensemble’s impeccable instrumentalists—David Dally and Shannon D’Antonio on violin, Miriam Oddie on viola, Kristin Garbeff cello and Christine Craddock on bass.
The final piece of the evening, a lengthy five-movement Schubert Piano Quintet in A Major, amounted to a concerto spotlighting the fiery piano work of Lucy Faridany. This romantic piece showed off the ensemble dynamics, each instrument organically in sync with each other. However, so spellbinding were the previous two Shaw songs that the Schubert felt a bit anti-climactic. EM’s next concert in Santa Cruz is Sunday, April 12, 7 pm at Messiah Lutheran Church. ensemblemonterey.org
Save the date for the SC Chorale
Mark your calendars now for the Bach-intensive May concerts by the region’s top choral ensemble—the Santa Cruz Chorale directed by Christian Grube. A quartet of magnificent cantatas for chorale, soloists and chamber orchestra, will fill Holy Cross Church with the sounds of the matchless maestro of intricate vocal music. May 23 – 8pm, May 24 – 4pm. Holy Cross Church, 126 High St, SC santacruzchorale.org
