GUITARS INTERNATIONAL

Friends and colleagues for over twenty-five years, Ellen Hargis and Paul O'Dette bring an incomparable spirit of drama, vivid musical imagination and fun to their voice and lute collaborations. Each performer is a virtuoso in his respective field. The artists' mutual commitment to performance practice, avid interest in the undiscovered, and natural ability to communicate the essence of this intimate repertoire make their concerts uniquely memorable. The duo has toured around the globe, performing in Japan, Russia, Spain, France, Austria, England, Canada, and across the US.

The Hargis / O'Dette Duo has two recordings on the Noyse Productions label, in addition to dozens of collaborations on recordings with leading U.S. and European early music ensembles. The duo is featured as the Dowland example (Flow my tears) and the Caccini example in the new Norton Anthology.

Ellen Hargis, soprano, is recognized as one of the world's foremost interpreters of 17th and 18th century music. Called "the baroque music diva" by New Yorker magazine, she is a frequent collaborator with such leading ensembles as The King's Noyse, The Newberry Consort, Tragicomedia, Piffaro, Theatre of Voices, the Mozartean Players, Fretwork and Andrew Lawrence-King and the Harp Consort. She has been soloist with The Estonian National Symphony, The Virginia Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Portland, Seattle and Freiburg Baroque Orchestras, the CBC Radio Orchestra, the New York Collegium, The Mark Morris Dance Group, The American Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica, and Chicago's Music of the Baroque. Ms. Hargis has performed with the conductors Harry Bicket, Jane Glover, Paul Goodwin, Daniel Harding, Monica Huggett, Nicholas Kraemer, Gustav Leonhardt and Andrew Parrott. She has appeared at many of the world's leading festivals, including the Berkeley Festival, the Utrecht Festival in Holland, The St. Petersburg Early Music Festival and the Resonanzen Festival in Vienna. A frequent performer at the Boston Early Music Festival, she has sung leading roles in every baroque opera production since 1987. Ellen Hargis's discography embraces repertoire from medieval to contemporary music and comprises over 40 recordings.

Paul O'Dette has been called "the clearest case of genius ever to touch his instrument." (Toronto Globe and Mail) His performances at major international festivals are often singled out as the highlight of those events. This includes festivals in Boston, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Vancouver, London, Bath, Paris, Montpellier, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Berlin, Munich, Bremen, Dresden, Vienna, Prague, Milan, Florence, Geneva, Madrid, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Oslo, Cordoba, St. Petersburg, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, and Tokyo. Best known for his recitals and recordings of virtuoso solo lute music, O'Dette also maintains an active international career as an ensemble musician, performing with William Christie, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christopher Hogwood, Gustav Leonhardt, Nicholas McGegan, Sylvia McNair, Andrew Parrott, Nigel Rogers, Jordi Savall, Tafelmusik and The Parley of Instruments. He is a member of the acclaimed continuo ensemble Tragicomedia. Paul O'Dette has directed Baroque orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic including the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Apollo's Fire, Chatham Baroque, Ensemble Arion and Corona Artis. He has conducted Baroque operas at Tanglewood, the Boston and Utrecht Early Music Festivals, the Drottningholm Court Theatre and Festival Vancouver. Paul O'Dette can be heard on over 100 CDs, and his solo recordings have won prizes and rave reviews. He has served as Director of Early Music at the Eastman School of Music since 1976 and is Artistic Director of the Boston Early Music Festival.

Artists' Website: esm.rochester.edu/faculty/odette_paul/