The new season of Artist Series presentations at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Lombard, interrupted last year by the COVID-19 shutdown, will open at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, when Echoing Air, noted early music ensemble with Baroque instruments, will appear in concert.
Based in Indianapolis, Ind., Echoing Air was founded in 2009 as a nonprofit ensemble dedicated to the exploration of and advocacy for music that features the pairing of two countertenor voices with recorders and basso continuo. The name “Echoing Air” reflects the aspects of pairings of voices in duets and imitation, and is a quote from a famous song by Henry Purcell, who was perhaps the greatest English Baroque composer, “Hark the Echoing Air.”
Since its formation, the ensemble has expanded its repertoire to include Baroque music of all parts of Europe, music of the Renaissance, music of the Gaelic traditions of Scotland and Ireland, and contemporary 20th and 21st Century compositions, featuring singers with Baroque period instruments. Their concert as St. John’s will feature music of the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther’s contemporaries to include: Works by Heinrich Schuetz, Johann Hermann Schein, Dietrich Buxtehude, Vincent Luebeck, and Johann Rosenmueller.
Echoing Air has a fervent commitment to education. Ensemble members are all educators with a passion for working with students. Particularly in the present day when the arts are often cut from school budgets, Echoing Air enjoys bringing their passion for music to youngsters of all ages. Members of the ensemble include Steven Rickards, countertenor and founder, Christine Kypriandides, cello, Thomas Gerber, harpsichord, Nathan Medley, countertenor, Jeffrey Collier, flute/recorder, and C. Keith Collins, dulcian/recorder/harp.
Since its inception, the group has toured widely throughout the United States, including appearances in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and Arizona.
The public is cordially invited to attend the concert, which will be presented live in St. John’s sanctuary. No tickets will be sold for the program; a free-will offering will be received. Current COVID-19 protocols will be in effect.
St. John’s Lutheran Church is on the southeast corner of Lincoln and Maple Streets in Lombard. Information about St. John’s Artist Series is available by calling the church office, 630-629-2515.
—St. John’s Lutheran Church, Lombard