Piffaro Hosts Youth Recorder Festival

Piffaro, The Renaissance Band, will present its Youth Recorder Festival, a free showcase of the community's young players, on February 3 at 7:00 pm at Settlement Music School, Mary Louise Curtis Branch, 416 Queen Street in Philadelphia. The event will be followed by a light reception. Attendees are asked to register at http://www.piffaro.org/recorder-festival or by calling 215-235-8469.

Performers will include the winners of the 2016 National Recorder Competition, Middle School Division, who will each perform a solo, a duet, and quartets with Piffaro artistic directors Joan Kimball and Bob Wiemken.

· Alexis Van Tassel (age 12, from Endicott NY, student of Barbara Kaufman)

· Sridhar Shenoy (age 13, from Merion Station PA, student of Rainer Beckmann)

Ensembles of students from the following schools will also participate, and the evening will culminate with a mass ensemble performing simple Renaissance dances followed by a light reception.

· Fountain Woods Elementary School Recorder Sinfonia (Burlington, NJ), Directed by Miriam Arbelo

· The Hope Partnership School Recorder Ensemble (Philadelphia, PA), Directed by Victoria Tamburro

· Francis Scott Key Elementary Recorder Club (Philadelphia, PA), Directed by Kimberly Yocum

Bob and Joan will also conduct a recorder demonstration introducing the stunning variety of instruments that Piffaro plays, all meticulous reproductions of period instruments. The event will be followed by a light reception.

Fountain Woods' teacher Miriam Arbelo says, "Even after more than 20 years teaching, my students inspire me. When I am tired and out of ideas, I look at my students and their eagerness and love of learning propels me forward. When I see and hear my students performing the music I taught them, and they are enjoying it, I remember why I got into this gig."

Piffaro's education and outreach programs have been recognized by the American Recorder Society (Distinguished Artist, 2015) and Early Music America (Lifetime Achievement in Outreach, 2011).

Piffaro presents the 2017 Recorder Festival

Saturday, February 3, 2017

FREE, but please register at piffaro.org/recorder-festival

Photo of students from Francis Scott Key Elementary Recorder Club, directed by Kimberly Yocum, at the 2017 Youth Recorder Festival. Photo credit Bill DiCecca.