Countertenor Iestyn Davies And Lutenist Thomas Dunford To Appear In Concert May 19

The San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS) brings its 2018-19 concert season to a close next month with a special concert by acclaimed countertenor Iestyn Davies joined by the brilliant young lutenist Thomas Dunford, dubbed the Eric Clapton of the lute (BBC Music Magazine). Together they will perform songs by Dowland, Purcell and Handel. This concert will take place at 4 p.m., Sunday, May 19, at First Congregational Church in Berkeley. Individual tickets, $15 to $56, are available for purchase online at sfems.org.

Davies, one of England's greatest living countertenors, has been honored many times over with two Gramophone Awards, a Grammy, a Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award, a Critics' Circle Award and an Olivier Award nomination. In 2017, he was inducted into the Order of the British Empire for his services to music. Though his career has flourished largely in Europe, Davies has performed several operatic stints at the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Carnegie Hall. Most recently, he performed on Broadway as the singing voice of Farinelli in Farinelli and the King with Mark Rylance.

Born in Paris in 1988, Dunford's career took off after playing the role of the lutenist in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the Com die Fran aise. Since then, he has traveled the world with marquee performances at Carnegie Hall and the Frick Collection, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Vancouver Recital Society, Cal Performances, the Banff Center, the Palau de la Musica, in addition to solo or ensemble appearances in prestigious European festivals including Ambronay, Arc La Bataille, Bozar, La Chaise-Dieu, Nantes, Saintes, Utrecht and many others.

His first solo CD, Lachrimae, receieved the Caecilia Prize of 2013, prompting BBC Magazine to name him the Eric Clapton of the lute. His second CD, Labirinto d'Amore, with mezzo-soprano Anna Reinhold was awarded the Choc from Classica magazine. In addition to these CDs, Dunford is much in demand as a studio artist, recording on dozens of albums with artists including La Cappella Mediterranea, Clematis Ensemble, La Fenice, La Serenissima, Les Arts Florissants, Pygmalion, Monica Huggett, Julien L onard, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Michel Fumas and Iestyn Davies, among many others.

For further details about the concert of Davies and Dunford, visit sfems.org/?page_id=13514.

Founded in 1975, SFEMS is one of the nation's leading organizations for the advancement of historically informed performance of early music. Through its concert series, publications, outreach activities, affiliate support and educational programs SFEMS encourages the development of amateurs, supports professionals, and increases public involvement and participation in early music. SFEMS is the lead presenter of the Berkeley Festival & Exhibition of early music.

Among the hundreds of ensembles and solo artists SFEMS has supported over four-plus decades are many whose national or regional debuts occurred under its auspices: Anonymous 4, Benjamin Bagby, Frans Br ggen, Concerto Palatino, Fretwork, Laurette Goldberg, Hilliard Ensemble, John Holloway, Emma Kirkby & Anthony Rooley, Wieland Kuijken, Gustav Leonhardt, PAN, Joshua Rifkin, Jordi Savall, Max Van Egmond and Vox Luminis, to name a few. FACT SHEET WHO: Iestyn Davies & Thomas Dunford Iestyn Davies, countertenor; Thomas Dunford, lute

Tickets may be purchased online at sfems.org (direct link: sfems.org/?page_id=13514) or by phone at 510-528-1725. Tickets may also be purchased at the concert venue starting 45 minutes before the performance.