Burning River Baroque To Perform At Lakewood Congregational Church On Friday, March 23
Malina Rauschenfels and Paula Maust of Burning River Baroque perform at Trinity Cathedral during their 2017 program On the Brink of Insanity
Photo credit: Alex Belisle
Cleveland-based early-music ensemble Burning River Baroque will return to Lakewood this March with a performance of their Suppressed Voices: Music of the Banished. You can see this compelling program on Friday, March 23, in the chapel of the Lakewood Congregational Church (1375 West Clifton Boulevard; performance begins at 7:30 p.m.).
Music has long offered a space for outsiders to find a voice, and classical composers have often been at the forefront of political and social change. From the character of Agrippina, a political exile in G.F. Handel’s cantata, to composers like Johann Rosenmüller, Evaristo Felice dall’Abaco, and Peter Philips who were forced to flee their homelands for various social, political, and religious reasons, this program will challenge audiences’ expectations and highlight the accomplishments of those who overcame great adversity. Performers will include co-directors Malina Rauschenfels (soprano), Paula Maust (harpsichord) and guest artists Sarah Elizabeth Cranor (baroque violin), Reynaldo Patiño (baroque violin), and Jessica Korotkin (baroque cello). Burning River Baroque will be partnering with the Refugee Services Collaborative of Greater Cleveland for this concert.
Praised by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as a group that “left an indelible imprint on my psyche,” Burning River Baroque is an innovative artist-run ensemble founded in 2012 with the goal of bringing the drama, passion, and vitality of Baroque music to life for contemporary audiences. Their name connotes the fiery passion they bring to their performances, connects them to Cleveland’s history, and exemplifies their desire to create programs that inspire dialogue about contemporary social issues. When the sludge-filled and polluted Cuyahoga River burned in 1969, it was the catalyst for broad environmental policy reform. Burning River Baroque’s high-energy performances educate and involve audience members from seasoned concert-goers to those just discovering classical music. They encourage a participatory concert atmosphere in which the fourth wall is broken and audiences are involved in the drama that is occurring onstage. They strive to create an inclusive and open concert environment where high-quality music is used as a vehicle to raise questions about relevant social issues, challenge beliefs, and inspire thought-provoking conversation. Equally comfortable in both traditional and non-traditional concert venues, they have performed on regional concert series throughout the midwest and have self-produced concerts in urban and rural libraries, coffee shops, and cafes. Since 2012 they have released three live CDs and DVDs and present 15-20 concerts each season. For more information, visit burning-river-baroque.org.
Malina Rauschenfels
Malina Rauschenfels is a vocalist, cellist and baroque violinist, as well as co-director of Burning River Baroque. Praised by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as “spellbinding” and for her “powerful clarion tones and crisp articulation,” she has also been commended by clevelandclassical.com for her “exceptional vocal range, strong acting abilities, gripping theatricality, and commanding gestures, both musical and physical.” Equally comfortable with early music and contemporary music, she has recorded CDs with The Newberry Consort, Duo Mignarda, Quire Cleveland, Marble Sanctuary Choir and Toby Twining Music. Additionally, she performs with El Fuego, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, Contrapunctus, and Trinity Chamber Singers, and recently won the Waterloo Region Contemporary Music Sessions' "Contemporary Performance Prize" for performing two pieces for singing cellist.