It was FIVE days ago that I made a very risky and head-shaking decision …
My “job” as the webmaster for Early Music Hawaii is to help publicize its concert events through updating the Early Music Hawaii website and informing members and friends through email campaigns. But hey, I’m a volunteer!
With the next Early Music Hawaii concert being a video presentation by the early music group Galileo’s Daughters during the period of January 14-21, 2022, I updated the website well before Christmas, formatted the ConstantContact email campaign, and created a new event in our ticketing program, Ticket Tailor.
You would think that everything was well in hand—I sent out the mass emailing on Monday, January 3rd and tickets started being snapped up right away.
It was on the night before, January 2nd, however, that I thought we should change our webhosting service and set the wheels in motion to do so. The fact that I didn’t have all the critical logins and passwords made it all the more baffling WHY I would do it right before an upcoming concert! The reason I did was partly financial—a new webhosting service would save us a lot of money, being 66% cheaper! It would be the same webhost which hosts this Insanity blog, and presumably I would have more control over logins and passwords.
The long and short of it was that our Early Music Hawaii website was DOWN for Five. Whole. Days. which not only tried my patience but also fueled my desperation!
Finally, though, everything has been restored and we are running smoothly! Check out the Early Music Hawaii website here.
Let me tell you a little bit more about this program.
GALILEO’S DAUGHTERS was founded by soprano Sarah Pillow in 2001 to present a different kind of early music recital that combines music, spoken word and the visual arts to create thought-provoking and intriguing programs. Praised for her “gorgeous” singing (Sunday London Times), Sarah and Mary Anne Ballard, viola da gamba, along with special guests, present performances that clarify the vibrant relationship between science, the arts, human thought and faith. Their program, “Perpetual Motion: Galileo and His Revolutions” describes the remarkable moment in history of science, human thought and music, with narration by acclaimed science writer Dava Sobel.
Vocalist SARAH PILLOW enjoys a unique career, drawing on her equal expertise in her interpretation of jazz, classical, and early music repertoire. Beginning her career as a jazz singer, Sarah won best vocal solo in a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. She went on to study classical singing at Oberlin Conservatory, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. Since moving to New York City from her native California, Sarah has toured the United States and Canada with her jazz quartet, her crossover project, Nuove Musiche, and her early music ensemble, Galileo’s Daughters. She has performed as both chorister and soloist on all the great stages in New York City, including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Her performances in operatic works have resulted in critical praise, with “a genuinely genre-busting voice, full and vivid” by The Washington Post in modern operas by Gisle Kverndokk; and “splendid” and “radiating calm” by The New York Times for her portrayal of the Queen in 12th-century “Play of Daniel” at the Cloisters and Trinity Wall Street Church. In addition to her own projects, Sarah enjoys appearing with early music ensembles Ayreheart and The Baltimore Consort as a guest performer. Her most recent recording, with composer and percussionist Marc Wagnon titled “Interesting Times”, is available on Buckyball Records and via download and streaming on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play. More information about Sarah can be found at sarahpillow.com.
MARY ANNE BALLARD, viola da gamba, has, as a performer and programmer, explored a wide variety of early music from the Middle Ages through the Baroque periods. She has toured 47 states, The Netherlands, Germany, and Austria, and appeared on numerous radio programs (e.g. St. Paul Sunday, Performance Today) with The Baltimore Consort, an ensemble whose recordings of repertory from Renaissance England, Scotland, France, and Spain, as well as early traditional music have ranked in the top 10 on the Billboard “classical crossover” charts. As a guest viol player, she has appeared with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Bethlehem Bach Festival, the Philadelphia Singers, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and the Cardinal Consort (Toronto). Ms. Ballard has taught viola da gamba and directed early music ensembles at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and the Peabody Conservatory, and she is currently on the faculty of the summer Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute. In New York City, she was Music Director of the 12th-century Play of Daniel, with performances at The Cloisters and Trinity Wall Street Church in New York City between 2008 and 2015.
Here’s a video showing the highlights of the program, “Galileo and His Revolutions.” It features the music by Caccini, Cavalli, Monteverdi and Purcell.
“After the concert, as I walked back to my car, I found myself gazing up at the night sky and its myriad stars with a new appreciation for the music of the spheres and the harmony of the world.” – Heather J. Morris, Santa Cruz Sentinel
The video presentation will be available from January 14, 7:00 pm through January 21, 2022.