Ring in the New Year with the Valencia Baryton Trio & RCMS, Jan. 12

We at the Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society (RCMS) are thrilled to announce the third concert of our 2023-24 season, featuring the Valencia Baryton Trio on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 at 7 p.m. at the Ridgecest Methodist Church, 639 N. Norma St. Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.rcchambermusic.org or at the door ($30 general, $25 senior and $5 student and active-duty military).

The Valencia Baryton Trio is not only named for a city in Spain but also for an ancient and little-known instrument which is a cross between the viol da gamba and lirone, with 10 resonating and plucked strings down the back of the instrument. It is considered to have been "the pinnacle of aristocratic instruments of the classical era" Read more about it at http://www.valenciabaryton.com/about. During his time as the court composer for Prince Esterhazy of Austria, Franz Joseph Haydn wrote many pieces for the baryton. Hence, the program in Ridgecrest will feature a generous sampling of his work in addition to contemporary works by John Pickup and Steve Zink.

The trio is comprised of Matthew Baker originally from Sioux City, Iowa and one of only a handful of baryton performers in the world, Estevan de Almeida Reis (viola) a musician who was born in Brazil and who has studied all over the world, and Alex Friedhoff (cello) who studied at Indiana University and Rice University. The group was formed by colleagues from the opera of the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Spain and the Orchestre Nationale Montpellier in France. Their goal was to perform the nearly 160 works written by Haydn.

The program will feature five works by Haydn (Baryton Trio no. 61, no. 113, no. 93, and no. 71) along with Prelude No. 1 "Lament" by John Pickup and "The River" written for the Valencia Baryton Trio by Steve Zink.

This is sure to be an exciting and unique performance not to be missed!