Education

​

2015

Bachelor of Music, Viola da gamba, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

Intensive study of renaissance and baroque music on all sizes of viola da gamba,

baroque cello and bass, basso continuo realization, medieval fiddle

Ensembles

​

2014-present

Eya, Washington, DC

Medieval music ensemble

Medieval fiddles, kemence, scheitholt​

​

2014-present

Wherligig, Westminster, MD

Traditional celtic and nordic acoustic music ensemble

Viola da gamba, viola a chiavi, bodhrán

​

2013-present

Istanpitta, Houston, TX

Medieval music ensemble

Medieval fiddles, medieval drag queen

 

2013-present

Alkemie, Brooklyn, NY Founding member

Medieval music ensemble, informed historically and by experimental music traditions

Medieval fiddles, viola a chiavi, percussion

 

2011-present

The Broken Consort, Portland, OR

Early music ensemble, informed historically and by experimental music traditions

Viola da gamba, medieval fiddles, percussion, ngoni, voice

​

2016-2019

duoSeraphim, New York, NY, Founding member

Baroque music duet with soprano

Viola da gamba

 

2011-2015

Divisio, Baltimore, MD, Founding member

Medieval and world music ensemble

Viola da gamba, medieval fiddles, kemençe
 

​

Selected Recent & Upcoming Performances

​

Feb 26, 2020

Strathmore Artist in Residence Concerts: Improvisation

with Loren Ludwig and Lucas Ashby, presented by Strathmore

Strathmore Mansion, Bethesda, MD

Concert program interfacing gut strings and percussion with electronic sounds. Interactive software instruments and improvisation environments combine with early instruments to sound a more connected future.

​

Feb 12, 2020

Strathmore Artist in Residence Concerts: Early Music

with Tina Chancey, Loren Ludwig, Cameron Welke, and Lucas Ashby, presented by Strathmore

Strathmore Mansion, Bethesda, MD

Concert program exploring the breadth of “early music” repertoires, from twisty medieval songs and dances to effervescent French baroque viola da gamba virtuosity. Includes medieval ensemble, viol consort, theorbos and lutes, and percussion.

​

Oct 24-28, 2019

Cyprus, 1400

with Alkemie, presented by Cambridge Society for Early Music

venues in Carlisle, Weston, Salem, Ipswich, and Cambridge, MA

Concert program featuring music from the French-Cypriot manuscript Torino J.ii.9, which contains some of the most harmonically and rhythmically intricate music of its time. This quirky manuscript is contextualized with traditional dance tunes that Niccolo Seligmann learned by ear from the Famagusta Municipality Magem Folk Dance Group.

​

July 16, 2019

Diana’s Hunt

with Alkemie, presented by Amherst Early Music Festival

Evans Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London, CT

Concert program using Boccaccio’s allegorical hunting poem “Caccia di Diana” to link together medieval pieces about animals featuring panthers, roosters, and others; pieces in collaboration with composer Elliot Cole; and readings from medieval bestiaries about these animals’ hidden allegories.

​

January 5, 2019

bbbaby

with Hutchins & Seligmann

The Crown, Baltimore, MD

Collaboration with saxophonist Kyle Hutchins. A devised piece using prepared saxophone, prepared viola da gamba, EWI (electronic wind instrument), and live manipulation of field recordings to examine the complex relationships between adults, babies, animals, and the sounds they share.

​

​

Selected Recent Compositions

​

2019

Minerva, or Times Change

opera with Jefferson Baroque and Capitol Opera Project

This pastiche opera combines newly-composed recitatives with arias from operas and oratorios by G. F. Handel into a new narrative with a feminist, queer, and anti-racist focus.

​

2019

just one will have to be enough

for solo viola da gamba and live electronics

This piece has become a way for me to grieve and come to terms with the suicide of a friend less than one week after we met. I fell instantly in love when we met and was excited to build a friendship with this person, only to have that possibility too quickly ripped away. Some of their friends had experienced thousands of beautiful moments with them; for me, just one will have to be enough.

​

2018

Sleepless Bay

The Last Lemon Tree in Winter

Naughty Double-Click

for Wherligig

Traditional Irish tunes written for fiddles are often difficult to play on viola da gamba due to drastic tuning differences. In response, I am building a collection of original tunes in Irish styles, written specifically for the viola da gamba.

​

2018

Staying Alive

for consort of five violas da gamba

Composed as part of the Viola da Gamba Society of America’s Consort Cooperative program, this piece is designed to make amateur players feel more comfortable improvising. It crafts a musical illustration of the physiological, psychological, and social processes of a heart attack, drawing on the knowledge of a participant, a retired EMT, who was initially uncomfortable with non-notated music, but quickly blossomed and asserted themself.
 

​

Selected Discography

​

2020

Kinship

Niccolo Seligmann

Solo acoustic viola da gamba improvisations expressing the global need for multispecies kinship and Indigenous sovereignty. Release Date: February 26, 2020, at Strathmore Mansion (see above)

​

2016-present

Civilization VI Official Soundtrack

Geoff Knorr, Roland Rizzo

Music from the PC game’s “Medieval” section, orchestrated for triple-overdubbed viola da gamba and overdubbed medieval fiddle, engaging with traditional styles from Hindustani to Cree. New recordings for additional expansion packs released several times a year.

​

2020

Opus One and Two

Emily Lau & The Broken Consort

The Broken Consort presents Emily Lau’s Radical Softness and The Glorious Cuntata, two pieces on the strength and power of femme presentation, identity, and physicality. Includes composed and improvised music.

​

2018

The Three Marys

Eya

Medieval ensemble Eya presents a 14th-century liturgical play about the emotional journey of Mary Magdalene after Christ’s death. Recorded in the Washington National Cathedral, this album exemplifies the multifaceted and key role a fiddler plays in a medieval ensemble without notated music as a guide.

​

​

Teaching

​

2020

Strathmore Mansion, Bethesda, MD

Workshop Leader, Artist in Residence

Led two-hour workshop on early music, electronic music, and the vast breadth of what can make up a music career.

​

2019

Thomas Dale High School, Chester, VA

Workshop Leader

Led two-hour workshop for high school choir, band, and orchestra students on early music, electronic music, and the vast breadth of what can make up a music career.

​

2019

Fordham University, New York, NY

Workshop Leader, member of Ensemble-in-Residence

With Alkemie, co-taught workshops in medieval performance practice for undergraduates and NYC early music community members

​

2018

Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA

Workshop Leader

Led week-long workshops in medieval improvisation and performance practice for undergraduates and community members, culminating in a performance with workshop participants

​

2017

Capitol Early Music, Washington, DC

Workshop Leader

With Alkemie, co-taught workshops in medieval performance practice for DC early music community

​

2017-2018

St. Anne School, Santa Monica, CA

Instructor, Music Appreciation

Created and taught 5th-8th grade curriculum focusing on musical connections with race, colonialism, and structural inequalities; featured critical listening and discussion on music from many cultures

​

2016-2018

UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Coach, UCLA Early Music Ensemble

Co-coached semiweekly rehearsals, led quarterly viola da gamba masterclasses and consort parties

​

2016-2017

Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV

Workshop Leader, member of Ensemble-in-Residence

With Alkemie, co-taught workshops in medieval performance practice for undergraduate music majors

​

2015-2018

Big Mouth Society/Curiosity Crossing, Portland, OR

Workshop Leader

With The Broken Consort, co-taught workshops in medieval performance practice for Portland early music community
 

​

Other Professional Experience

​

2019-present

Koons Instruments, Finksburg, MD

Luthiery apprentice

Building wooden instruments based on medieval and early renaissance art using hand tools
 

​

Awards, Grants, & Residencies

​

2019-2020

Niccolo Seligmann, Strathmore Artist in Residence

​

2019-present

Alkemie, Fordham University Ensemble-in-Residence

​

2019

Alkemie, Avaloch Farm Music Institute Residency

​

2017

duoSeraphim, Avaloch Farm Music Institute Residency

​

2016-17

Alkemie, Fairmont State University Ensemble-in-Residence

​

2016-17

Alkemie, Avaloch Farm Music Institute Residency

​

2014

Niccolo Seligmann, Johns Hopkins University Provost Undergraduate Research Award

​

2013

Niccolo Seligmann, Viola da Gamba Society of America Grant-in-Aid
 

​

References

​

CONTACT ME for a list of references