Las Positas College to Present Internationally Acclaimed Artists in Early Music Concert

Internationally-acclaimed artists, countertenor Jay White and harpsichordist Yuko Tanaka, will perform at the Las Positas College Early Music Concert in the Barbara Fracisco Mertes Center for the Arts on Saturday, March 12, at 8 p.m. with a 7:30 p.m. pre-concert talk by Bruce Lamott, director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.

"The Lure of London" concert will be an evening of arias by Purcell, Bononcini, and Handel with solo harpsichord music of Handel, Blow, Dieupart, and Bach, explained Marilyn Marquis, instructor and Early Music Concert Series founder and artistic director. "In the pre-concert talk, Bruce Lamott will enhance the audience’s concert experience by providing insight into the program and by exploring the unique qualities of the countertenor," she said. He has presented pre-concert talks at Davies Symphony Hall, Live at Mission Blue concerts, and the San Francisco Opera, among others.

Countertenor and Grammy award-winning artist Jay White has performed works from Bach to Britten and has appeared with Washington Bach Consort, the Folger Consort, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and at the Carmel Bach Festival. He is widely recognized for his interpretation of medieval, renaissance, and baroque repertoire. He has also been heard on National Public Radio and Public Radio International programs such as Harmonia, St. Paul Sunday, Around New York, Weekend Edition Sunday, and Performance Today.

Yuko Tanaka has been the featured harpsichordist on the Early Music Concert Series at Las Positas College since the first season. She has performed internationally as both a soloist and ensemble player. She has performed locally with Musica Pacifica, San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Chambers Players, and Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra and as a soloist at the annual Carmel Bach Festival.

The April 2 concert, "The Enticement of Italy," will honor of Dean of Academic Services for Arts and Communication Dr. Philip Manwell, who will retire this year. Archetti Baroque Strings, the popular and dynamic eight-member ensemble featuring some of the finest early music performers in the Bay Area, will perform Italian Baroque Concerti for Multiple Violins. "The San Francisco Examiner" applauded a recent concert as "a performance of dazzling clarity... Bach at his best." The concert is at 8 p.m. with a 7:30 p.m. pre-concert talk.