Back to Back Bach

OBO's 24-25 season Musical (r)Evolution traces the intricate paths of musical evolution from the Baroque to the High Classical period. "Back to Back Bach" marks our grand entrance into this musical odyssey, paying homage to the unparalleled genius of Johann Sebastian Bach. With masterpieces such as the B Minor Orchestral Suite and the Concerto for Flute, Violin, and Harpsichord, we delve into the rich tapestry of the Baroque era, where innovation and experimentation flourished.

Program:

Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 106

Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042

Triple Concerto for Flute, Violin, and Harpsichord in A minor, BWV 1044

Guest Artists:

Dongsok Shin

Guest Director and Harpsichordist

Dongsok Shin was born in Boston and studied modern piano with his mother, Chonghyo Shin, and with Nadia Reisenberg at the Mannes College of Music. He converted exclusively to early keyboard instruments in the early 1980’s. He received international recognition as music director of baroque opera productions with the Mannes Camerata and has been a member of the internationally acclaimed baroque ensemble REBEL since 1997.

He has appeared with early music groups all over the United States, including the Carmel Bach Festival, American Classical Orchestra, ARTEK, Concert Royal, Early Music New York, and Pro Music Rara; has toured throughout the Americas and Europe; and has been heard on numerous radio broadcasts. He has accompanied Renée Fleming, Rufus Müller, Rachel Brown, Jed Wentz, Marion Verbruggen, and Barthold Kuijken in recital. In addition to his performing career, he is a recording engineer, producer, and editor of early music recordings for many labels, as well as a producer of music videos.

He is a curator of the antique keyboard instruments at the Flint Collection in Delaware, a tuner of early keyboards at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, and the early keyboard technician for the Metropolitan Opera. Videos produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Dongsok demonstrating early fortepianos, including the earliest known Bartolomeo Cristofori piano from 1720, have garnered over 400,000 views.

https://www.rebelbaroque.com/shin

https://bachfestival.org/team/dongsok-shin/

Francis Liu

Concertmaster and Violin Soloist

Francis Liu specializes in exploring period interpretations of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic repertoire. He is currently the principal 2nd violinist of the Philadelphia Baroque orchestra—Tempesta di Mare, and the concertmaster of the Oklahoma Baroque Orchestra. Well-acquainted with the Northeast Corridor train line, he also performs regularly with groups in New York City (NY Baroque Inc, the Sebastians), Boston (Boston Baroque, Handel & Haydn Society), and Washington, D.C. (National Cathedral). In performances of period Romantic repertoire, Francis has appeared with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, Teatro Nuovo, and the Transforming 19th Century (TCHIP) research project at the University of Oxford. Francis is fond of story-telling, and has given interactive concerts at the Polish Consulate in NY, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the NY Performing Arts Library. He has degrees from Rice University, the University of Maryland, and the Juilliard Historical Performance Program.

https://www.francismliu.com/about

John L. Edwards

Baroque Flute

John L. Edwards is the organist at the First Presbyterian Church of Oklahoma City, OK, where he has served since 1991. In addition to being an organist, John specializes in playing flutes of all types. He has the distinction of having played eight different flute and keyboard instruments with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. His performances throughout the Southwest, California, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, and England, have won the respect of his peers and the acclaim of local critics, whether appearing on the concert stage with his flute, or at the organ console in churches and recital halls.

John performs regularly on the Kemp Concert Series hosted by First Presbyterian Church and plays with Tactus a professional Chamber Orchestra & Vocal Ensemble, and with the Oklahoma Baroque Orchestra.

In April 2019, he was the solo flutist in the Oklahoma premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams: Epithalamion for Chorus, Baritone, Flute, and Strings, performed by the University of Central Oklahoma and the Edmond Community Chorale. On May 5, 2024 Mr. Edwards will present a lecture /recital entitled “The Traverso” for the Kemp Concert Series at First Presbyterian Church, OKC, demonstrating twenty-six different flutes of various counties and from Medieval times through the present day, and he will be joined by Lutist, Carey Morrow. “The Traverso” will also be performed at the 2024 National Flute Association Convention this August in San Antonio, Texas. In March of 2025 John will premier a work for piccolo and piano by Amanda Harberg, commissioned by the Oklahoma Flute Society honoring the memory of Feodora Steward. This commissioned piece will be played on the 1953 piccolo specifically made for Mrs. Steward by Verne Q. Powell.

Mr. Edwards received his Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from Oklahoma City University where he also did his post-graduate work and taught flute in the Preparatory Department for five years. While at OCU he appeared as a featured soloist with the majority of the university’s ensembles. His flute instructors have included Jean-Louis Kashy, Dr. Eleanor Duncan Armstrong, and Barbara Davis. John has had the privilege to participate in the flute master classes of James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal, and Baroque flutist Stephen Preston.

He has recorded professionally with pianist Rondal J. Wallace, and along with Mr. Wallace is a co-founding member of the instrumental ensemble Oklahoma City RONDEAU.

John is a member of the National Flute Association, the Oklahoma Flute Society, and a Colleague of the American Guild of Organists.

https://www.kempconcerts.org/concerts/traverso