Free Concert by Fieldstone Early Music Ensemble

Enjoy a free concert of baroque music for woodwinds performed by The Fieldstone Early Music Ensemble on Sunday, April 29 at 3:00 pm at Bernardsville Public Library. There will be music by composers Bach, Handel, Telemann, Arcangelo Corelli, Johann Quantz, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, and Gottfried Finger.

Three outstanding virtuoso performers will play period instruments–baroque flute, oboe, and bassoon, as well as recorders. They are Laura Ferraro (baroque flute and oboe), Jessica Valiente (baroque flute and recorders), and Andrew Pecota (baroque bassoon). Together they have a lifetime of study of historical performance practice of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras.

Laura Ferraro holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from West Chester State College, where she was a student of Emily Trefz Swartley. Her interest in baroque music began as a student at Morristown High School, where one of her music teachers was an early music enthusiast and performer. She has performed with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey since 2013 and has held the position of principal flutist since 2016. In addition to the Fieldstone Early Music Ensemble, she has been a member of the early music ensembles Sine Nomine and the Arioso Consorte, with whom she has performed at the Boston Early Music Festival.

Dr. Jessica Valiente has a B.A. in Music from Barnard College in conjunction with Manhattan School of Music, an M.A. in Music Performance from Queens College, and a D.M.A. in Flute Performance from the CUNY Graduate Center. She began her recorder studies at the age of 5. She was a member of the Italian renaissance music and theater company I Giullari di Piazza from 2000-2012 and joined the Fieldstone Early Music Ensemble in 2013. She has taught flute at Brooklyn College and Montclair State University and is currently on the flute faculty of The New School in New York City, teaching in the Jazz and Contemporary Music department.

Andrew Pecota is a graduate of Montclair State University, with a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance and a Master of Arts in Music Theory. He is a specialist in 18th century music and 18th century performance practice, an expert in historical reed instruments, and owns an extensive collection of bass double-reed instruments. He holds the position of principal bassoon with both the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey and with Hunterdon Symphony. He is a former and founding member of the baroque ensemble the Arioso Consorte, and currently performs with New Jersey Concert Opera, Opera at Florham, and other orchestras and opera companies throughout New Jersey.

This concert is funded by gifts to the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library. It’s free and no sign-up is needed. There will be light refreshments. Doors open at 2:45 pm. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.