Baroque & Beyond – North Carolina produces an annual series of period music concerts held in Chapel Hill at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (227 E. Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill, NC). Music of the baroque era, with occasional excursions into the classic and romantic eras, is heard on instruments of the period. Baroque & Beyond is committed to historically informed performance practices (HIP). The series is presented by Preservation Chapel Hill.
The series was launched in 2008 by founding Artistic Director Beverly Biggs at the invitation of the Preservation Society, which has a rich history of sponsoring musical performances.
Since 2008, Baroque & Beyond has earned the affection of its audience and the respect of its peers. The Chapel Hill series consists of three concerts per season, focusing on music of the baroque era, with excursions into the classic and early romantic eras. Period instruments and historical performances practices are a hallmark of the concerts, along with interesting and innovative programming. Having outgrown the original performance space at the Preservation Society’s headquarters (the Horace Williams House) and subsequently outgrown some of Chapel Hill’s largest homes, performances are now held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Every-other February we have also presented a special concert as part of the HIP Early Music Festival in the Triangle.
Baroque & Beyond went dark during the covid pandemic, resuming live concerts on March 20, 2022, at which time, Biggs passed the leadership baton to baroque cellist Stephanie Vial for the 2022-2023 season. See News Releases for details.
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Founder of the series is freelance harpsichordist Beverly Biggs. Beverly earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music degree from Southern Methodist University. Post-graduate study was done with harpsichordists Margaret Irwin-Brandon and Alan Curtis in the United States, and with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam.
In late 2004, Beverly moved back home to North Carolina after spending many years in the Pacific Northwest. While based in Spokane, Washington, she performed, recorded, toured, and served as artistic director of two period music organizations, producing and performing an average of 60 concerts per season. A founding director of both Connoisseur Concerts and Allegro, Bev specializes in period music of the baroque era. Accomplishments include founding the Northwest Bach Festival, the Royal Fireworks Festival & Concert™, Allegro’s Viennese Ball, Music in Historic Homes, and Period Music at The Met.
Awards include the Washington State Governor’s Arts Award & the City of Spokane Arts Award for her organizations. Individual awards include the Pioneer Award, given to leaders in arts, medicine, government and other fields, to individuals who made ‘an indelible impact’ on the Inland Northwest over the past 125 years. Of her various recordings, Age of Elegance in the American West was named one of the best new albums of the year. Her musical ensemble was for many years the only classical duo on the WESTAF touring roster in the Western United States.
Bev’s primary performing instrument is a double-manual French harpsichord. Her collection also includes early pianos, an Italian virginal and a single-manual Flemish harpsichord.
For more complete information: www.beverlybiggsharpsichord.com
Beverly Biggs – Discography
Age of Elegance David Dutton, oboe; Beverly Biggs, fortepiano. Music of Fauconier, Delibes, Mozart, Rubinstein, S. Foster, Lailliet, others. As researched in concert programs from the late 1800’s.
Musette – French Baroque Favorites David Dutton, oboe & musette; Beverly Biggs, harpsichord. Music of F. Couperin, Delalande, Lully, Marais, Rameau, Philidor, de Lavigne
Christmas with Biggs & Dutton David Dutton, oboe; Beverly Biggs, harpsichord & fortepiano; Ann Fennessy, soprano; Wayne Smith, cello. Music of Leclair, Telemann, Bach, Balbastre, and others (includes traditional)
Parisian Nights Beverly Biggs, fortepiano; William Davis, bassoon; David Dutton, oboe. Music of Rossini, Donizetti, Gatterman, Jancourt and Brod, as heard in Paris in the early 1800’s.
La Cenerentola Beverly Biggs, fortepiano; William Davis, bassoon; David Dutton, oboe. Music from Rossini’s popular opera, Cinderella, presented – as was customary during the period – in a concert arrangement for period piano, bassoon and oboe.