ABOUT ARMONIA CELESTE
Delighting audiences around the country with their spirited performances, Armonia Celeste specializes in rarely heard repertoire from the Italian Renaissance and early Baroque, accompanied by period instruments: lute, theorbo, guitar, and the rare Baroque triple harp. Together, the musicians of Armonia Celeste create an unforgettable combination of varied vocal and instrumental colors, florid ornamentation, expressiveness, and an infectious passion for this repertoire.
The idea for Armonia Celeste came about in 2008 when the musicians performed together at the Misiones de Chiquitos Renaissance and Baroque Music Festival in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Since then, the ensemble has offered many concerts throughout the United States, including performances with Houston Early Music, Early Music in Columbus, the Academy of Early Music in Ann Arbor, and the Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music. Armonia Celeste has also been featured in a documentary produced by Early Music Television entitled “Culture Wars of Venice and the Birth of Public Opera.”
The ensemble was a finalist in the prestigious Naxos/Early Music America recording competition 2011, having been selected from an original applicant pool of over a hundred ensembles, testifying to its position as one of the outstanding new early music ensembles in North America —a conclusion already reached by its enthusiastic audiences.
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PROGRAMS
Taming the Furies: Virtuosic Music of Love and Betrayal from 17th Century Rome
Join Armonia Celeste as we explore intricate music from sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Italy, from the madrigals of the Concerto delle Donne – a singing group of “Three Ladies” in...
The Rebel Queen: Music from the Court of Queen Christina of Sweden
Queen Cristina is one of the most interesting personages of the seventeenth century. The daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, she became queen of Sweden at the young age of six upon...
Udite Amanti – Lovers Beware! – Music from the 17th Century Barberini Court
In mid-seventeenth-century Rome, the patronage of the Barberini family engendered a period of great productivity for the genres of vocal chamber music and opera. The trios, duets, and solos featured...
The Cycle of Love: Enchantment to Betrayal
This program follows the journey of love: its awakening, seduction, sensuality, consummation, betrayal, suffering, and finally, hope. This concert highlights the text-painting madrigals of Monteverdi, the melodic stylings of Barbara...
Love & Longing: Italian Madrigals & Cantatas of the Early Baroque
The Concerto delle Donne – a singing group of three ladies in the court of Alfonso d’Este in Ferrara – created quite a musical stir in late sixteenth-century Italy. This...
SERVICES
MUSICOLOGY CLASSES AND PRESENTATIONS
Armonia Celeste’s musicology classes and presentations have been well received by students at universities across the country. Discussions range from tracing the development of vocal music, ornamentation and instruments, to...
PRIVATE LESSONS
In addition to concert performances, we happily offer private lessons in voice, harp, lute, and theorbo to students of all levels. All three vocalists often teach lessons together in order...
PRE-CONCERT LECTURES
Pre-concert lectures that compliment the evening’s program are provided by noted musicologist Dr. Lyle Nordstrom, with participation from other ensemble members as relevant. Audience members have repeatedly told us how...
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
We are glad to perform interactive concerts with community groups and schools, inspiring music lovers of all ages to explore the breathtaking and exciting music of the Renaissance and Baroque.
MASTERCLASSES
In addition to thrilling live performances, the members of Armonia Celeste are highly qualified and enthusiastic teachers. Masterclasses are an important part of what we do, passing our love of...
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
No upcoming shows scheduled
RELEASES
PHOTOS
BLOG
What it was like recording our debut CD
Three of the five AC members share their thoughts on what it was like to record their debut CD, and talk about the concert in Maryland last week. Paula: Impressions...
Some background on our repertoire
I have often been asked about the repertoire for Armonia Celeste and why we do this relatively unknown literature. Actually, the answer is quite easy. It is a fabulous and...
The greatest composer you never heard of
The composers of the music for Armonia Celeste are not yet common names among concertgoers. This is unfortunate, as the quality of their music and contributions to the history of...
Up Close and Personal with Dianna Grabowski
Dianna Grabowski is Armonia Celeste’s mezzo-soprano. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband Greg, and their dog Friday. Q. When did you start singing? A. I started singing in...
First edits back from our new CD, Udite Amanti!
We are very excited at having received the first edits back from our January recording session of our upcoming CD, tentatively entitled “Udite Amanti–Lovers, Beware!: Music from the Seventeenth-Century Barberini...
Two concerts this weekend in Maryland!
Armonia Celeste reprises their popular program “Udite Amanti–Lovers, Beware! Music from the 17th-Century Barberini Court” on the Penn Alps concert series in the Western Maryland mountains, and at An Die Musik in Baltimore. The...
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A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
We’d like to extend our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for making The Rebel Queen possible.
| Patricia | P.D. Waltman | Kristen McDermott | William Scobie |
| Jonathan Blocksom | Ralph Olson | Margaret Lias | Jeffrey Grabowski |
| Lauren Weaner | Jim Ballas | Marsha Garrett | Les Anders |
| Anthony Phillips | Don Nowak | Nancy Tooney | Lisa Chaves |
| Jon and Betsy Griffiths | Janet Pascal | Patricia Adams Nordstrom | Eugene Enrico |
| Katherine Wolfe | Nicholas H. Clulee | Jolle Greenleaf | Stan Sporing |
| Nina Burris | Mark A. Gravitt | Wheat Williams | Jason Rylander |
| Lori Thwaits | Pamela Moseley Wolfe | Anna Gustafsson Chen | The Vivaldi Project |
| Richard McGinnis | Paul Daniel | Leigh Dagberg | Russel Kim Perry |
| Aaron Albin | H Chatham | Christopher Terrell | Susan Brown |
| Bernardo Illari | Patricia Halverson | Chris Perry | Marc |
| Megan Griffiths-Ward | Bill McJohn | Stanley Ritchie | Un Chi Sweeney |
| Anders Conrad | David Wood | Wen-Ling Shih | Janie Nordstrom Griffiths |
| Marcus Melin | Dann Coakwell | Richard Sparks | Nicole Kenley |
| Lenora McCroskey | Pam K. | Christi Amonson | Ken Johnson |