by Stephanie Manning
When Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute (BPI) began more than half a century ago, dedicated programs for studying and performing early music were almost nonexistent.
“ In the early seventies, it was really the only place where you could study that repertoire in the States,” artistic director Kenneth Slowik said in a recent interview. Thankfully, “nowadays, there are several different options.”
Throughout the decades, the renowned summer workshop has continued its annual meetings, with only a brief pause for the pandemic. From June 15–29, BPI will mark its 53rd year when it welcomes a group of both professional and avocational musicians to Oberlin Conservatory. Performers ages 15 and up will participate in workshops, master classes, and large ensembles under the theme “Music in England from Purcell to Handel.”
Where does BPI fit into today’s early music landscape? “ It still has its place, I think,” Slowik said. “Certainly, the people who come take away a two-week experience that’s unlike anything else they’ve done.”
While the faculty has always remained stable, the Institute has experienced a few changes. This year, scheduling conflicts with two other early music events mean there will be a few new faces teaching at BPI. Some faculty have also retired in recent years, while younger members are now starting families. “It’s a slice of life, and we have to evolve as people grow,” Slowik said.
One thing that’s the same as ever — the weekly faculty concerts. On Friday evenings during the two-week session, the group presents a program related to that year’s theme. Slowik is responsible for putting those together. “ My job is to make sure that everybody gets something interesting to play,” he said. “That’s a bit of a challenge sometimes, but a nice thing to work on.”
Both concerts will have the same structure, with works by Henry Purcell on the first half and George Frideric Handel on the second. The Friday, June 20 performance in Kulas Recital Hall prioritizes small groups, featuring five of Purcell’s four-part Fantasias for viols, Handel’s cantata Mi palpita al cor, and one of Handel’s Concerto Grossi from Opus 3. (Seating is limited, and tickets are $10 at the door — cash or check only.)
Here, the trio sonatas are the thread that ties everything together. The faculty will perform two selections from Purcell’s Twelve Sonatas in Three Parts, which was the composer’s attempt to imitate the trio sonatas of Arcangelo Corelli. Later on come three Handel trios for combinations of violin, bass, flute, and continuo — demonstrating the progression of English music between the 17th and 18th centuries.
With more players able to fit onto the Warner Concert Hall stage, the program on Friday, June 27 features some larger-scale works. A chorus made up of BPI participants will assist with numbers like “Dido’s Lament” from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and the “Chorus of Cold People” from King Arthur. A suite of incidental music from Purcell’s The Gordian Knot Untied, two Concerto Grossi from Handel’s Op. 3 and Op. 6, and a Handel organ concerto from Op. 4 help round things out.
Of course, the BPI participants get plenty of playing time, too. The afternoons of Saturday, June 21 and Saturday, June 28 will both be filled with those chamber music performances, held in Warner Concert Hall. During the week, the musicians will spend their days in master classes, workshops, and other activities.
Among the fringe concerts presented in the afternoons is one simply titled: “Not by Purcell or Handel.” Other offerings include lectures by Oberlin musicology professor Steven Plank and a workshop on improvisation by Oberlin Baroque Ensemble violinist and fellow Conservatory faculty Edwin Huizinga.
Slowik, who is the longtime artistic director of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society, became BPI’s artistic director in 1993. He has been attending and teaching cello at the Institute almost every year since its inception. And even now, he still stays in a dorm room in Asia House.
“ Some years ago, I thought: ‘You know, I could be at the end of my sophomore year in terms of how many weeks I’ve spent living in this dorm,” he said. “It’s beyond that by this time…but I’ve sort of given up counting.”
Published on ClevelandClassical.com June 12, 2025.
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