by Daniel Hathaway

BPI people don’t tend to sleep in (no matter how late they’ve been up the night before), but perhaps the most reliable early birds are the beginning viola da gamba players, who circle their wagons every morning at 8:00 sharp.

That’s an instrument that inspires ardent devotion among experienced historical string players and great curiosity in neophytes — some people who have never picked up a bow are giving the gamba a try this week. We’ll hear more from both types of gambists as the week continues.

Oberlin graduate and BPI alumnus Skip Sempé joined the faculty for week two, making his first official appearance in Tuesday morning’s harpsichord class. [Read more…]