Variant 6 Residency & Concert (The Renaissance Singers)

Who We Are:

The Renaissance Singers is a student-run ensemble of dedicated undergraduate students with a common passion for early vocal music, specifically including repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as regular commissions from student composers and other 21st century works. As the only student ensemble dedicated to early/classical music at Northwestern, our mission is to foster a strong community built around an appreciation of and interest in early vocal chamber music, both sacred and secular, and to promote education in the background, purpose, cultural significance, and accurate performance of varied early music repertoire. Our members are responsible for the programming, organization, performance, and musical direction of concerts, of which we have at least one per quarter. We strive to make high-quality performances of our repertoire accessible and enjoyable, as well as free and open to all of Northwestern and the Evanston community.

As previously mentioned, our primary activity as a student group is performing a program once every quarter. We program a variety of repertoire, from celebrated choral works to obscure works by lesser-known composers. These concerts are typically about an hour in length and consist of a certain genre or theme within early repertoire, which we often juxtapose with commissions from student composers in Bienen. For example, our spring 2019 concert is "A Celebration of Women in Music," featuring works by women composers from the 9th through 17th centuries, as well as modern works and student commissions. We regularly hire student musicians to join us for our programs, and all of our programs are free for anyone to attend. We also sing Christmas carols around campus and downtown Evanston every year in December.  

Project Overview:

The Story

In 2011, The Renaissance Singers was created by Bienen student James (Jimmy) Reese and some friends that enjoyed singing Renaissance madrigals together in their free time. Since then, The Renaissance Singers have been performing early music for the Northwestern and Evanston communities. As generations of Renaissance Singers have graduated and moved on, some have ventured into the realm of early music performance as a profession. After graduating from Northwestern, Jimmy co-founded a professional group called Variant 6, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, alongside another Northwestern and Bienen alumna, Elisa Sutherland. For current members of The Renaissance Singers, it has been our dream to reconnect with Jimmy, Elisa and their professional ensemble in hopes of learning from them and making beautiful music with them.

The Residency

The music-making is the centerpiece of our project—a joint concert featuring both The Renaissance Singers and Variant 6, performing masterworks of the Renaissance both separately and together.  In addition to the concert, Variant 6 will be providing a master class for groups of Bienen students to workshop their chamber music and learn from some of the best professionals in the business. Members of the group will also meet with the curricular choirs in Bienen to share their experiences in the niche field of chamber music performance and provide tips and tricks for current students interested in the profession.  

Media included above:

1. Our Catalyzer Pitch Video!

2. The Renaissance Singers, Fall 2020

3. Variant 6

4. L'amante Modesto by Barbara Strozzi, performed by the Renaissance Singers

5. L'usignuolo by Barbara Strozzi, performed by Variant 6

6. The Renaissance Singers, Winter 2019

7. Our full Winter 2019 concert, "The Road to Bach"