Local nonprofit Roanoque Baroque invites audiences to connect with some of the beautiful music composed during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Courtesy of Roanoque Baroque
What happens when a college professor with a love of music retires to Roanoke? A Baroque renaissance, led by instrumentalists and singers on a mission to breathe new life into centuries-old compositions.
Drawn to the area by its vibrant arts community and amenities that support healthy living, Dr. Michael Shasberger and his wife left their home in California to put down roots in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. But it wasn’t long before Michael realized that something was missing from the area’s lively music scene. “There was a noticeable gap of musicians playing Baroque music in live spaces,” he recalls.
Courtesy of Roanoque Baroque
Eager to fill this void, Shasberger used his music-world connections and extensive background as conductor emeritus of Denver’s Stratus Chamber Orchestra, former artistic director of Santa Barbara’s West Coast Symphony and Chamber Orchestra and numerous guest conductor appearances for other acclaimed orchestras to bring his vision for Roanoque Baroque to fruition. “Much of the work has been collaborative, and for that I’m thankful!” he says. “I was able to work with very talented artists to create a community of musicians, both instrumentalists and singers, to bring this music to life.” Even Shasberger’s wife played a crucial role in the group’s inception; as an accountant, she was able to walk her husband through the complex process of obtaining nonprofit status.
Roanoque Baroque’s first season kicked off in 2022. Since then, in excess of 40 instrumentalists and 30 chamber choir members have been involved with the organization, with most of them hailing from locales between Roanoke and Lynchburg. “One of the great joys of this enterprise has been discovering the passionate Baroque violinist who just happens to live on Smith Mountain Lake, the Flauto Dolce (or recorder) player who studied in Germany and somehow settled in the Old Southwest neighborhood, the violinists who live in Lynchburg who have had amazing careers with Baroque orchestras in Boston and North Carolina before moving for various reasons to Roanoque, and on and on the stories go!”
Just like the name suggests, the orchestra and choir focus their attention on music composed during the Baroque period — roughly 1600 to 1800. During this time, the widespread adoption of string instruments like those we know today became popularized, and venues were smaller, creating a more intimate experience for the 50 or less people in attendance who would all be seated within 30 feet of the musicians. A new balance of reason and faith was struck, with the music originating "from an amazing tradition of combining craft and technique with personal devotion." J.S. Bach even inscribed musical scores designed for courtly and church concerts alike with acronyms like SDG, meaning “Soli Deo Gloria” or “To God alone be the glory.”
Courtesy of Roanoque Baroque
The lack of technology and general background noise that is ever-present today also aided in creating a more tranquil feel. “It’s the charm of an old Victorian house compared to a modern glass structure,” explains Shasberg. “We do what we can to take the audience back to that less highly stimulated and noisy atmosphere by lightening the tone with period instruments that are perhaps less brilliant but warmer, less shrill or projecting but somehow more inviting, and potentially more soothing without taking away virtuosity.”
While Shasberger says there was an abundance of music created by Baroque composers like J.S. Bach within that time period, much of it was forgotten about or lost by 1820. “We have the job of detective and researcher in finding available scores of much of this repertoire and bringing it back into the sunlight. … It really is quite a process of discovery.”
Roanoque Baroque’s third season opening performances taking place on October 26 and 27 at First Evangelical Presbyterian Church are a great example of this work, as they will be performing the American premiere of a recently acquired Telemann piece estimated to have been composed around 1751. Shasberger reveals, “In fact, the publisher in Germany rushed the printing of the orchestra parts just for us for the opening of this season!”
The concerts will feature a mix of now-unusual instrumental combinations characteristic of what one would have expected to hear during an intimate Baroque-period performance. “I imagine that few if any of our audience members will have heard a concerto featuring four violins or three French horns and violin, or a cantata performed on a mini pipe organ with a recorder, French horn, violin, oboe and baritone soloists. And that’s just the first concert!”
Courtesy of Roanoque Baroque
Roanoque Baroque’s other upcoming performances include A French Christmas with carols and music by Rameau on December 21 and 22, and a delightful stroll through Baroque Gardens with the sons of J.S. Bach and Handel. “Few of us will be able to attend the grand re-opening events at Notre Dame in Paris this December, but we can hear the music of Charpentier that was written for the midnight mass on Christmas Eve there. You may not be able to travel to Germany to experience the architectural surroundings of Baroque gardens and palaces, but you will hopefully be able to see and be surrounded by them in the amazing Eye theatre at the Science Museum [of Western Virginia]. I encourage everyone to come along for the amazing journeys,” says Shasberger.
To learn more about Roanoque Baroque, the nonprofit’s upcoming performances (all of which are on a first come, first served basis with "name your own ticket pricing" cost), its instrumentalists and singers, and ways you can help support their work, visit roanoquebaroque.org.