“Gotham’s flagship early music presenter.”
– The New Yorker
ABOUT
Board of Directors
- Louise Basbas, Founder & President
- Bruce Garetz, Vice-president
- Gerald McGee, Treasurer
- Nancy Hager, Secretary
- Jane Alden
- Kenneth Bé
- Susan Hellauer
- Rebecca Littman
- Drew Minter
- Katherine Moore
Advisory Board
- George Basbas
- Anthony Roth Costanzo
- Judith McGuire
- Wendy Powers
- Nancy Tooney
Administration
Bill Barclay, artistic director
Robby Meese, administrative director
Hannah Yates, graphic designer
Stuart Wolferman, Unfinished Side, publicity consultant
Tatiana Daubek, Hudson View Productions, videographer
Robert Anderson, Anderson Sound Recording
Claire Blackwelder, copy editor
SUPPORT
Music Before 1800’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and with generous contributions from the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Inc, and the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.
Volunteer
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please write to our Concert Manager at concertmanager@mb1800.org for more details. Be sure to tell us a little about yourself (including any relevant skills or experience), as well as your availability for the current season if possible. We ask that volunteers donate their time for at least two performances.
PRESS
Review: Marian Consort
“The Chevalier,” an intriguing music-theater hybrid, unwraps the still little-known life and work of this 18th-century composer.”
Review: The Chevalier
Review: Winter Wassail
“Music Before 1800, one of New York’s most consistently rewarding series, is under new leadership.”
Review: TENET Vocal Artists
“Music Before 1800 presented a charming and varied program by the early-music ensemble Le Poème Harmonique.”
Review: Le Poème Harmonique
“As much as the virtuosity of Juilliard415’s playing, the defining aspect of this concert was the fun the players had performing Rameau’s music.”
Review:Juilliard415
“Even when Barclay managed to raise our eyebrows, such as his decision to include a non-historical performance ensemble on the series, his logic and worldview seem to make perfect sense.”
Music Before 1800’s Bill Barclay and Historically Informed ‘Experience’
“… the long-running and invaluable Music before 1800 series run by Louise Basbas.”
Review: Ensemble Correspondances
“Gotham’s flagship early-music presenter …”
Review: Juilliard415 & Jonathan Cohen
“… the treasured series Music Before 1800 …”
Fall Preview: Cappella Pratensis
“In one of the most significant concerts of the season, this Baroque ensemble from Cuba stops in New York on its first-ever North American tour.”
Preview: Ars Longa
Review: Cappella Pratensis
The Power of Louise
“This shining vocal ensemble, joined by the Folger Consort and Arcadia Viols, performs songs and dances from Shakespeare’s plays to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his death, a highlight of the valuable Music Before 1800 series, which this season also presents a who’s who of the early-music scene …”
Fall Preview: Stile Antico
“Joined by Bruce Molsky on fiddle, banjo and guitar and appearing under the auspices of the invaluable series Music Before 1800 (which is celebrating its 40th season), Anonymous 4 performs the program at the Great Hall at Cooper Union, where Lincoln delivered a crucial antislavery speech in 1860.”
Spring Preview: Anonymous 4
“Aided by the warm clarity of Corpus Christi’s acoustics and the wonderfully round and sleek sound of the Blue Heron singers, the music’s texture came alive with great malleability.”
Review: Blue Heron
“Blue Heron now occupies an exalted place in Boston’s crowded firmament of early music ensembles, and with good reason: their program in New York on Sunday showed them to be a group of polished and artistically sensitive musicians.”
Review: Blue Heron
“… didactic, intelligent, and beautiful to hear…an effect in sound like that of using a prism to turn a single ray of light into a kaleidoscope of colors.”
Review: Blue Heron
Review: Pomerium
“… a fascinating concert on Sunday afternoon at Corpus Christi Church…. presented by the invaluable series Music Before 1800.”
Review: Ensemble Peregrina
Review: El Mundo
Best Of: Stile Antico
Review: Stile Antico
“The warm acoustics and beautiful interior of the church were ideal for the concert, which included instrumental interludes.”
Review: Anonymous 4
“Mr. Weiss played with a graceful sense of line that transformed these dance pieces into full-fledged concert works.”
Review: Kenneth Weiss
CONTACT
CONTACT INFORMATION
Music Before 1800
New York, NY 10027
Telephone: 212-666-9266
To reach administrative director Robby Meese: robby@mb1800.org
To reach founder and board president Louise Basbas: louise@mb1800.org