Emi Ferguson, flute, & RUCKUS

RUCKUS is an emerging baroque band with a fresh, visceral approach to early music. The ensemble’s debut earned widespread critical acclaim: “achingly delicate one moment, incisive and punchy the next” (New York Times), and “superb” (Opera News). RUCKUS’s core members form a continuo group, the baroque equivalent of a rhythm section: guitars, keyboards, cello, bassoon, and bass. The ensemble aims to fuse the early-music movement’s questing, creative spirit with the grit, groove and jangle of American roots music, producing a unique sound of “rough-edged intensity” (New Yorker). RUCKUS’s first album, an acclaimed collaboration with Emi Ferguson of Bach Sonatas and Preludes, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Charts. Through an annual summer residency in Vermont, RUCKUS is continually mining new repertory and creating new programs.

www.RUCKUSearlymusic.org

Clay Zeller-Townson (baroque bassoon) is the founder of RUCKUS. He plays with the leading period instrument ensembles in North America including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, and Musica Angelica. He has given masterclasses at Eastman School of Music, UCLA, and University of Missouri.

Anthony Albrecht (baroque cello) is the creator and artistic director of the musical tours Bach to the Bush and Where Song Began. Known for his “dramatic flair” and “fluent and virtuosic” performances, Anthony is passionate about making classical music accessible to the 21st century in his native Australia and around the world.

Paul Holmes Morton (theorbo, baroque guitar, banjo) is a member of RUCKUS, The Chivalrous Crickets, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado. His recent recordings include Orphea by Majel Connery, Emi Ferguson’s Amour Cruel, and Arcangelo’s Circle by the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado. Paul is an active performer and recording artist of music ranging from historical resurrections to his own creations.

Evan Premo (bass) is a founding member of DeCoda. He is co-founder with his wife Mary Bonhag and artistic director of Scrag Mountain Music. He is the artistic director and founder of Beethoven and Banjos, a group that brings together folk and classical musicians for cross-genre concerts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As a composer, he has been commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra, River Town Duo, Aizuri Quartet, and International Society of Bassists.

Arash Noori (theorbo, baroque guitar) is a member of RUCKUS. He plays with leading period instrument ensembles including Les Arts Florissants, Philharmonia Baroque, Early Music New York, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Piffaro: The Renaissance Band, Ars Lyrica, Opera Lafayette, the Folger Consort, Repast Baroque, the Sebastians, Academy of Sacred Drama, ARTEK, and NOVUS NY of Trinity Wall Street. He is an Adjunct Professor of Music, University of North Texas, College of Music.

Parker Ramsay (harpsichord, organ, harp) is the first prize winner of the Amsterdam International Organ Competition. He has performed at the Concertgebouw, Royal Albert Hall, Musée d’Orsay, Beijing National Performing Arts Center, Verizon Hall, and Carnegie Hall. He is the artistic director of the Louisville Harp Project and the Kithara series, with six premieres of new chamber works for harp. He is a featured writer for Van Magazine, Harping On, and the Washington Post. He is recording a forthcoming album of Bach’s Goldberg Variations arranged for harp.