Camerata Pacifica, the international chamber music collective renowned for its musical versatility and bold programming, launches the new year with the first of two programs on the Camerata Pacifica Baroque series curated by acclaimed flutist Emi Ferguson.
“Baroque: Emergence” spotlights two of the quietest Baroque instruments, featuring Ferguson on traverso and celebrated classical and jazz keyboardist Dan Tepfer on amplified clavichord. The performances are presented at four Southern California venues:
Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, 3 pm
Janet and Ray Scherr Forum, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks 91362
Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, 7:30 pm
The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino 91108
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, 8 pm
Zipper Hall, The Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., LA 90012
Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, 7 pm
Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara 93108
Anchored by Bach’s iconic Two-Part Inventions, the intimate and illuminating program promises both familiarity and surprise, creating a fascinating dialogue between Baroque traditions and contemporary improvisation.
While many will instantly recognize the first notes of Bach’s opening invention, the evening delves deeper into the inspiration behind these works. Tepfer will share his groundbreaking take on Bach’s Inventions, pairing Bach’s original music with his own improvised inventions in the nine missing keys. Additionally, Ferguson and Tepfer together will showcase music by Francesco Antonio Bonporti, a composer whose “inventions” influenced Bach himself.
Dan Tepfer is celebrated for his innovative performances with artists including Renée Fleming and Lee Konitz and for his award-winning recordings and appearances on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. For this performance, Tepfer is drawing from his acclaimed 2023 solo album J.S. Bach / Dan Tepfer, Inventions / Reinventions on StorySound Records.
He explains the album’s concept: “Each of Bach’s Inventions is a brilliant miniature demonstration of classical narrative form in music, carried out in under two minutes. I perform the Inventions as Bach wrote them, and, for the nine missing keys, improvise my own inventions. Not in Bach’s style but rather in my own voice. They don’t react directly to Bach’s miniatures; instead, they react to the abstract and general structural concept that supports them.” He notes “that Bach was well known in his lifetime as an improviser… it was at the core of his being.” The unique project demanding considerable skills as both a jazz and classical pianist bolsters Tepfer’s reputation as “one of the moment’s most adventurous and relevant musicians” (New York Magazine).
PROGRAM:
BONPORTI Selections from Inventione Opus X
J.S. BACH / EMI FERGUSON Partita Recomposed
J.S. BACH / DAN TEPFER Inventions / Reinventions
TICKETS AND INFORMATION:
$75 at The Huntington, Music Academy and Zipper Hall
$91 (including fees) at Janet and Ray Scherr Forum
Photo credit: Dan Tepfer / Photo by Noa Dylon