Biographies

Taking its name from the Latin word 'spiritus', [with breath; with spirit; with inspiration], Spiritus Collective unites these concepts to produce meaningful performances utilizing wind instruments, specifically period brass (natural trumpet, cornett and sackbut). Combined with period strings and voices it is a versatile ensemble, capable of recreating the vast and fascinating 17th century repertoire from a time when brass instruments displayed extreme virtuosity and had a crucial role in daily life.

Inspired by the works contained in the catalog of the Liechtenstein Music Collection of 17th century music from Kromeriz, Bohemia, Spiritus Collective strives to program "modern day premieres" of music which include prominent scoring for combinations of early brass instruments, voices and strings. This long-term project requires researching handwritten manuscripts of previously unheard pieces by composers such as Heinrich Biber, Antonio Bertali and Johann Schmelzer that are then developed into editions by Music Director, Greg Ingles.

Led by Greg Ingles and Artistic Director Kris Ingles, Spiritus Collective has performed at the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, CO, was a featured ensemble-in-residence at the Madison Early Music Festival in Madison, WI and appeared at the International Trombone Association conference in Ithaca, NY. Spiritus Collective made its debut New York City appearance in 2004, enthusiastically praised in The New York Times as "a perfect blend of brass, strings and voices…it's the brass instruments that give Spiritus its distinctive shine." Highlights from recent seasons include collaboration with the Yale Schola Cantorum for a modern-day premiere of Antonio Bertali's Missa Ressurectionis, music of Heinrich Schutz and Giovanni Gabrieli with the Toronto Chamber Choir, and performances of Claudio Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers with the Westminster Choir College and Tiffany Consort. Last season, Spiritus Collective appeared on the Early Music NOW series in Milwaukee and Case Western University's Chapel Court & Countryside series. The members of the ensemble are pleased to return to Pittsburgh and the Renaissance and Baroque Society Series.

Recently lauded for her "invigorating verve and imagination" by the Washington Post, Julie Andrijeski is among the leading baroque violinists in the U.S. She has been a full-time member of the early-music trio, Chatham Baroque for the past 10 years. In addition, Ms. Andrijeski regularly appears as a principal player with several other baroque groups including, among others, Cleveland's Apollo's Fire, New York State Early Music Association, Cecilia's Circle, The Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, and the King's Noyse. This year, Ms. Andrijeski is a full-time Visiting Lecturer at Case Western Reserve University. Her unique performance style is greatly influenced by her knowledge and skilled performance of baroque dance, and she often teaches both violin and dance at workshops. Ms. Andrijeski has been on the faculty of the summer Baroque Performance Institute at the Oberlin Conservatory for the past ten years and appeared again this year at the Madison Early Music Workshop. Ms. Andrijeski received her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Early Music from Case Western Reserve University in May 2006. Previous degrees include a B.M. in Violin Performance from the University of Denver (1985) and an M.M. in Violin Performance from Northwestern University (1986). Her recordings can be found on Dorian Recordings, Centaur, and Musica Omnia, and eagerly awaits the release of Chatham Baroque's newest CD sometime this Fall.

Praised by the Washington Post for his "clarity and poise" and by Keyboard Magazine for possessing the "virtuosity of a master," the Iranian-born early keyboard artist Mahan Esfahani is quickly gaining wide international attention as a soloist and collaborative musician in repertoire ranging from the 14th through the 18th centuries. He has appeared such ensembles as Il Complesso Barocco under the direction of Alan Curtis, the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, New York's Spiritus Collective, the Renaissance ensemble Ciaramella, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, and the King's Noyse. Esfahani has appeared at such leading American series as New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Berkeley Early Music Festival as well as such European venues as Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, the Fondazione Cini of Venice, the Montisi Festival, the Festwoche Hannover, and the Goettingen and Halle Handel festivals. He most recently concluded a residency as a soloist and chamber musician at Canada's Banff Centre for the Arts and was granted the 2007 scholarship of the Fondazione Marco Fodella in Milan. Mahan studied Musicology and Theory as a President's Scholar at Stanford University (BA with Honors and Distinction, 2005), where he wrote his thesis on aesthetics in early 19th-century Italian opera seria. It was at this time that his interests were principally directed toward the fields of performance practice and the history of theory, studies in which he pursued under the supervision of Adam Gilbert and privately with the eminent American scholar George Houle. He has recently entered into an agreement with the Musica Omnia label to record the complete works for harpsichord, virginals, and organ by the English composer John Bull (1562-1628), the "Liszt of the Virginalists," in collaboration with Australian harpsichordist Peter Watchorn, under whose supervision he has received his most thorough training as a performer; the first disc of this project is due to be released in late 2007. He has also recorded as an organist for the Naxos label.

Grant Herreid performs frequently on early reeds, brass, strings and voice with Hesperus, Piffaro, and My Lord Chamberlain's Consort, and plays theorbo and lute with ARTEK and New York City Opera. He teaches at Mannes College of Music in New York, and directs the New York Continuo Collective. He recently worked as stage director for the Accademia d'Amore baroque opera workshop with Stephen Stubbs, and he played theorbo for the Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Monteverdi's Ritorno d'Ulisse, and Aspen Music Festival's production of Cavalli's Eliogabalo, both conducted by Jane Glover. He has created and directed several theatrical early music shows, and he devotes much of his time to exploring the esoteric unwritten traditions of medieval and Renaissance music with the group Ex Umbris.