European classical trio featured this Sunday

For the Seeley Swan Pathfinder

2 Valleys Stage is presenting a "once-in-a-lifetime" concert of classical and unusual music from a European ensemble - The Valencia Baryton Project - on Sunday, Jan. 8.

The Valencia Baryton Project is a string trio formed by colleagues from the opera orchestras of Valencia, Spain and Montpellier, France. Their vision is to perform not only the nearly 160 works written by Franz Joseph Haydn for the baryton but also to rekindle the repertoire for this forgotten instrument through commissions of modern works. The concert will be in the lobby of the Citizens Alliance Bank in Seeley Lake, a location which will offer an intimate opportunity to enjoy acoustic music. The bank is hosting a reception to follow the concert.

At the heart of the ensemble is the traditional baryton trio - baryton, viola, and violoncello - for which Haydn wrote 123 works during his time as the court composer for the Prince Esterhazy of Austria. Their music has been described as "delightfully inventive" and winner of All Music's Best Classical CD's of 2021.

With Matthew Baker, one of only a handful baryton performers in the world, the Valencia Baryton Project have played for audiences in North, Central and South America as well as Europe with what is considered to have been the pinnacle of aristocratic instruments of the classical era. Their recent release with Naxos Records achieved the top 20 charts of Gramophone and top 20 sales of Amazon and they have been featured in publications and programs such as Berklee Now (USA), Ritmo (Spain), RTVE (Ireland), BBC 3 (UK), and Classic FM (UK) amongst others.

Tickets are available at the door ($14 for adults, $12 for seniors, students free).