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 Wildcat
Viols was formed in 2003, bringing together three of the San
Francisco Bay Area's favorite early string specialists, Joanna Blendulf,
Julie Jeffrey and Elisabeth Reed. Praised for their musical rapport
and the shared enjoyment that radiates from their performances,
they have been hailed as "refreshing", "sensuous",
"gutsy", and "splendid", "incredible artists",
"breathtaking ensemble." Early Music America magazine
called their debut concert at the 2004 Berkeley Early Music Festival
a "wonderful offering ... beautifully played." They have
recently made their first recording, of music by Purcell, Locke
and Hingeston, soon to be released on the Magnatune label.
Joanna Blendulf,
Treble Viol
Joanna Blendulf,
has performed as soloist and continuo player in leading period-instrument
ensembles throughout the United States. Ms. Blendulf holds performance
degrees with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana
University, where she studied with Stanley Ritchie, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi
and Alan Harris. In 1998, she was awarded the prestigious Performer's
Certificate for her accomplishments in historical performance from
Indiana University. Ms. Blendulf is currently performing with the
Portland and Indianapolis Baroque Orchestras and is also an active
chamber musician, touring with American Baroque, the Catacoustic
Consort, Ensemble Mirable, Reconstruction, the Streicher Trio and
Wildcat Viols. Ms. Blendulf teaches viola da gamba and baroque cello
and has directed the Collegium Musicum at the University of Oregon.
Her summer engagements have included solo and chamber performances
at the Bloomington, Boston, Berkeley Early Music Festivals, the
Aspen Music Festival, Carmel Bach Festival and Oregon Bach Festival.
Julie Jeffrey,
Tenor Viol
Julie Jeffrey began
her career in early music performance while pursuing graduate studies
in Musicology at the University of Chicago. Now based in the San
Francisco Bay Area, she freelances locally and abroad, appearing
with such ensembles as Magnificat Baroque and American Bach Soloists,
the Newberry Consort, the Catacoustic Consort, Scaramella, the Terra
Nova Consort. She has performed at the Carmel Bach Festival, the
California Shakespeare Festival, the San Francisco Early Music Festival,
the Regensburg Tage Alter Musik, the Melbourne Autumn Music Festival,
and the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Ms. Jeffrey is a member of Sex Chordae Consort of Viols, is the
founder and creative mastermind of the acclaimed trio Wildcat Viols,
is half of the viol duo Hallifax & Jeffrey, and co-director
of Barefoot Chamber Concerts. Devoted to promoting all aspects of
interest in her instrument, Ms. Jeffrey is a frequent instructor
at early music workshops across the country, is a co-founder and
active member of the Viola da Gamba Society, Pacifica Chapter, and
currently serves on the board of directors of the Viola da Gamba
Society of America.
 Annalisa
Pappano, Bass Viol
Annalisa Pappano
studied at Indiana University’s Early Music Institute
and at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Her playing has been described
by critics as “mercurial and enchanting” and “with
a sound that is lighter than air with the airy luster of gilding
on the mirrors of a rococo drawing room.” She has performed
throughout Belgium, England, and the U.S. and has appeared on nationally
syndicated radio. Pappano is a member of Baroque Northwest, the
Oberlin Consort of Viols, Atalante, and Les Plaisirs Durables,
and has performed with numerous other ensembles including the Houston
Grand Opera, the Cleveland Opera, the Portland Opera, the Portland
Baroque Orchestra, Opera Atelier (Toronto), American Opera Theater,
the Concord Ensemble, Cappella Artemisia (Bologna), Consortium Carissimi,
La Donna Musicale, Mélomanie, and Bella Voce. She has taught
at Viola da Gamba Society of America national conclaves, the Viola
da Gamba Society Pacific Northwest and Northeast chapters, the San
Diego Early Music Workshop, ViolsWest, the Madison Early Music Workshop,
and has been a guest lecturer at numerous universities. Pappano
led the Catacoustic Consortt to win the grand prize in the Naxos
/ Early Music America Live Recording Competition and recorded a
program of Italian laments on the Naxos label. Pappano teaches viola
da gamba at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of
Music.
Elisabeth Reed,
Bass Viol
Elisabeth Reed
was born and raised in Chapel Hill, NC and now lives in Oakland,
CA. She teaches viola da gamba, baroque cello, and ensembles at
the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the University of California
at Berkeley and at Mills College. She performs with many local and
national early music ensembles including the Seattle Baroque Orchestra,
American Bach Soloists, the Novello String Quartet, Wildcat Viols,
and the improvisational group, MOTOR. A graduate of the North Carolina
School of the Arts, the Oberlin Conservatory, the Eastman School
of Music, and Indiana University's Early Music Institute, Ms. Reed
can be heard on the Virgin Classics and Focus recording labels.
She is a Guild certified practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method
of Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration with a
particular interest in the issues facing musicians and performers.
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