Friday at the Harvest of Music

The Continuum Consort was formed in 1998 by Elizabeth MacIsaac and Douglas Hensley as an outlet for their collective interest in a wide span of art music for voice and plucked string instruments. Although their repertoire spans a wide range of history from the 15th to 21st centuries, the Consort is also passionate about commissioning and performing new works for this combination of instruments. To this end, they have received numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the BC Arts Council. Their activities as an early music ensemble have included a tour of Vancouver Island schools with a programme of music from the time of Leonardo da Vinci, an Elizabethan Masque in affiliation with the Shakespeare Festival of Victoria, appearances with the Victoria Symphony's Festival Baroque Ensemble, a programme for the University of Victoria Medieval Studies that resulted in a live CD recording, Pleasure, Pomp and Power, and various other programmes and benefit concerts throughout Vancouver Island and the Pacific Northwest. They have also produced a CD recording of lute songs entitled Si je languis. In 2004, the Consort gave premieres of six works written for the quartet of soprano, flute, viola and guitar by members of Delos, a group of Korean women composers. This was followed by a performance of new Korean and Canadian works in Seoul at the prestigious PAN Music Festival in 2006. In June 2007, they toured South Korea in recital, performing works by Canadian women composers and members of Delos. In addition to soprano Elizabeth MacIsaac and guitarist/lutenist Douglas Hensley, the Consort expanded with the addition of flutist Emily Nagelbach in 2007 for the second tour of Korea.

Elizabeth MacIsaac, soprano

Elizabeth MacIsaac enjoys a reputation in her own country and abroad as an artist of great expressive range and technical accomplishment. Her reputation is very much centred around her performances of early music but in the past several years has expanded her vocal interests to include music from 18th to early 21st century. A strong interest in contemporary music has led to premieres of works by international composers such as David Loeb, Nicolai Sani and Canadians John Abram and Nicolas Fairbank.

Ms. MacIsaac lived and performed throughout Europe from 1990 to 1996, sustaining a busy schedule as a touring artist. Among other engagements, Ms. MacIsaac performed extensively with the French early music ensemble Musicantique. In 1994, she travelled to Dublin as featured guest artist for an international conference of Passionist Monks, performing "A Musician's Tour of 17th Century Italy".

Since relocating to Victoria in 1996 Elizabeth MacIsaac has continued her active and varied career as a performer. Ms. MacIsaac is the founder of the Victoria based women's medieval vocal group "Ensemble Laude", which recorded its first CD in 2002. In the West, she has performed on several occasions with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, The Victoria Symphony, the St Cecilia Orchestra, CappriCCio Vocal Ensemble and the Burney Ensemble. As well she has appeared with the Palm Court Orchestra, and the Whitehorse Community Choir.

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Emily Nagelbach, flute

Emily Nagelbach is second flute/piccolo with the Vancouver Island Symphony and is on faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Emily is also a member of Pedagogy Committee of the National Flute Association and Artistic Director of the Summer Music Discovery Camp at the VCM for children ages 7-12. As a freelance musician, she has performed with many orchestras, including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Victoria Symphony Orchestra. Emily holds an AVCM from the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), a B.Mus. in Performance and Theory from Wilfrid Laurier University and a M.Mus. in Performance from the University of British Columbia, studying with Amy Hamilton, Lorna McGhee and Camille Churchfield. Prior to entering university, Emily studied for many years with her friend and mentor, Mary Byrne.

As a soloist and chamber musician, she has won numerous competitions, including the Vancouver Friends of Chamber Music Competition and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition. Emily has been broadcast on CBC Radio as guest principal flute with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra and has recorded for the Canadian Music Centre with the WLU Flute Ensemble and UBC Symphony Orchestra to critical acclaim. She is a member of the Continuum Consort, with whom she toured South Korea in recital in June 2007. Emily teaches flute, piccolo and theory to students of all ages and levels as well as piano and fife for young beginners.

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Douglas Hensley, Guitar and Lute

Douglas Hensley received degrees in guitar performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In California, he founded and directed such chamber ensembles as Drifting Leaves (flute, viola, guitar) and the Lennon-Stravinsky Quartet (soprano, flute, harp, guitar). He also made guest appearances with Composers, Inc., Earplay and the Oakland Chamber Symphony, as well as the Symphony Orchestras of San Francisco, Berkeley and Marin. He co-founded and co-directed the contemporary music ensemble ISKRA with conductor Kent Nagano, recording Frank Martin's Poemes de la mort.

Since moving to Victoria, he has been very active in the performance of early music on period instruments and has performed with Anima, Ensemble Laude and Les Violes de Ste Colombe. As a guitarist, he has appeared numerous times with the Victoria Symphony and soloed with the Civic Orchestra of Victoria. Mr. Hensley has commissioned and premiered over 50 works by composers from many different countries and he has recorded a wide variety of pieces on various instruments. He is on the faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where he teaches guitar and lute. He also plays and teaches the classical Persian instruments tar, setar, santur, and oud, which he studied in California and Paris.