Meet Theresia: three new players join our Ambassadorship Programme

By Emilia Campagna - August 26, 2024

Each year around this time, Theresia Orchestra experiences a meaningful transition as three ambassadors complete their term and three new ones step into the role, becoming the key players in our Ambassadorship Programme. We're excited to introduce our new ambassadors: percussionist Jarick Bruinsma, violist Hannah Gardiner, and violinist Anna Freer.
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Every year at this time, Theresia Orchestra sees a special transition as new ambassadors join its Ambassadorship Programme. This year, percussionist Jarick Bruinsma, violist Hannah Gardiner, and violinist Anna Freer step into this important role, continuing Theresia’s mission to promote Historically Informed Performance (HIP) and classical music across Europe. Let’s get to know them, explore their backgrounds, and discover what they hope to achieve during their ambassadorship.

Where are you from and where do you currently live?

Anna Freer: I’m from Australia, and I currently live in Zürich, Switzerland!

Hannah Gardiner: I’m from London, which is also where I live.

Jarick Bruinsma: I am from Hoogeveen, a city 60 km south of the city of Groningen in the north of The Netherlands, where I have been living since 2015.

How long have you been a member of Theresia?

Anna Freer: Only since January!

Hannah Gardiner: For about a year.

Jarick Bruinsma: Technically speaking, I am not a member of Theresia, but I have been invited to join two of Theresia’s projects this year. As far as I know, these are the only projects that include percussion this season, which means I will be part of all the projects involving percussion.

The first and latest Theresia project you participated in were…

Anna Freer: I’ve done one Theresia residency thus far – the Seven Last Words project with Alfredo Bernardini in March.

Hannah Gardiner: My first project was the Rossini opera in October. My most recent project was the Beethoven transcriptions in Geneva this July.

Jarick Bruinsma: The only project I participated in so far was Haydn’s Seven last words in March 2024.

Why did you want to become an Ambassador for Theresia?

Anna Freer: I thought it would be a good opportunity to develop my skills further in developing projects, with the support of the Theresia and European Commission’s network, as well as a chance to promote Classical and HIP music to audiences in new ways.

Hannah Gardiner: Because I am very committed to working with young people and increasing engagement with classical music.

Jarick Bruinsma: I offered to become an ambassador because I have been quite active as an organiser and facilitator of projects for a while already, so it seemed right up my ally. I also noticed the necessity of fulfilling the different-nationalities factor of the project, and the pool of not-yet-used nationalities looked slim, there had not been a Dutch ambassador yet, so I could fill that gap nicely.

What would you like to work on during your ambassadorship?

Anna Freer: I would like to work on community building and singing together, as well as singing and playing instruments at the same time, two historical practices that have sadly been lost!

Hannah Gardiner: I would like to explore the potential benefits of music making and creativity on mental health in teenagers.

Jarick Bruinsma: Mainly I want to address that music, just like many other things, can be a vessel to spread unity and understanding amongst humans from different backgrounds and with different beliefs and values. All by touching audiences and get them to reflect on whatever it is that could make them a better understanding and accepting human being.

The main objective of the Theresia Ambassadorship Programme is to introduce new audiences, especially young people, to the world of classical music and to the practice of Historically Informed Performance (HIP). Every years, three young musicians from nine different European countries embody and transmit the core values of classical music and its importance in their countries of origin.

Find out more on the official page!

Let’s celebrate: Spanish Villancicos in Christmastime

By Javier Sanchez Castillo - December 23, 2023

Theresia's Ambassador Javier Sanchez Castillo explores Villancicos - traditional Spanish songs for Christmastime.
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During this time of the year, which is Christmas, music resonates everywhere, especially in Spain. Every household is filled with music, as families sing traditional Christmas songs known as “Villancicos.”

The “Villancico” represents a musical and lyrical expression in Spanish and Portuguese, rooted in the traditions of this two countries, especially during the 15th to 18th centuries. Initially, “villancicos” were secular compositions with a refrain, originating from popular sources and performed with multiple voices. Over time, they became incorporated into ecclesiastical liturgies and gained, more and more, a particular association with the celebration of Christmas.

Typically composed of octosyllabic or hexasyllabic verses, carols follow the following structure:

a) Refrain of two or four verses, announcing the theme.

b)”Mudanza’’ (which literally means to move), consisting of a stanza (or several), often a “redondilla”, metric combination of four eight-syllable verses in which the first and fourth, as well as the third and second verses, harmonize.

c) Return or link: a linking verse and one or two verses that repeat the refrain either wholly or partially.

“Villancicos” were also introduced to the American colonies from Hispanic repertoires and adapted popular songs with religious terms. Initially influenced by Spanish religious styles of the 15th century, they merged with local festivities, incorporating elements from indigenous cultures and languages such as “Náhuatl” or African terms. Additionally, indigenous people performed these carols.

Initially rooted in popular culture, this genre underwent a transformation as it was refined by erudite writers and musicians.

Examples of Villancicos

These “villancicos” encompass multiple songs, both old and new. Some of them have significantly more age, while others are like small museum treasures.

Here, you can listen to a selection of my favorites.

Falalalanlera, Bartomeu Cáceres (1546)

“Villancico” from Cancionero de Gandía, Niño dios d’amor querido, Francisco Guerrero (1589)

Manuscript found in the musical archive of Bogotá, Hoy nace una clara estrella. Anonymus (XVII)

Pastores venid. (Popular “Villancico’’ nowadays)

Influencia Navideña.

Currently, within Spanish-speaking countries, the term “villancico” encompasses a broad and diverse range of popular musical compositions with varied origins, eras, and styles.

In the 18th century, a period during which the “villancico” was still sung in religious celebrations, its use gradually became limited to Christmas festivities. This evolution led to the “villancico” being firmly associated in popular memory as a specific musical genre of Christmas, and its designation extended more generally to refer to any song with a Christmas theme.

Each “villancico”, through its lyrics, represents a different celebration. These lyrics are specific to the 24th and 25th of December, aligning with the birth of Jesus Christ, as well as the arrival of the Three Kings on the night of January 4th to 5th. Hence, we can continue to hear music overflowing from the balconies and windows of Spanish families until early January.

Ambassadorship Program part two:
meet the new Ambassadors of Theresia

By Emilia Campagna - July 5, 2023

Laurène Patard, French violinist, Ciara Sudlow, Irish/Australian violinist and violist and Javier Sanchez Castillo, Spanish bassoonist, are the musicians that will represent Theresia as part of the Ambassadorship Program.
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Theresia has three new Ambassadors!

Laurène Patard, French violinist, Ciara Sudlow, Irish/Australian violinist and violist, and Javier Sanchez Castillo, Spanish bassoonist, are the new flag bearers who will have the honour of representing Theresia in their home countries as part of the Ambassadorship Program.

What is the Ambassadorship program?

The Ambassadorship program was launched in 2022 as part of the EU-funded project EMPOWER. At the core of the project is the idea that music needs people who study and play it, but also people who can disseminate, communicate and promote music. And not necessarily they have to be different groups of people, like professional musicians on one and communication professionals on the other hand. Actually, gaining soft skills in the field of communication can empower young musicians and help them build solid careers. This is at the heart of The Ambassadorship program of which trying to engage new audiences – especially young people – is an important part. To do so, over the course of three years, a total of nine young musicians, representing nine different European countries, are asked be Ambassadors and Ambassadresses, embodying and conveying the core values of classical music and its importance for their countries. A heartfelt THANK YOU to our first three Ambassadress – Anna Krzyżak, Irina Fârtat and Lena Ruisz – who have completed their tasks. Now, it is the turn of three new Theresians to champion hip-music.

Let’s meet the new ambassadors

We have already met Laurène Patard-Moreau, French violinist who studied in Toulouse and moved to Canada in 2019 for a Bachelor in Modern Violin. Now focusing on HIP, Laurène currently lives in Amsterdam and she is passionate and curios about many things, as she told us in her interview.

Laurène Patard-Moreau

Ciara Sudlow, Irish/Australian violinist and violist, is studying a masters in historical violin and viola at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam who has a Bachelor of Music Honours (First Class) in Baroque Violin performance from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. She came to historical performance practice from a background in playing traditional Irish music. We are looking forward to knowing more about her and see her at work as an Ambassadress!

Ciara Sudlow

Last but certainly not least, we’d like to introduce you to Javier Sanchez Castillo, the very first wind player and male to be Ambassador for Theresia. He defines himself as an “enthusiastic musician who loves baroque music. Since I was 12 years old, I was sure that I wanted to achieve a life dedicated to music, particularly in early music. I am currently finishing my studies for a master’s degree in modern bassoon, combined with a minor in baroque and classical bassoon.”

Javier Sanchez Castillo

Ambassadors at work

Our ambassadors’ journey began with an intensive multi-day workshop in which communication experts of the wider Theresia team at Fondazione ICONS showed them how to use key communication tools, such as social media, blogs, filmed videos, and graphic design to promote their activities. In the coming months, they will be busy implementing communication strategies to develop, and promote HIP projects that mainly targeted at young audiences in their home country. Parts of their journeys will be published on the blog and we look forward to featuring these new voices. Follow us for more updates!