Tapestry, a vocal ensemble founded in 1995 by Laurie Monahan, Cristi Catt, and Daniela Tosic, has established an international reputation for its bold conceptual programming which combines medieval and traditional repertory with contemporary compositions.

Tapestry has won numerous awards, including WQXR and Chamber Music America’s Recording of the Year and, most recently, the prestigious Echo Klassik Prize for their recording Sapphire Night.

Based in Boston, the ensemble made its concert debut in its hometown with performances of Steve Reich’s Tehillim at Jordan Hall; additional Boston appearances include the Celebrity Series, Harvard, Radcliffe, and Sanders Theater.

Other Tapestry engagements include the festivals at Utrecht, Maastricht, Flanders, Regensburg, the Hannover A Capella Woche, Le Donne in Musica Rome, Festival de Musique Sacree of Quebec, Le Domaine Forget, the Sacred Music Festival and the International Medieval Congress of Kalamazoo, as well as the Hildegard von Bingen Symposium at the University of Oregon, Da Camera of Houston series, Tucson Early Music Society, Cleveland’s Museum Concerts, New York City's Frick Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Rockefeller University, Stanford University, and many others.

Tapestry has made four recordings for Telarc International: Angeli, Celestial Light, Song of Songs, and The Fourth River. Tapestry’s fifth CD, Sapphire Night was released in January 2004 by German label MDG. Tapestry just released Faces of a Woman with MDG.

 

 

Laurie Monahan, mezzo-soprano, co-founded Ensemble Project Ars Nova (P.A.N.), a group specializing in 14th-century music that enjoyed seventeen years of national and international touring, and made a total of eight recordings on the Deutche Harmonia Mundi, New Albion, Erato and Telarc labels. She also enjoys oratorio work, and last year sang the roles of Music and the Messenger in Aston Magna’s opera production of “Orfeo” by Claudio Monteverdi. Laurie studied early music at the New England Conservatory of Music, and at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland where she studied with the Studio der Fuhrer Musik. She teaches in the Early Music Department at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and directs Longy’s Medieval Institute each summer.

Cristi Catt, soprano, has performed in concerts and theatrical productions throughout the United States and Europe. As a result of her interest in the meeting points between medieval and folk traditions, she is a co-founder of medieval/world music ensemble HourGlass, and also appears with French folk band, Le Bon Vent and Balmus. She served as music director for Boston and New York productions of Shakespearean comedies and directed an Italian tour of Hildegard Von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutem. She holds a BA in music from the University of Kansas, pursued post-graduate studies at the Mozarteum in Salzurg, Austria, and received a Master’s Degree from the Longy School of Music. She recently joined the faculty of the Longy School of Music.

Daniela Tosic,mezzo-soprano, a native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia toured with the Belgrade-based ensemble Renaissance throughout the former Yugoslavia. In the Boston area she has worked with Ensemble P.A.N., Revels, Zamir and Jubal's Lyre, and is a frequent soloist with La Donna Musicale, Balmus and The Blue Heron Renaissance Choir. She is a founding member of medieval world fusion ensemble HourGlass, whose debut CD features music of southern France and the Iberian Peninsula. She is also an active performer of contemporary music and has debuted numerous works written specifically for her. Daniela received a Master’s Degree from the Longy School of Music. She is Longy’s Medieval Institute faculy member and co-coordinator.

Guests

Contralto Elizabeth Anker’s credits include Handel and Haydn Society, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Boston Camerata, and Bach festivals in the U.S. and Europe. She is on the faculty of the Longy School of Music and New England Conservatory. Her recordings are on Erato (several discs with the Boston Camerata of early American sacred music), Titanic (Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Boston Bach Ensemble), and Musica Omnia (works of Cozzolani with Magnificat Baroque of San Francisco). She has recorded works written specifically for her by over a dozen composers.

Diana Brewer (soprano) performs regularly as a singer and baroque string player, appearing with the Arcadia Players, Boston's Handel and Haydn Society, Amor Artis Baroque Orchestra of New York and the acclaimed Renaissance choir Schola Cantorum of Boston. She is a founding member of Foundling, a Baroque orchestra and women's advocacy group based in Providence, RI. She is also a founding member of Ensemble Ecclesia, a chamber ensemble dedicated to sacred music of the 17th-century. Ms. Brewer is on the faculty of Creative Arts for Kids in Reading, MA. She holds a BA in music from Smith College and a Master of Music in early music performance from the Longy School of Music.

Carolann Buff, mezzo-soprano, is an active performer of early music, appearing in concerts at the Boston Early Music Festival, Old North Church, King's Chapel, the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Monadnock Music, and with the Boston Bach Ensemble. Carolann is a founding member of the medieval vocal trio LiberUnusualis. She has also performed with Waverly Consort, Boston Camerata, and Blue Heron Renaissance Choir. Carolann received a Master’s Degree from the Longy School of Music.

Shira Kammen (vielle, harp and voice) – A member for many years of Ensemble Alcatraz, Ensemble Project Ars Nova, and Medieval Strings, she has also worked with Sequentia, Hesperion XX, Boston Camerata, King's Noyse, Magnificat Baroque Orchestra, Teatro Bacchino, and is the founder of Class V Music, a group created to perform on rafting trips. She has performed and taught music in the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Israel, and Morocco, as well as on the Colorado and Rogue Rivers. For fifteen years Shira happily collaborated with singer/storyteller John Fleagle. Currently she works with Fortune's Wheel, a contemporary music ensemble, Ephemeros, and Trouz Bras, a group devoted to dance music of Celtic Brittany.

Takaaki Masuko, percussionist, came to Boston in 1979 after playing enough triangle for the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed and toured with a diverse group of music ensembles including Les Miserables Brass Band, and The Horse Flies – in concerts and festivals in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He has recorded with MCA, Zoning, Northeastern Telarc and Flying Fish labels. He collaborates regularly with various dance, theatre and multimedia projects, most recently with the Second Hand Dance Company. on Broadway at The Victory Theater in New York City. He is a co-founder of Sabana Blanca, a group specializing in silent film accompaniment, and of HourGlass. Taki studied at the New England Conservatory and is on the faculty of the Longy School of Music.