Music in the Pavilion: Tempesta di Mare Recital, Nelly's Songs

Step back in time to experience the music room of Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lewis, George Washington’s step-granddaughter. Hear songs and instrumental selections along with narration about her music teacher, vocal exercises, and performances for the first president's most valued guests in Philadelphia just after the end of the Revolutionary War. 

Featuring musical selections by Francis Hopkinson (“My Days have been so wondrous free”), Thomas Arne (“The Soldiers Tired”), and Giovanni Paisiello (“Nel cor piu non mi sento”), among others. Narration and concept by Julianne Baird, with performances by Sarah Fleiss, soprano, and Joyce Lindorff, harpsichord. 

The performers are appearing as part of the baroque orchestra and chamber ensemble Tempesta di Mare, and will be performing this program again on April 26 and 27 under their Artist Recital Series.

Schedule

Pre-concert talk at 6:15 by Julianne Baird, followed by the concert at 7:00 pm.

About the Performers

Julianne Baird, soprano, has been hailed as “one of the most extraordinary voices in the service of early music that this generation has produced. She possesses a natural musicianship which engenders singing of supreme expressive beauty” (New York Times). Dr. Baird is recognized nationally as one whose virtuosic vocal style is firmly rooted in scholarship, with degrees from the Eastman School and a Diploma from the Salzburg Mozarteum in performance. She also earned a PhD in music history from Stanford University. Her publications include “Introduction to the Art of Singing”, from Cambridge University Press now in its 3rd printing is used by singers and professional schools internationally. She is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey and is regularly asked to provide master classes at universities and music schools throughout North America.

Described as “bright” and “stylish” by Opera News, American soprano Sarah Fleiss is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at the Curtis Institute of Music. There she could be heard as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, the Vixen in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, and with Curtis on Tour across the US. This past summer, she travelled to the Aspen Music Festival as a Renée Fleming fellow where she sang in concert with conductor Nicholas McGegan. She has also trained at the Verbier Festival and Music Academy of the West. She is the recipient of grants from the Gerda Lissner, Opera Index, and George London Foundations. In Summer 2025 she will join the 12th cohort of Le Jardin des Voix with Les Arts Florissants under the direction of William Christie and Paul Agnew.

Joyce Lindorff is a harpsichord performer, scholar and educator with a focus on early keyboard performance practice and history. She is a Professor of Keyboard Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, and has performed to rave reviews throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. Dr. Lindorff held two Fulbright Professorships and is Honorary Professor at the Shanghai and China Conservatories. Joyce earned a DMA at Juilliard under the supervision of Barry S. Brook and Albert Fuller and holds degrees from Sarah Lawrence (BA) and University of Southern California (MM).