Week 2: July 15-22, 2012

Italian viol virtuoso Vittorio Ghielmi is a noted soloist and the director of the ensemble il Suonar Parlante, which is both a viol consort and orchestra. He is also the co-author, with Paolo Biordi, of a viol technique manual, and recently published an edition of the viola da gamba concertos of Johann Gottlieb Graun. In July, 2012, he will be touring with lutenist Luca Pianca, performing in Indianapolis and at the Amherst Early Music Festival. He will also teach master classes on technique and repertoire during the week of July 15-22. Mr. Ghilemi's classes are part of the Week 2 Central Program, therefore do not require a formal audition or additional tuition fees.

Mr. Ghielmi, who has appeared as a soloist with the likes of the London Philharmonic, Wiener Philharmoniker, and Il Giardino Armonico, and whose collaborators include luminaries as diverse as Gustav Leonhardt and Uri Caine, will perform a concert with lutenist Luca Pianca and teach viol technique and master classes during the second week of the Amherst festival in New London, CT. Ghielmi, while well known to American audiences and viol players through his recordings and the occasional American concert appearance, has never taught a workshop in the U.S. The Amherst Early Music Festival is delighted to make this eminent teacher and musician available to American students of the instrument.