Consortium Carissimi was conceived of by Garrick Comeaux, Artistic Director, in 1996 while living in Rome, Italy. In 2007, Consortium Carissimi organized as an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This Minnesota-based performing ensemble has the mission of uncovering and bringing to 21st century audiences the long-forgotten Italian baroque music of the 16th and 17th centuries. It does so through live concerts, master classes, recordings and publications. Consortium Carissimi bears the name of the famous composer whose music was known for its simple, fresh approach to text, melody and accompaniment.
Much of the music that Consortium Carissimi performs has not been heard since it was first created in the 16th or 17th century—and it is only through the transcriptions of these original documents that this music may be heard today. The unique strength that Consortium Carissimi possesses is that it has in its library over 200 transcriptions of these long-forgotten works. Currently, there are no other organizations in the United States that have transcriptions such as these. As a result of this uniqueness, Consortium Carissimi contributes to the cultural vitality of the Minnesota community in four key and distinct ways:
- Performances: the ensemble of mixed voices and instruments performs at least three concerts annually of repertoire from the Italian-Roman sacred and secular music of the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Educational programs: Consortium Carissimi conducts master classes with educational institutions located in Minnesota and Tri-State area. Master classes include intense studies of vocal and instrumental practices of 16th and 17th century Rome.
- Manuscript transcription and publication: Consortium Carissimi is the only organization in the United States that has in its library transcriptions of over 200 manuscripts of this time period, including the complete works of Giacomo Carissimi.
- Recordings: Consortium Carissimi intends to extend public access to and knowledge of this musical tradition through digital recordings.
Founder & Artistic Director
Consortium Ensemble
Garrick Comeaux, Artistic Director
Garrick returned to the United States in 2005 after 25 years of life in Italy and Germany, with extensive experience in early music, both as a singer and as a conductor. Following his musical formation at an early age in piano studies, bass viola and cello, as well as private voice lessons, Garrick attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota where he sang under the direction of Paul J. Christensen. He then dedicated his energies in vocal studies at Indiana University Music School in Bloomington.
Garrick moved to Rome, Italy in 1981 where his studies in voice continued at the Music Conservatories of Santa Cecilia in Rome and F. Morlacchi in Perugia, Italy. He soon took residence in Munich Germany in 1986, continuing vocal studies and performing as a member of the Bayerischer Rundfunk Konzertchor – Munich, Germany and also sang in concerts and recordings conducted by directors such as Sawalish, Solti, Maazel, Sinopoli, Barenboim and Bernstein. His keen interest in early baroque music began in the years spent in Germany, performing various works and oratories of Schütz, Buxtehude, Bach, Carissimi, Monteverdi and Purcell.
Garrick has worked extensively over the years with various early music groups, predominately in Italy but throughout the European continent. He has collaborated with ensembles and directors such as the Coro della Radiotelevisione Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland, Diego Fasolis; L’Homme Armè, Fabio Lombardo and Andrew Lawrence King; Capella Ducale in Venetia, Livio Picotti; De Labytintho W. Testolin. In 1996, he founded the original Consortium Carissimi in Rome, Italy, with the aim of presenting – above all – the sacred and secular music of early Roman Baroque.
In addition to performing the works of Giacomo Carissimi, the Minnesota based ensemble also performs pieces by his contemporaries that, either because of similarity of style or because of their freshness and inventiveness, have often been mistaken for music by Carissimi, thus providing a clearer picture of the extraordinary effervescence that existed in the music world during the early Baroque period in Rome.
The Italian Baroque Meets the Irish Harp - Ensemble
Sara Thompson plays modern double bass, Baroque bass, and G violone. She studied at CSU with Dave Potter of the Denver Symphony before transferring to The Juilliard School where she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music as a student of Homer Mensch. For two years she was an Ear Training teaching fellow at Juilliard under Rebecca Scott. Further studies as a D.M.A student at Stony Brook University afforded her the remarkable opportunity to study with legendary chamber musician and bassist Julius Levine. Early music studies include classes and ensembles with Arthur Haas of Stony Brook, the Bach Ensemble Academy for Early Music in Italy, and lessons with bassist Michael Willens. Sara enjoys playing a wide variety of music and currently performs with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra, the Bach Society of Minnesota, and Consortium Carissimi. For five years she served on the Lyra Board of Directors. She has been on the faculty of The School for Strings, Hebrew Arts School, Juilliard Pre-College, and the MacPhail Center for Music.
Paul Berget received his B.F.A. degree from the University of Minnesota in 1972. After graduation, he continued his studies with the legendary Diana Poulton at the Royal College of Music in London, where he also studied with acclaimed lutenist Nigel North. In 1973, he appeared on Broadway in a musical production of Cyrano starring Christopher Plummer. In addition to playing early music, he has also performed in a variety of other musical styles: modern classical and steel string guitar, and world music. Recently he has been performing as the lutenist in the internationally acclaimed ensemble Minstrelsy!, a group that records on the Lyra Chord label. Other early music collaborations include the Rose Ensemble, Ensemble Polaris, the Minnesota Lute Quartet (MiLQ), and performances with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Bruce Jacobs, continuo organ and harpsichord, is heard frequently in the Twin Cities, having performed with the Waltham Abbey Singers, Ensemble Polaris, Bach Society of Minnesota, University of Minnesota ensembles, Lyra Baroque Orchestra, Elm Ensemble, Hymnus, Rose Ensemble, Consortium Carissimi, the National Lutheran Choir and the Fargo Moorhead Symphony. He was a founding member of Banchetto Musicale, the leading baroque ensemble in Fargo-Moorhead. Jacobs studied pipe organ performance with Ruth Berge at Concordia College in Moorhead and continuo through the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute. He is Chief Technologist at Twin Cities Public Television.
Soprano Sophie Caplin, originally from Charlottesville, VA, obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Music/French from Duke University in 2018. She has performed as Oberto in Alcina with Chicago Summer Opera. Previous roles with UNCG Opera Theatre include Jenny Slade (Roman Fever), Dr. Blind (Die Fledermaus), Le Cercatrice (Suor Angelica) and La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi). An avid chamber musician, Sophie has studied at CCM Baroque Collective, Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, as well as Haymarket Opera Company. She won the Canadian Sinfonietta Young Artist Competition in Spring 2019 and was a finalist in the inaugural Camille Coloratura Awards in Fall of 2019.
Dan is a Minneapolis-based pianist, singer, and composer. He holds a Master’s degree in Piano Performance from Minnesota State University-Mankato. He now serves as a collaborative pianist accompanying voice students at MSU-Mankato and Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, MN. He has played piano for Kantorei (New Brighton, MN) and organ for Mount Olivet Home (Minneapolis). He is a section leader in the choir of St Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral (Minneapolis) and sings in the Minnesota Renaissance Choir. He enjoys singing early music, playing 20th-century piano music, and composing baroque-style counterpoint. He has sung with MPLS/imPulse, Gregorian Singers, Apollo Master Chorale, Popup Choir, the Cathedral of St. Paul Choir (St. Paul, MN), and the St. Clement’s Episcopal Church Choir (St. Paul).
Since moving to the United States from his native Ireland in 2004, Conor has built an eclectic professional portfolio that covers almost every facet of the music business. As a violinist, he has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and is a core member of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. He has performed on three continents, including a tour of South Korea with the World Symphony Orchestra. Conor has recorded extensively for television and radio, performed in Broadway shows, and collaborated with artists in many diverse genres including hip-hop, rock, and pop. As a baroque violinist, he has performed with Christ Church Baroque (now Irish Baroque Orchestra), Lyra Baroque Orchestra, the Bach Society of MN, Mirandola Ensemble, and Oratory Bach Ensemble. Conor has been a faculty member and/or guest clinician at Luther College, Bemidji State University, Gustavus Adolphus College, Shattuck St. Mary’s pre-conservatory program, MacPhail Center for Music, and many other schools and programs in the Midwest. His entrepreneurial spirit and passion for working with people complement his work as performer and teacher. He is artistic director of the Loring String Quartet, and music contractor and consultant for many local and national music organizations.
Baroque and modern cellist and violist da gamba, Maryne Mossey, is an active performer and teacher of cello and gamba in the Twin Cities. She has performed regularly at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall and Merkin Concert Hall in New York, to the Baroque Room and Sundin Music Hall in Minnesota, with such ensembles as Ensemble 212, the New York Youth Symphony, and the Nova Philharmonic. Her most recent performances have been with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Lyra Baroque Orchestra, and La Grande Bande, as well as other collaborative early music projects around the upper midwest. Maryne was selected as violist da gamba for the 2019 American Bach Soloists Academy. She has also performed at workshops for the Amherst Early Music Festival and International Baroque Institute at Longy. Maryne’s teachers have included cellists Jerome Carrington (Juilliard Pre-College), Clive Greensmith (Tokyo String Quartet), and Marcy Rosen (Queens College). She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Queens College and a Masters from the University of Minnesota. Maryne resides in St. Paul with her two Italian greyhounds.
Jonathon is a freelance composer in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His musical style seeks to combine lyricism, evocative imagery, and intense emotional contrasts, yet maintains clarity in form and function at their deepest levels. He recently received his Masters in Music Composition from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he studied with Stephen Dembski and Laura Schwendinger. His orchestral work, Fili di Perle received 3rd Prize in the Karol Szymanowski International Composers Competition in Katowice, Poland and was premiered in March 2016. Other recent large ensemble works include An Isthmus Aubade and Concerto Grosso No. 1 for strings, percussion, and piano, commissioned and premiered by the Madison Area Youth Orchestra and Clocks in Motion in June 2015. Among his awards are 2011 BMI Student Composer Award for Five Studies for Piano: Two Pencils and a Hymnbook and an award for sound design from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for his incidental music for The Glass Menagerie. Jonathan is an active member of the Twin Cities choral community and has sung with VocalEssence Chorus, Kantorei, and impulse (MPLS). Several of his choral works have received premieres by these ensembles, including two composed for VocalEssence as part of their ReMix program, designed for emerging composers of choral music, which were premiered at the ACDA National Festival in March 2017 and at Minnesota’s ACDA Festival in November 2017.
Kathy Lee is a performer of many styles, but is most known for her work with The Rose Ensemble for nearly 20 years. She has appeared as a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Lyra Concert, Consortium Carissimi, Virgin Ground, the Gregorian Singers, the Early Music Ensemble of St. Paul, and the St. Paul Early Music Series. In recent years she has performed with Border CrosSing. She has also toured extensively throughout North America and Europe singing music from Buxtehude to Britten. Kathy is a founding member of the a cappella ensemble Dare to Breathe, with whom she performed several U.S. tours. Look for Kathy’s upcoming solo concert, “Winter in a New World.” Kathy has been on the staff of the St. Paul Conservatory of Music since 2008, where she teaches private lessons, leads a small children’s choir, and teaches beginning music theory to children aged 5 to 12. Kathy has a passion for inspiring young musicians, and encouraging musical literacy in children of all ages. As a licensed social worker in addition to a music educator, her teaching is informed by an understanding of children and their needs. She is a wise and nurturing teacher, and believes that all good learning happens in the context of a trusting relationship.
Nicholas Landrum (he/him) creates beautiful music for complicated people. He is a classical post-minimalist composer, bass-baritone vocalist, electronic producer, multi-instrumental performer, and educator born in Philadelphia, and currently residing in Minneapolis. Nicholas has an affinity for the extremes. Inspired by dualities, finding solace in both science and religion, the organic and the unnatural, absolute art and intense narrative works. Nicholas has always been an extrovert, in love with the art of communication, with a deep need for human connection through art and everyday life. Much of his work focuses on influences from the profound, the use of generative mathematics, analog synthesis, and his first love, the human voice. In addition to his compositional career, and in the spirit of exploring dualities, Nicholas is both an avid church musician and pop artist, releasing the latter under the moniker “my idle little fingers”. In any given week, you can find him performing a basement show, an evensong, or lecturing at the Minnesota Orchestra.
Maxwell Trochlil earned his Bachelor of Music in vocal music education from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and a Master of Sacred Music in voice from the University of Notre Dame. He has dazzled audiences with solo performances in both opera and concert repertoire. Notable roles include Nero in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Miles in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up, and the disciple Simon in the world premiere of René Clausen’s The Passion of Jesus Christ. As a young artist, Trochlil sang as a member of the US Voces8 Scholars program. During his free time, Trochlil enjoys walks, going to the movie theater, and cheering on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Megan Crosby has been singing in choirs forever—since kindergarten. She graduated from Luther College in Decorah, IA. She is the cantor, organist, and choir director at Christ the King Lutheran Church in New Brighton. She helps lead chapel at Luther Seminary and rounds out her time as an accompanist at Irondale High School. When not making music, Megan loves to read to her daughter and cook.
Jessi McKinnon is a mezzo-soprano recognized for her expressive tone, stylistic versatility, and collaborative artistry. She performs regularly with a variety of professional ensembles, and serves as a section leader at Wayzata Community Church. A sought-after soloist and ensemble singer, she is known for bringing depth, warmth, and precision to repertoire spanning early music to contemporary works. In addition to her performing career, Jessi is a voice adjudicator and has worked with high school choral students throughout Minnesota and Massachusetts, fostering artistry and confidence in the next generation of singers.
Chad has been passionately involved in traditional music since he was a child. He holds a BA in Music, did graduate work in ethno-musicology, studied with master harper Ann Heymann and won the SHSA National Scottish Harp championship in 2009. In 2011, the American Composers Forum invited Chad to take part in the launch of their new Composer Teaching Artist training program. In 2010, he received an Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to record. Chad brings his joy of teaching and experience as performer, parent, and composer to his work at the CIM.
Mary Vanorny is a native Minnesotan with a background in Environmental Education and early childhood development. Before turning to a music career, she was the Museum Naturalist at the Minnesota Children’s Museum in St. Paul, and worked on an exhibit and programming team, as well as doing daily live animal programs with turtles, frogs, and snakes! Mary grew up playing both classical and fiddle music and continues to enjoy finding new ways to explore her instrument. She studied Irish music with esteemed New York fiddler Brian Conway, learned to Irish dance with Rince na Chroi, and joined the Center for Irish Music staff in 2015, teaching fiddle and ensemble, as well as Minnesota Irish Music Weekend Teen and Trad Immersion camps for the past several years. Mary is also a trained Suzuki violin teacher and has developed an approach to learning Irish music that mirrors the method while putting a special emphasis on fiddling skills. One of her favorite things to do is help others learn to play music by ear–something that the Suzuki method and Irish music have in common.