Ars Lyrica Houston’s Impact

Ars Lyrica goes beyond the concert hall to bring audiences the highest-quality artistry and most exciting performances possible. To cultivate Baroque music in Houston, Ars Lyrica commissioned two instruments to be housed locally: a Baroque guitar and a theorbo. Without the hassle of transporting these instruments by plane, these commissions ensure that the historical practices of the Baroque are honored in performances. Historically accurate guitars add an exquisite, unique quality to the orchestra’s sound.

In partnerships with hospitals throughout the Texas Medical Center, Ars Lyrica brings healing, joy, and reflection to patients, families, and staff. Artistic Director Matthew Dirst has shaped the Houston Baroque music community and led Ars Lyrica to the world stage with a Grammy nomination.

 

Instrument Commission

Ars Lyrica is dedicated to the performance of early music on authentic instruments. However, the logistics of traveling with some of the largest and most delicate of these can be a prohibitive challenge. With the generous support of several donors, luthier Mel Wong of Blackbird String Arts built a Baroque guitar and a theorbo for the organization to ensure that our world-class plucked instrumentalists would be able to perform here in Houston. 

The Ars Lyrica Baroque guitar is based on guitars made by the famous violin maker Antonio Stradivarius. The Stradivarius guitars were a radical departure from the ornate and exotic French-style instruments of the elite. They were made with the same materials as his violins: alpine spruce for the soundboard and maple for the body and neck. The beauty of Stradivari guitars lies in their simplicity and elegance of design.

The Ars Lyrica theorbo is based on an extant instrument housed in the Royal College of Music in London.  The label on the original instrument reads “Magno Diefopruchar 1608 a Venetia.” This four-hundred-year-old design was common in Venice and its surrounding regions: our theorbo has a long neck and a pear-shaped body with six bass strings on its extended neck and eight higher strings that can be fretted.

Thank you to our generous Baroque Guitar and Theorbo Commission underwriters: John Lemen, Shelby Allen & Polly Johnson, Ed & Janet Rinehart, Jim & Nadene Crain, and Brendan & Kathryn Godfrey, and one anonymous donor.

Grammy Nomination

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In 2011, Ars Lyrica performed and recorded the world premiere of Johann Adolf Hasse's opera Marc' Antonio e Cleopatra with two of America's brightest young opera stars: Jamie Barton as Marc Anthony and Ava Pine as Cleopatra. This recording was nominated for Best Opera 2011.  Remarkably, this was Ars Lyrica's first foray into the genre of Baroque opera, which marked an auspicious beginning for their commitment to presenting operas from this period. To guarantee Baroque opera in Houston, visit our Opera Circle page.

“Dirst leads a disciplined, well-balanced performance…fluent and poised.” — Fanfare 

“…a thrilling performance that glows in its quieter moments and sparkles with vitality.” —Early Music America 

“…exquisite.” —American Record Guide

Matthew Dirst, Artistic Director

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Artistic Director Matthew Dirst was the first American to win major international prizes in both organ and harpsichord, including first prize at the American Guild of Organists Young Artist Competition in 1990 and second prize at the Warsaw International Harpsichord Competition in 1993. In addition to his work with Ars Lyrica, Matthew also serves as Associate Professor of Music at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music and organist at St. Philip Presbyterian Church. His degrees include a Ph.D in musicology from Stanford University and the prix de virtuosité in both organ and harpsichord from the Conservatoire National de Reuil-Malmaison, where he spent two years as a Fulbright scholar. Matthew cultivates an inspiring environment for making music and bringing history to life.