Viola da gamba player Patricia Halverson, baroque violinist Andrew Fouts, and theorbo and baroque guitar player Scott Pauley are the core members of the Pittsburgh-based group Chatham Baroque. The ensemble specializes in innovative programming of both well-known and lesser known baroque music and musicians, and they promote their work through a thriving concert series, acclaimed recordings, and a well-established outreach program. The three outstanding musicians appreciate the great rapport they share, and are proud of Chatham Baroque's continued growth and expansion. They chatted with Suzanne about their music and their successful business model.

Richard Egarr is an internationally renowned harpsichordist, organist, conductor and baroque music expert. Since 2006 he has been Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music, founded by Christopher Hogwood in the 1970s. Now he has signed a five-year contract to serve as music director for another prestigious early music group. Suzanne spoke with him about his exciting new gig, his extraordinary career, and a few of his guilty musical pleasures.

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine and harpsichordist Jory Vinikour are both internationally acclaimed musicians. They're also old friends. The warmth of their personal relationship is evident in their performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Violin and Harpsichord Sonatas on their 2018 CD, and it shines through in their easy, playful rapport when they spoke with Suzanne.

Harry Bicket is an acclaimed conductor whose specialty is baroque music. He is Artistic Director of The English Concert (the British period instrument ensemble) and Chief Conductor/Music Director of Santa Fe Opera, and his international conducting engagements have included performances at the Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Messiah with the New York Philharmonic. The Handel expert sat down for a conversation with Suzanne about his fondness for certain other Liverpool musicians, and how he achieved his "proper career" quite by accident.

Cellist Thomas Demenga is a renowned soloist, composer and teacher, whose own teachers and mentors include acclaimed musicians such as Leonard Rose and Mstislav Rostropovich. His repertory includes a full range of historical eras and styles of interpretation and composition, and he is an advocate for New Music. He is also passionate about historical performance practice of baroque music, and a virtuoso performer of the classical and romantic repertory for cello. Suzanne speaks with him about his broad ranging career.

For 33 days, violinist Michelle Ross visited 33 public locations in NYC, performing Bach's Complete Sonatas and Partitas. Suzanne talked with Michelle about that project, her CD Discovering Bach, and her optimism and passion for the future of classical music.

The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen is an ensemble formed in 2006, with a particular mission to research and present unfairly neglected baroque era composers and their music. Their recording of Concertos by Czech composer Josef Guretsky was released in 2016, and Suzanne spoke with the group's artistic director Robert Rawson about his colleagues and their process for finding their unusual repertory.

Banjo is one of those ubiquitous musical instruments we see and hear in movies and bluegrass concerts, but without really knowing much about it. John Bullard is a banjo virtuoso, and his musical tastes and expertise include playing music from the classical tradition. He and Suzanne had a conversation about the history of the instrument, its unique qualities, and his path to playing a wide repertory, including baroque music, on the banjo.

The lute enjoyed its greatest popularity from the late 15th through late 17th centuries, when many people played the instrument and composed music for it. But thanks to a handful of masterful contemporary lutenists, such as Ronn McFarlane, the instrument continues to thrive in the 21st century. Suzanne spoke with the versatile musician about the lute's history, and his passion for the instrument and its varied repertory.

Ton Koopman began his musical education and career in the 1950s, at the leading edge of the revival of interest in baroque music. His outstanding reputation as a harpsichordist, organist, conductor and teacher has Johann Sebastian Bach's music as its foundation, yet it includes Bach's contemporaries and predecessors as well as many classical and romantic era musicians. Over the decades, Ton Koopman has collaborated with some of the world's most accomplished musicians and ensembles, and he joined Suzanne for a conversation about his experiences.