{"id":28,"date":"2017-01-19T17:34:18","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T22:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpdemo.zephyrus-va.org\/?page_id=28"},"modified":"2025-04-29T07:38:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T12:38:42","slug":"about-us","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zephyrus-va.org\/wpdemo\/about-us","title":{"rendered":"About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Zephyrus and friends at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, July 2016<\/figcaption> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t
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Zephyrus during 2017-2018 concert season<\/figcaption> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t
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Zephyrus and Friends at St. Mary's Cathedral Edinburgh, Scotland July 2013<\/figcaption> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t
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About Zephyrus<\/h3>

A non-profit vocal ensemble based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Zephyrus performs music from the medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras, and sometimes beyond. Zephyrus was founded in 1991 by Paul Walker; Megan Sharp has been the group’s music director since 2011.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Zephyrus\u2019s sixteen to twenty members include teachers and scholars, therapists, church musicians, a nurse, an engineer, a librarian, an administrator, an electrician, and a former military officer. What unites us is a love for the music of earlier times, when vocal music called forth the most impressive achievements of the finest composers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Zephyrus performs in Charlottesville and central Virginia several times each year, with concerts before the winter holidays and in the spring. Occasional programs feature select singers performing one on a part. While much of our singing is a cappella, some concerts include area instrumentalists in collaboration with Zephyrus, broadening our repertoire and enriching our sound.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

<\/a> Our repertoire —<\/span><\/span><\/span> chiefly Renaissance and Baroque polyphony —<\/span><\/span><\/span> also extends earlier into medieval music as well as into twenty-first-century vocal compositions that echo those earlier sound worlds. Zephyrus has served several week-long summer residencies in historic cathedrals in England, Scotland, and Ireland. At home, our study and performance of early vocal music have made Zephyrus a mainstay of Charlottesville\u2019s vibrant arts community for nearly three decades.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/section> \t\t\t\t

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Photo by Margo Hamilton<\/figcaption> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t
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About the Music Director<\/h3>

Megan Sharp earned her undergraduate degree in music from the College of Wooster and holds a master\u2019s degree in opera from the Boston Conservatory. Following a period of intense study of Baroque singing with Sally Sanford and Baroque dance with Ken Pierce, she specialized in performance of opera and oratorio as well as early music.<\/p>

Her opera roles range from Amor in Cavalli\u2019s \u201cL\u2019Egisto\u201d to Baby Doe in \u201cThe Ballad of Baby Doe\u201d by Douglas Moore. Her oratorio credits include Mendelssohn\u2019s \u201cElijah\u201d under the baton of Louis Lane, and the Mozart Mass in C Minor at Trinity Church, Boston. She has performed with the Boston Early Music Festival, the Connecticut Early Music Festival, Schola Cantorum, Ensemble Chanterelle, and the Longwood Opera. Since moving to Charlottesville, Ms. Sharp has presented many chamber concerts, collaborating with her husband, harpsichordist-organist Jonathan Schakel and other\u00a0instrumentalists.<\/p>

Ms. Sharp has directed choirs in churches and schools for over 25 years.\u00a0 She currently serves as the\u00a0Minister for Music and College Students at University Baptist Church.\u00a0 She maintains a private voice studio and, because singing is an art that engages the whole body, she also teaches \u00a0and studies T\u2019ai Chi at the Charlottesville T\u2019ai Chi Center.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/section> \t\t\t\t

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About the Founding Director<\/h3>

Dr. Paul Walker has written extensively on the history of fugue and fugal theory, including all of the articles on fugue and related topics for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians II (2000). His book\u00a0Theories of Fugue from the Age of Josquin to the Age of Bach<\/em>\u00a0(University of Rochester Press, 2000) received the\u00a0William H. Scheide\u00a0Prize from the American Bach Society in May 2002. His work as an editor has produced volumes of music by\u00a0Samuel Capricornus\u00a0and\u00a0Marc-Antoine Charpentier\u00a0for A-R Editions. He is a member of the editorial board for the Buxtehude Complete Works published by Broude Brothers.<\/p>

Dr. Walker is currently Adjunct Associate Professor of Organ Performance, College of Arts & Letters, University of Notre Dame.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/section> \t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zephyrus and friends at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, July 2016 Zephyrus during 2017-2018 concert season Zephyrus and Friends at St. Mary’s Cathedral Edinburgh, Scotland July 2013 About Zephyrus A non-profit vocal ensemble based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Zephyrus performs music from the medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras, and sometimes beyond. Zephyrus was founded in 1991 … <\/p>\n

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