Sylvan Ayres, Medieval/Renaissance Musicians

Sylvan Ayres is a group of 4 to 6 instrumentalists, specialising in Medieval and Renaissance music. Their instruments include tenor and bass violas da gamba, vielle, lute, cittern, chitarino, Renaissance & Baroque recorders, krummhorns, cornamuses, shawms, dulcian, framedrum, field drum, doumbek, tabor, tambourine, woodblock, and cymbals, with occasional singing.

The group has been active for about 4 years; Felicia Eberling, Madeleine Moore, Jim Stimson, and Paul Siegel form the core, with Megan Duffy, Ron Boucher, and Janet Trautvetter as back-ups. Sylvan Ayres and its eclectic cousin, The Beltway Early Music Band, can be reached at 301-587-3711.

Sylvan Ayres plays for weddings, receptions, concerts, cocktails, dinners, and cultural and educational programs, dressed as the setting warrants -- assorted period costumes, concert black-and-whites, or standard everyday wear.

Sylvan Ayres occasionally works with Nachtanz Historical Dance Group, presenting period dances with matching live music and costumes. Standard Nachtanz dance repertory ranges from early Renaissance (mid-15th cent.) through Cavalier (c. 1650).

Sylvan Ayres performance settings include:

Hastings Faire (Markland Medieval Militia, U. of Maryland)
Cedar Lane Stage (Othello)
Dillon-Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institition
Folger Shakespeare Library
Columbus Day Ceremony (Union Station)
Schools and libraries in Fairfax and Montgomery Counties
Rockville City Festival
Maryland Renaissance Festival (as BEMB)
National Cathedral Open House (as BEMB)
Kennedy Center Christmas Foyer Concerts (as BEMB)
Manor Day, Oxon Hill Manor
Malice Domestic (convention of mystery writers, publishers, readers)
White House Visitors' Program
Weddings, receptions, banquets, cocktails, parties, concerts, churches

The Musicians:

RON BOUCHER plays shawm, krummhorn, cornamuse, recorder, and viola da gamba, and sings tenor/countertenor. Other music groups include Musica Antiqua (Alexandria), Convivium Musicum (Boston), and I Piffari (Longey School of Music, Cambridge). Ron is a signal/image processing software engineer.
MEGAN DUFFY plays shawm, cornamuse, krummhorn, recorder, and percussion, and sings alto; she has also played with the GW Early Music Collegium. Megan is a social worker.
FELICIA EBERLING plays shawm, cornamuse, krummhorn, recorder, viola da gamba, and percussion, and sings alto; other music groups include The Beltway Early Music Band, Three Left Feet, The Homespun Ceidlidh Band, GW Early Music Collegium, and the Maryland Renaissance Festival (street musician). Formerly a foreign language teacher, Felicia now trains computer-users and writes technical manuals and computer code.
MADELEINE MOORE plays shawm, cornamuse, krummhorn, recorder, viola da gamba, and vielle; other groups include GW Early Music Collegium and Washington Recorder Society. Madeleine manages a medical practice.
PAUL SIEGEL plays shawm, cornamuse, krummhorn, recorder, and dulcian, and sings bass; other music groups include GW Early Music Collegium and Washington Recorder Society. Paul is a statistician at the Census Bureau.
JIM STIMSON plays lute, archlute, cittern, guitar, shawm, bombard, krummhorn, and recorder; other music groups include Musica Antiqua, Three Left Feet, The Homespun Ceidlidh Band, The Beltway Early Music Band, and the Maryland Renaissance Festival (street musician). Jim is a journalist.
JANET TRAUTVETTER specialises in percussion for Sylvan Ayres, and also plays recorder with The Beltway Early Music Band. Janet is an executive secretary and free-lance scriptwriter, writer, and illustrator.

To contact Sylvan Ayres for bookings or other information, send email to Felicia Eberling