About Us

Our Vision

Originally founded in 1995, Publick Musick is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that seeks to enrich the cultural landscape of Western New York by producing and presenting vibrant, historically informed performances of music from 1600 to 1800 and beyond, including rarely-performed repertoire by women composers as well as composers of non-European origin. Now, under the direction of violinist Boel Gidholm and cellist Christopher Haritatos, Publick Musick presents exciting and family-friendly concerts featuring local, regional, and national artists and ensembles performing on period instruments.

Our History

Publick Musick has brought performances of early music to the region for over 15 years. Click here for a history of the organization.

Reviews

Click here to see what the press has been saying.

About the Directors

Boel Gidholm has performed throughout Europe and the US as a baroque violinist and violist, working with early music ensembles such as Ensemble Aperto (Germany), the New York Collegium, ARTEK, Concert Royal, Pegasus Early Music, NYS Baroque and Ars Lyrica Houston. During her years in Austin, TX, she worked as a member of La Follia Austin Baroque and performed on both violin and vielle with Texas Early Music Project under the direction of Daniel Johnson. Since 2004 she has performed with the Victoria Bach Festival, TX, on both the modern and baroque versions of her instrument, with repertoire ranging from Biber to Britten and beyond.

Chamber music performances have taken her to Italy, France, Latvia, the Canary Islands, Canada and Denmark. She appears on recordings with Fiori Musicali-Barockorchester Bremen, Steintor Barock (Bremen), L’Arco (Hannover), Apollo's Fire, and The Publick Musick. She studied violin at the University of Gothenburg in her home country of Sweden, and studied baroque violin and performance practice at the Akademie für Alte Musik in Bremen, Germany. She lives in Rochester, NY, with her husband, Christopher Haritatos.

“Gidholm especially plays with an earthy directness, enthusiastically in sync with the music's emphasis on mercurial drama…” (Austin Chronicle)"

... the musical joy they transmitted in Stallet [the concert venue at Gränsö Castle] was spontaneous throughout, from the calmest adagio to the most violent presto...not only technically flawless, but with the ability to make this old music understandable in all its components." Västerviks Tidningen, Sweden (duo program with Christopher Haritatos).

Email Boel Gidholm at boel@publickmusick.org

Christopher Haritatos has gained a reputation as a passionate and intelligent performer as both a baroque and modern cellist. His work with period-instrument ensembles has spanned three continents and has brought to life music from the 1500s through the 1800s. He has collaborated in chamber music with artists such as Marc Destrubé, Kristian Bezuidenhout, and Sergiu Luca, and has played in ensembles such as Apollo's Fire (Cleveland), the Handel and Haydn Society (Boston), and Tafelmusik (Toronto). While living in Europe, he was the continuo cellist of Fiori Musicali-Barockorchester Bremen, with whom he took part in several recordings and tours, and worked with Andrew Lawrence-King’s ensemble “The Harp Consort.” Chris is now based in Rochester, NY, where he is a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, co-directs The Publick Musick, plays with Pegasus Early Music, and is the cellist of the baroque chamber ensemble Fioritura. Also sought after as a teacher, he has been on the faculty of Texas State University-San Marcos and has given workshops and master classes at several other colleges and universities. He holds degrees from the University of Chicago, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Eastman School of Music. His major teachers were Alan Harris, Steven Doane, Pieter Wispelwey, and Jaap ter Linden, with whom he studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the Akademie für Alte Musik Bremen.

Email Christopher Haritatos at chris@publickmusick.org

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