“She’s a badass. Emi plays a historical flute and has a TED Talk about it,”
By Priya Hutner
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August 2, 2017
Get ready Truckee, local born, Julliard-trained Lindsay McIntosh, founder of Coburn Music, is organizing the inaugural Baroque summer pop-up concert series. And it is tres HIP, meaning historically informed performances that are period ensembles, not the modern ensemble one would see at the Met, for example. At HIPs, musicians perform works from the 17th and 18th Centuries on instruments of the same century.
Coburn Music takes its name from the original name of the town of Truckee, Coburn Station (not the band of the same name).
“It’s a nod to us being historical nerds and to Truckee’s historical background,” says McIntosh.
“Truckee is near and dear to my heart and I wanted to come home and build this amazing music series.” – Lindsay McIntosh
McIntosh lives in Manhattan and received her master’s degree from Julliard in one of their newer, more competitive, historical performance programs.
“This is what the group is based upon. We learned how to play on the instruments they were using during the Baroque time period from 1650 to 1780 — the types of instruments Handel, Bach and Vivaldi were using at the time. Gut strings — used on violins, cellos and bass, for instance — are made from goat that farmers in Italy have been making for over 300 years. The theorbo is a big bass lute from that era. The bassoon and flute were very different back then,” says McIntosh. “The group uses replicas from that era. I play on a 1720’s Dresden oboe from Germany.”
Watch New Vintage Baroque perform “Paune du Mariage du Roy Louis XIII”
McIntosh was in 7th grade when she told her first music teacher, Randy Humphreys from Alder Creek Middle School, that she wanted to be an oboe player.
“He handed me an oboe and I found my way to Baroque music,” she says.
During her time at Julliard, her tight-knit class bonded and McIntosh founded the New Vintage Baroque. As the group evolved, so did McIntosh.
“I wanted to try my hand at programming. We took the group to Truckee in 2014 and toured around. I returned to New York and hit the ground running. I came back last summer and realized there was nothing like this happening in Truckee and nothing of this caliber,” McIntosh says.
The New Vintage Baroque is comprised of McIntosh on oboe and the executive director; McIntosh’s husband, Owen, tenor and the production manager; John Brancy, baritone; Esteli Gomez, soprano; Ben Matus on bassoon; Paul Holmes Morton on theorbo; Oliver Weston on cello; Laura Rubenstein-Salzedo and Toma Iliev on violin; and Emi Ferguson on flute.
“She’s a badass. Emi plays a historical flute and has a TED Talk about it,” says McIntosh.
Cedar House Sport Hotel will host the opening gala and Coffeebar will host two concerts – one in Truckee and one at the Village at Squaw.
“We strategically chose partners who wanted to partner with the Coburn Music series and we were met with such enthusiasm,” says McIntosh. “Ultimately, I plan to move back. I am a hometown girl. Our ultimate goal is to host three series a year: one in the summer, winter and spring.”
Her long-time high-school friend Brandon Dolph, owner of the Blue Note B’s Horn Shop in Reno, Nev., will also be involved with the series. Dolph repairs instruments, rents equipment and gives music lessons.
“He’s a partner in crime,” says McIntosh.
As part of the week-long series, New Vintage Baroque will offer a day of educational outreach on Aug. 7 for students. The day includes workshops, roundtables and a performance along with an opportunity for students in middle-school and high-school level to sign up for music lessons from the Julliard musicians.
“Truckee is near and dear to my heart and I wanted to come home and build this amazing music series,” says McIntosh.
