Monteverdi’s Legacy

Robert Eisenstein, Artistic Director (bass viol)

Robert Eisenstein has led over 200 productions and performances with Folger Consort over the past 40 years, including Measure + Dido at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Napa Valley Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice at Strathmore, The Fairy Queen, and Hildegard Von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum at the Washington National Cathedral. Recently retired as the Director of the Five College Early Music Program; Music Director for the Five College Opera Project production of Francesca Caccini’s La Liberazione di Ruggiero; Mount Holyoke College faculty emeritus, where he taught music history and performed on the viola de gamba, violin, and medieval fiddle. He is an active participant in Five College Medieval Studies. Recipient of Early Music America’s Thomas Binkley Award for outstanding achievement in performance and scholarship by the director of a college early music ensemble.

Christopher Kendall is founder of the Folger Consort. He is dean emeritus of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance after serving two terms as the school’s dean, where he was responsible for establishing the University of Michigan Gershwin Initiative, for re-instituting international touring, for the funding and design of a $30M expansion/renovation of the music building, and for launching the interdisciplinary enterprise ArtEngine and its national initiative a2ru (Alliance for the Arts at Research Universities). In Washington, in addition to his work with Folger Consort, since 1975 he has been Artistic Director and conductor of the 21st Century Consort, the new music ensemble-in-residence at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Mr. Kendall served as Director of the University of Maryland School of Music from 1996 to 2005 during a period of rapid development and its move to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony from 1987 to 1992 and Director of the Music Division and Tanglewood Institute of the Boston University School for the Arts from 1993 to 1996, Mr. Kendall has guest conducted many orchestras and ensembles in repertoire from the 18th to the 21st centuries. His recordings can be heard on the Bard, Delos, Nonesuch, Centaur, ASV, Arabesque, Innova, Bridge, and Smithsonian Collection labels.

Jessica Beebe
Soprano

In recent seasons, Jessica Beebe has appeared as a guest soloist in concert with Folger Consort; the New York City Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Hall; the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Raymond Leppard; the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra; Omaha Symphony; Asheville Symphony; Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra; Lyric Fest; Lancaster Symphony Orchestra; Philharmonie Austin; the Princeton Festival Orchestra; the English Concert under Harry Bicket; Bourbon Baroque; Piffaro, the Renaissance Wind Band; the Delaware Symphony Orchestra; the Utah Symphony under the baton of Craig Jessop, and several other orchestras and ensembles.

Tatiana Chulochnikova
Violin

Praised for her “thrilling technique” and “dark plush romantic violin sound,” Tatiana Chulochnikova enjoys an international career as a violin soloist, recitalist, concertmaster, chamber musician, recording artist, and educator. Highlights of the 2026–27 season include solo appearances with Folger Consort, American Bach, Washington Bach Consort, and Pratum Integrum. She has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall and the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and collaborated with conductors including Pierre Boulez, Christopher Hogwood, Philippe Herreweghe, and William Christie. Her acclaimed recordings include albums released by Steinway & Sons and Toccata Classics. Tatiana holds degrees from Juilliard, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and Oberlin Conservatory.

Agnes Coakley Cox
Soprano

British American soprano Agnes Coakley Cox is a specialist in the performance of early Baroque music and a sought-after ensemble musician. Agnes’ desire to bring early music to life has led her to become an expert in the historical performance practice of singing. She is co-founder of In Stile Moderno, New England’s ensemble for 17th-century music, and has appeared recently with early music and choral ensembles such as Arcadia Players, the New Consort, the Handel & Haydn Society, Upper Valley Baroque, and the Zenith Ensemble. Agnes lives in Greenfield, MA. Visit Agnes online at www.agnescoakley.com

Robert Eisenstein, Artistic Director (bass viol)

Robert Eisenstein has led over 200 productions and performances with Folger Consort over the past 40 years, including Measure + Dido at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Napa Valley Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice at Strathmore, The Fairy Queen, and Hildegard Von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum at the Washington National Cathedral. Recently retired as the Director of the Five College Early Music Program; Music Director for the Five College Opera Project production of Francesca Caccini’s La Liberazione di Ruggiero; Mount Holyoke College faculty emeritus, where he taught music history and performed on the viola de gamba, violin, and medieval fiddle. He is an active participant in Five College Medieval Studies. Recipient of Early Music America’s Thomas Binkley Award for outstanding achievement in performance and scholarship by the director of a college early music ensemble.

Aisslinn Nosky
Violin

Violinist Aisslinn Nosky is concertmaster of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston and co-artistic leader of Bach Charlotte in North Carolina. Nosky was a member of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra from 2005 to 2016, previously served as principal guest conductor of the Niagara Symphony, and was principal guest artist with Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. She has collaborated with international ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and Holland Baroque. A passionate educator, Aisslinn has been on faculty at Amherst Early Music Festival, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Mount Holyoke College, and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

William Simms
Theorbo, Guitar

William Simms is an active performer of early music. He regularly performs with Apollo’s Fire, the Washington Bach Consort, Tempesta di Mare, Modern Musick, Ensemble Vermillian, Heartland Baroque, and Three Notch’d Road. He has performed numerous operas, cantatas, and oratorios with ensembles such as the Washington National Opera, the Cleveland Opera, Opera Lafayette, Opera Philadelphia, and American Opera Theater. Simms received his Bachelor of Music from the College of Wooster in Ohio and his Master of Music from the Peabody Conservatory. He is instructor of guitar at Mount St. Mary’s University and Hood College, where he is founder and Director of the Hood College Early Music Ensemble.