The Nachtigal Duo (meaning "nightingale" in German) was "born" in early 2006 when Jan Groh met Charlie Schweigert through the local Portland, OR USA area Balkan music and dance scene, and they discovered a mutual love and talent for recorder music, specifically the baroque repertoire on altos. They both have extensive music experience dating back to high school or earlier, and were pleased to find they were well matched in both ability and interests. (Jan played flute, and Charlie played clarinet. He's also a great artist). They started performing in local Portland cafes and coffee houses in late 2006, and are slowly working their way up to performing semi-professionally in more formal settings one day. (They also played at the historic Pittock Mansion during the 2006 and 2007 Christmas seasons).
They've also had the pleasure of studying with Vicki Boeckman and Eileen Hadidian after connecting with them at a local workshop in the summer of 2006, who continue to help them fine tune and polish their performances.
They will continue to perform semi-randomly in local cafes and coffee houses in the Portland area for now (stay tuned for upcoming gigs), but will certainly let folks know when they take the next step. You might keep an eye on the blog(s) to see what plans they're hatching next, and for unconfirmed venues and dates. As well as the website of Classical Revolution PDX, with whom they joined in 2008. They are also very pleased to be among the founding members of the newly organized Portland Recorder Society which now meets monthly through the school year. (The inaugural meeting was in November 2007 and it was a big success with over 30 people in attendance, getting the group off to a roaring start).
They both play other voices (sopranino, soprano, tenor, bass), though they are both still slowly building their instrument collections. They are currently playing on a matching Aesthe and Roessler in A 440, though Charlie hopes to have a new Prescott soon. They are continuing to increase and expand their repertoire, though primarily focusing on the Baroque masters including Telemann, Matheson, Chedeville and Loeillet de Gant. (They've tackled all but one of the six Telemann Duo Sonatas so far). They occasionally hark a little further back in time with some Morley and others (Gastoldi, Sweelinck, more). Jan has secretly dreamed of playing semi-professionally for some time, she just let her playing lapse while searching for a mutually interested and ambitious partner when not otherwise occupied, and both have enjoyed tackling the demanding repertoire so far. Stay tuned for further developments as the Nachtigal Duo slowly but surely takes flight!
Email: j a n d o t g r o h a t g m a i l d o t c o m
