Augusta McKay Lodge (Berwick Academy ’15) released her debut album in mid-April. Beyond Bach and Vivaldi: Rare Unaccompanied Works for the Baroque Violin is available now on Amazon.
Though Bach’s set of six Sonatas and Partitas represents the pinnacle of writing for the solo violin, the Baroque repertoire was rich in compositions for the unaccompanied violin, much of which remains little explored. On this recording, McKay Lodge, hailed as “the real thing, a true virtuoso” (Seen and Heard), explores masters of the genre such as Biber, Locatelli and Pisendel but delves deeper to include the impassioned works of Nicola Matteis, the Franco-Italian warmth of Thomas Baltzar and a series of other long-overshadowed works by their contemporaries.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled that the exceptional Berwick Academy participants of the past and present are having a distinct impact on the classical music industry,” said OBF Director of Education Programs Dave Goudy. “Augusta was part of our inaugural class and her debut album is a clear indicator that Berwick Academy is comprised of some of the best up-and-coming musicians in the world.” In addition to her time with Berwick Academy, Augusta played violin with the OBF Orchestra in 2016.
Based in New York and Paris, Augusta is an international prize-winning violinist specializing in Baroque and modern music. She has performed at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall with Juilliard415, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Kosciuszko Foundation, Carnegie Hall, the French Consulate and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Severance Hall in Cleveland, and has undertaken a concert tour with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.
An avid chamber and orchestral musician, Augusta is a 2016 English Concert American Fellow, a 2017 Juilliard-Mercury Fellow, and a Kovner Fellow at The Juilliard School. She performs regularly in leading historical orchestras such as Les Arts Florissants, The American Classical Orchestra, Mercury: an Orchestra Redefined, Oregon Bach Festival, and Apollo’s Fire: The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. As an orchestral leader, Augusta is well-versed in the role of concertmaster. She has led Juilliard415 under the baton of Nicholas McGegan, William Christie, Masaaki Suzuki, Ton Koopman and Kristian Bezuidenhout, and she is a founding member of her own ensemble, Voyage Sonique, based in New York.
Augusta is a native of Oberlin, Ohio. At the age of 25 she earned a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a Masters of Music from Indiana University Jacobs School, and a Masters from The Juilliard School in historical performance. She plays a Jason Viseltear Baroque violin from 2014.
For more information, visit www.augustamckaylodge.com.