Music City Baroque and the Vox Grata women’s choir join forces in an upcoming concert of music written for all-female ensembles in early 18th century Venice.

Composers such as Antonio Vivaldi made a career of teaching and writing music for girls at the city’s Ospedali. Those institutions started as all-girl orphanages but evolved into highly respected music conservatories, and their performances were an important part of a vibrant music scene in Baroque-era Venice. 

The concert of music from that tradition is at 3:00 pm January 24 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville. The ensembles previewed the program with a handful of selections performed by roughly half of the 32-member choir, conducted by Jeanette MacCallum, and instrumentalists from Music City Baroque: violinist and artistic director Allison Nyquist, violinist Carrie Kimbrough, violist DeeDee Besser, cellist Christopher Stenstrom and George Riordan playing baroque oboe.

Set list:

Miserere in c minor by Johann Hasse

• mvt. 5

Amanda Whatley, soprano

Concerto in Bb for violin and oboe by Antonio Vivaldi

• mvt. 2

Dixit Dominus by Baldassari Galuppi