Characters of the Commedia dell’ Arte from Harlequin to Pantalone are caught in a labyrinth of mistaken identity, unrequited love and journey on the High Seas! Featuring the original 18th century music of Domenico Gallo, Giovanni Pergolesi and Carlo Monza that Stravinsky orchestrated for the 1920 ballet, “Pulcinella” and music of the “Comedie Italienne” by Jean-Joseph Mouret

Biographies of the Performers:

Vicki Melin, Classical, Baroque and Renaissance flutes
Vicki Melin has performed in early music groups throughout the U.S. and the Bay area such as the American Bach Soloists, with the ABS Academy in the San Francisco Bach Festival, Voices of Music, Musica Angelica (L.A.), Live Oak Baroque Orchestra, Jubilate Orchestra, MUSA, and California Bach Society. Ms Melin attended Boston University for her Masters of Music, studying with Christopher Krueger; and The Royal Conservatory of Music in Den Hague, The Netherlands, where she received an Advanced Diploma in Performance, studying with Wilbert Hazelzet. Ms. Melin lives in San Francisco and teaches baroque flute privately and at UC Berkeley. She also thoroughly enjoys teaching young people every Summer at the SFEMS Music Discovery Workshops.

Katherine Heater, early keyboards
Katherine Heater plays locally with early music groups such as Voices of Music, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Musica Pacifica. She has performed throughout the United States, including with The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Musica Angelica, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho and at the the Bloomington Early Music Festival, and the Tropical Baroque Festival of Miami. She received an Arts Bachelor from the University of California, Berkeley in music and a Masters of Music in historical performance from Oberlin Conservatory. At the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam Ms. Heater studied harpsichord with Bob van Asperen and fortepiano with Stanley Hoogland. Also an active teacher, Ms. Heater teaches harpsichord at UC Berkeley, the Crowden Center, as well as privately.

Eliana Estrada, Baroque violin
Eliana Estrada is a violinist from Los Angeles and is currently a graduate student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she is studying baroque and modern violin. At SFCM, she has served as Concertmaster of the baroque ensemble and was a winner of the 2023 baroque concerto competition. Prior to her studies at SFCM, Eliana graduated from Oberlin Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and a Minor in Historical Performance. Her primary instructors include Marilyn McDonald, Joseph Maile, Vijay Gupta, and Elizabeth Blumentstock. Eliana has performed in some of the country's most prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Kennedy Center. In addition, she has participated in numerous summer music festivals including the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, Madeline Island Chamber Music, Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, and the Oregon Bach Festival Berwick Academy.

Farley Pearce, Baroque cello
Farley Pearce is a San Francisco freelance musician who plays cello, viols, violone, and contrabass. He has played with the baroque orchestras of Vancouver, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and is a member of the Voices of Music ensemble and the Sex Chordae Consort of Viols. He also has appeared with ABS, Archetti, Magnificat!, Musica Pacifica, Marin Baroque, and the Albany Consort, as well as symphony orchestras in the Bay Area. His frequent recitals have featured old and new music for period contrabass as well as late 18th century music for viol and fortepiano. He also performs often on the church bass, most recently on a Music Sources program with Sigiswald Kuijken.

Jennifer Meller, stage direction, choreography, dancer
Jennifer Meller is a musician and dancer, and enjoys exploring connections between the two disciplines. She founded The San Francisco Renaissance Dancers in 2012 and in 2019 became Artistic Director of long-standing historical dance company Dance Through Time. Jennifer works with early music ensembles in the Bay Area to create performances, reconstruct ancient operas, teach classes and organize workshops and events centered around early dance and music. She has taught master classes to music and dance students at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, St. Mary’s College, Dominican University, and College of the Pacific. She enjoys collaborating with the Educational Department of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, and working with children every summer at the San Francisco Early Music Society’s Music Discovery Workshop. Jennifer teaches weekly online classes in early dance through ODC.dance and is Professor of Baroque Dance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Irenie Melin-Gompper, dancer
Irenie Melin-Gompper is a member of the New York Baroque Dance Company and currently a student in the Alvin Ailey Professional Division program in New York City, where she studies contemporary dance, ballet and modern techniques such as Graham and Horton. She previously studied ballet for 7 years at the San Francisco Ballet School and at Summer Intensive courses such as the Bolshoi Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet School in Copenhagen. Having begun her forays a few years ago into historical dance, she has studied with Jennifer Meller, Artistic Director of Dance Through Time; and has taken master classes with Catherine Turocy of the New York Baroque Dance Company and Philippa Waite, director of Consort de Danse Baroque.

Cy Welle, dancer
Cy Welle is currently a third year student at San Francisco State University majoring in History. He began dancing at Long Beach Ballet where he studied with instructors David Wilcox, Johnny Zhong, and Gillian Finely. During his time with this school he participated in shows such as the Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Swan Lake. He also went on to compete in competitions such as YAGP in New York City and Regional Dance America in Los Angeles. In 2017 he then went to San Francisco Ballet School with a full scholarship studying with instructors Patrick Armand and Rubin Martin-Cintas. While attending the school he performed in San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker, Spring Showcases, and Galas. Today he continues to work on dance along with his academic studies always applying the art form to all aspects of life.

Anna Mansbridge, dancer
Anna Mansbridge, choreographer, dancer and educator, is originally from Australia and the UK and now resides in Seattle, Washington. She holds a First-Class Honors Degree in Dance and Education from Bedford College, UK, and an MFA in Choreography and Performance from Mills College, California. Before emigrating to the US in 1998, Anna co-directed a dance company specializing in blending Modern Dance forms with European Court Dance, and performed and taught in different countries in Europe. Anna has collaborated with local musicians and performed numerous performances around the Pacific Northwest. She has taught and reconstructed eighteenth century European dances at University of Washington, Cornish, and Utah Valley University, and she has taught on prestigious early music courses, including Port Townsend Early Music Summer Workshops, San Francisco, Accademia d’Amore at Cornish, and the Madison Early Music Course.

Angela Brown, dancer
Angela is a professional Baroque Dancer and a Commedia dell’Arte actor. Angela was a core dancer, actor and director with Historical Performance Ensemble (HPE), based in Richmond B.C. “Angela contributes her knowledge of commedia dell'arte and acting to the enlivenment of dance interpretations and the creation of commedia scenes”. (Catherine Lee, Artistic Director of HPE). She is well known for her Ta Daa Lady Show and is the Canadian Representative of the Nylon Zoo.

Eva Melin-Gompper, production design
Eva is a New York based animator, multimedia artist, and songwriter.  She began taking college classes at 15 as an illustration major and working as a glass dept. teachers assistant at Sharon Arts studio in San Francisco before transferring to Parsons where she earned her BFA in Fine Art. She has worked as set dressing assistant, marketing consultant, and graphic designer at Fox + Design, graphic designer for Rubitel, art director for the San Francisco Early Music Society's Music Discovery Workshop, and was a member of the San Francisco Girls Chorus for 10 years. She now works as a decorative painter with Richard Smith Studios in New York City. Her hobbies include learning every single medium, writing weird movies, playing clarinet, and picking stuff up off the street.

Julie Lawton, dancer
Julie Lawton is a dancer who has studied with Jennifer Meller, Artistic Director of Dance Through Time, since 2012, and previously performed as a member of San Francisco Renaissance Dancers. Julie has served as a volunteer ballet and creative movement teacher for nonprofit organizations in New York City and San Francisco. As a freelance writer, she has contributed to Dance Studio Life magazine. Julie holds a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School.

Eddy Pérez Trimiño
Eddy Pérez Trimiño is an 18 year old dancer from Mexicali, Mexico, where he started showing an interest in dance through some local dance studios. They began their formal training at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, CA from 2020-2022. Continuing his training at The Ailey School, Eddy has performed works by Maria Bauman, Branndi Lewis, Amy Hall Gardner, and Alvin Ailey. They also performed Mauro Bigonzetti’s Festa Barocca for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 2022 season opening night in New York City Center.