This event has been canceled due to illness.

This is a Doctoral Voice Recital focusing on the analysis and comparison of Bach's soprano arias in relation to French Baroque dance traditions. In each aria, Maren will trace and highlight elements of French Baroque dance style and explore how these features inform interpretation and performance. Central research questions include: How do rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic features in these arias reflect the structure and affect of French dance types? How can the awareness of French Baroque dance steps and aesthetics shape historically informed performance of Bach's sacred vocal music? Do dance references in Bach's sacred music carry symbolic or rhetorical meaning beyond their musical function?

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MAREN HRIVNAK, soprano, is a vibrant Cincinnati-based performer known for her “light, controlled, and crystalline voice.” Passionate about vocal chamber and Baroque music, she excels in cantatas and oratorios. She has performed with leading ensembles including Collegium Cincinnati, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Coro Volante, the Cincinnati Bach Ensemble, Seven Hills Baroque, and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Highlights include Handel’s Messiah with Collegium Cincinnati and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Recent engagements feature Bach’s Mass in B Minor with Spoleto Festival USA, Charpentier’s Messe des morts with the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, and Vivaldi’s Magnificat with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Maren holds degrees from St. Olaf College (B.M.) and CCM (M.M.) with additional studies in Milan and Lucca, Italy. She is currently pursuing her D.M.A. at CCM, pursuing a cognate in Baroque Performance Practice with Dr. Michael Unger and studying Voice with Dr. Gwendolyn Coleman.