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Biographies of Directors

In recent seasons, Tempesta di Mare Artistic Director and founder Gwyn Roberts has been a featured recorder and traverso soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Hesperus, Recitar Cantando of Tokyo, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. American Record Guide has called her “a world-class virtuoso”, and the Washington Post remarked, “with her sparkling technique and sensitive attention to musicality, she infused the music with operatic drama.” Her recording of Veracini Recorder Sonatas earned a five star rating from BBC Music Magazine. As co-director of Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra Tempesta di Mare, she leads the ensemble in frequent performances from Oregon to Prague, records for Chandos (UK), and appears frequently on NPR’s Performance Today. Other recordings include Deutsche Grammaphon, Dorian, Sony Classics, Vox, PolyGram, PGM, Newport Classics, and Radio France. Ms. Roberts is Director of Early Music at the University of Pennsylvania and is on faculty at Peabody Conservatory. She studied recorder with Marion Verbruggen and Leo Meilink and baroque flute with Marten Root at Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands.

Lutenist and Tempesta di Mare Artistic Director and founder, Richard Stone has performed in solo recitals, music series and festivals worldwide. The New York Times called his playing “beautiful” and “lustrously melancholy,” while the Washington Post described it as having “the energy of a rock solo and the craft of a classical cadenza.” He recently completed a two-season nationwide solo tour of the Bach lute suites. Solo recordings include lute suites of Silvius Leopold Weiss, theorbo music by David Loeb and, most recently, the world premiere of the complete lute concerti of Weiss, performed with Tempesta di Mare. He is one of the most highly regarded baroque vocal accompanists in the United States and is in constant demand as a continuo player on lute, archlute and theorbo. Conducting credits include Monteverdi’s Poppea, Steffani’s Stabat Mater and Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, which he led from the archlute and theorbo. Recording and broadcast credits include Chandos, Deutsche Grammophon, PolyGram, Lyrichord, Musical Heritage, NPR, the BBC and Czech Radio. Stone, who co-founded Tempesta di Mare in 1996, joined the faculty at the Peabody Conservatory in fall 2007. He studied lute with Patrick O'Brien at SUNY Purchase, and with Nigel North as a Fulbright Scholar at London's Guildhall School.

Violinist Emlyn Ngai leads a broad and distinguished career as both a modern and historical violinist. As a member of the Adaskin String Trio he has performed extensively throughout Canada and the United States and has been recorded for broadcast by CBC Radio, Radio-Canada, and National Public Radio. He is Associate Concertmaster of the Carmel Bach Festival, where he is also a solo recitalist and first violin of the Festival Quartet. In addition, he has performed with early music groups such as Apollo’s Fire, Boston Baroque, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Tafelmusik and Washington Bach Consort. His involvement with Joshua Rifkin’s Bach Ensemble has taken him to Bermuda, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Solo recital credits include Berlin, Boston, Cleveland, Montreal and Washington DC. Mr. Ngai has recorded for such labels as Centaur, Chandos, Eclectra, Koch, Musica Omnia, New World Records, and Telarc. His disc with harpsichordist Peter Watchorn of JS Bach’s sonatas for harpsichord and violin received acclaim in BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, and The Strad. Mr Ngai holds degrees from McGill University, Oberlin College Conservatory, and the Hartt School. He has taught at Boston University and McGill University and is currently on faculty at the Hartt School where he teaches violin and co-directs the Hartt School Collegium Musicum.