📅&Բ;Date: Friday, February 20, 2026
🕒&Բ;Start Time: 4:00 PM
📍&Բ;Location: Harkness Chapel, Classroom
👥&Բ;Who: Free | Open to the public
Our weekly Friday colloquia showcase current research by distinguished visiting scholars alongside our own faculty and graduate students in musicology, historical performance practice, and music education. A brief reception follows each talk to keep the conversation going. All are welcome!
About The Talk
“Early Musicians in the 21st Century”
How can early musicians move into this new century? Today, I hope to offer some exciting new possibilities for research and ideas for how to put historical works on stage ini today’s changing world.
Historical instruments and source material have given us an enormous amount of information, but new research methodologies can offer us a kaleidoscope of possibilities. Sister fields, such as historical acting, can surprise and excite us, while social and scientific fields can offer different sorts of methodological tools. The early music world has often been wary of technology, but many new technologies provide exciting new research opportunities.
How can we perform historical works that disturb our present-day sensibilities? How can we experience a more diverse group of musicians on stage and reach a wider public? A number of recent productions confront these topics head on, providing us with some enriching and provocative possibilities.
About The Speaker
Mimi Mitchell studied musicology and violin in the United States. She then came to the Netherlands to study baroque violin with Jaap Schröder at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She is co-founder The Locke Consort, winning prizes with this ensemble at competitions in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States. She also plays with several prominent early music ensembles, such as In Stil Moderno and the The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (conducted by Ton Koopman) in the Netherlands, Anima Eterna (conducted by Jos van Immerseel) and Currende (conducted by Erik Van Nevel) in Belgium. She performed with London Baroque as a guest musician and played the Renaissance violin with The Parley of Instruments in England. As a researcher, she brings many forgotten compositions to light. Additionally, she is a much sought-after speaker and teacher, giving lectures and masterclasses in the Netherlands, England, Germany, Croatia and the United States.
Venue Information
Harkness Classroom, located inside Harkness Chapel, serves as both a lecture hall for large classes and a backstage area during events. It is also the meeting location for the CWRU Music Colloquium Series.
Health + Safety
The health and well-being of our community is important to us as we gather for campus events. University Health and Counseling Services provides up-to-date guidance and resources to help support a safe campus experience. For life-threatening emergencies, please call CWRU Public Safety immediately at 216.368.3333.