Trobár is passionate about introducing students to the medieval period and peoples - through study and performance of their artistic artifacts.
RESIDENCIES
Working on troubadour songs in a workshop with voice students at the University of Louisville, 2019
Presenting a lecture in a music history class at the University of Louisville, 2019
Working on troubadour songs in a workshop with voice students at the University of Louisville, 2019
Trobár has been ensemble in residence at Mount Holyoke College and the Five College Consortium (2026), Case Western Reserve University (2025), Purdue University Fort Wayne (2022), and the University of Louisville (2019).
Typically, a residency includes a public concert (which could incorporate student musicians) and a combination of workshops, masterclasses, coachings, and lectures. View this one-sheet for a quick snapshot.
Trobár's artists, besides being medievalist performers, also have specialties in other areas. Elena Bailey and Allison Monroe both teach in historic early music programs, coaching singers and instrumentalists in repertoires from medieval to baroque and offering courses on history and performance practice. We are honored to work with percussion legend Allen Otte, of Blackearth and Percussion Group Cincinnati. Other frequent guest artists include wind players, plucked string players, and singers with specialties in areas such as musicology and chant.
Depending on which artists join in on the residency, we can offer wide-ranging expertise in a variety of areas including but also beyond the medieval period. These include vocal and choral, strings (medieval, plus Renaissance and baroque violin and viola), winds (medieval, plus Renaissance and baroque double reeds), and percussion (medieval, plus experimental and new music). We'd be happy to offer masterclasses, coachings, or lecture/demonstrations in any of these areas. In addition, we have experience guest-lecturing in courses on music (theory, history, organology, etc.), medieval literature, and medieval art history.
Here are the types of activities we could offer for your students:
Sample Lectures
Chant and liturgy
Christine de Pizan & courtly love
The art of the troubadours
Hildegard and her sisters
Medieval instruments
Art and music in medieval Iberia
Allen's specialities
Percussion class
Composition
Music education
Large ensembles
Dalcroze Eurythmics
Mini percussion lecture recital
Sample Workshops:
Medieval choral workshop - for choirs of all kinds; introduction to some basics of medieval pedagogy, group singing, reading from early sources, Guidonian hand and hexachordal solmization, improvising polyphony, etc.
Monophonic song workshop - for voice studios/students; introduction to the world of early vocal repertoires, especially the troubadour and trouvère traditions, with emphasis on methods of approach, textual study, phrasing, ornamentation, accompaniment, etc.
Medieval instruments petting zoo - for anyone; introduction to the variety of instruments played in medieval Europe, with demonstrations by the artists, and hands-on opportunities to experience the instruments
Medieval/Renaissance dance workshop - for anyone; introduction to some basic early dance steps and choreographies, with live musical accompaniment
Introduction to Eurythmics - integration of Dalcroze with Tai-chi; an hour of movement for musicians.
Performing social justice - composition and performance skills in the service of current societal issues; Allen's work with the National Innocence Project.
Members of the ensemble are also on the music faculty at Case Western Reserve University, the Five College Consortium in western MA, and Cleveland State University. We have taught or guest lectured on medieval music at Purdue University (Fort Wayne), Fordham University, Fairmont State University ( West Virginia), the University of Louisville, Dickinson College, the Siegal Lifelong Learning Center, and Interlochen Lifelong Arts Learning's Early Music Workshop.
Please contact us if you're interested in us visiting your institution.