About Us

An ensemble dedicated to mediating theory and practice in spirited performance, Artifex Consort derives its name from the seventeenth-century alchemical adept hard at work in both library and laboratory; the perennial student whose rigorous craft centers on cultivating and sharing knowledge, through the artful imitation of Nature. This mission lends itself particularly well to reanimating lesser known works of the seventeenth-century Hamburg school of contrapuntists (Johann Theile, Johann Adam Reincken, Dieterich Buxtehude, and their circle), but the ensemble finds an equal home in the rich viol repertories of the French baroque and English consort traditions.

Artifex's base in Claremont, California invites blended inspiration from the cultural riches of metro Los Angeles and the rugged foothills of the San Gabriel mountains. Thirty miles from Downtown LA and Pasadena, Claremont is home to the renowned Claremont Colleges (five top-ranking undergraduate institutions), Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute, the California Botanic Gardens, and the Benton Museum of Art.