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About Us
Originally from North Texas, Amaranti Ensemble is a period instrument chamber ensemble that brings chamber music to audiences across the United States. Amaranti refers to the amaranthus flower, which was fabled in greek mythology and folklore as being never fading. The ensemble was recently awarded Second Place at the EMA Battle of the Bands, performed at the 2016 International Baroque Institute at Longy, and were featured in the Boston Early Music Festival in 2017 as well as the “Works in Progress” series at the Harpsichord Clearing House. In March 2019, they were featured at the Darkwater Women in Music Festival, performing works by female composers across multiple centuries.
Maria Gabriela Alvarado, traverso
Venezuelan flutist, Maria Gabriela Alvarado, has built a career in the United States as a respected performer and pedagogue of baroque and modern flute. As recitalist, she has performed solo concerts throughout the United States, Germany, and South America. As a performer of baroque flute, Ms. Alvarado has performed at the prestigious American Bach Soloists Academy, the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition, the Boston Early Music Festival, the International Baroque Institute at Longy.
Ms. Alvarado enjoys collaborating in numerous chamber music projects. In addition to Amaranti Ensemble, she is also a founding member of In Radiance, a Boston-based flute quintet dedicated to developing and promoting repertoire for this instrumentation. Support from the Friends of Flutes Foundation allowed the ensemble to record their album Journey Through the Genres in Spring 2016, featuring original arrangements and commissions.
Currently, Ms. Alvarado is completing doctoral studies in flute performance under the tutelage of Dr. Mary Karen Clardy at the University of North Texas. She holds a Master of Music Degree and a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Longy School of Music of Bard College, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Atlantic Union College. Ms. Alvarado joined the faculty of Mountain View College in 2017 and maintains a private studio in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. She currently serves as Vice President of the Texas Flute Society.
Kyle Collins, harpsichord and clavichord
Kyle Collins began his harpsichord studies when he studied for his MM at the University of North Texas in 2015, where he also earned his Graduate Artist Certificate in Harpsichord. Mr. Collins is now at Stony Brook University in New York, where he is studying for a DMA in Harpsichord Performance with Arthur Haas.
Mr. Collins has appeared as a soloist for J.S. Bach’s Concerto for 3 Harpsichords in C Major, BWV 1064 with the UNT Baroque Orchestra. He has performed with the Austin Baroque Orchestra, Monroe Symphony Orchestra, and with the American Bach Soloists as part of their annual academy. He has also won the Jurow prize for the most promising semi-finalist in the Mae and Irving Jurow International Harpsichord Competition in 2016.
Currently, Mr. Collins is the harpsichord professor at Baylor University in Texas. He was a featured soloist in the annual “Harpsichord Heaven” series at the Flint Collection of Antique Harpsichords as well as the “Works in Progress” series at the biennial Boston Early Music Festival. He enjoys creating programs that establish connections between music and literature. His current projects involve performing the harpsichord ragtime music of Don Angle and late 18th-century American music.