Hello! We are two musicians and West Chester residents who are on a mission to bring the music they love to their community.

Listening In! is our initiative to bring world-class musicians to perform diverse repertoire in special venues in the borough of West Chester. Our mission is to bring people together and connect the community, while providing a source of inspiration and enjoyment in two separate, free-of-charge concerts: 

By presenting the evening concert at 6pm, we hope to invite our audience to enjoy the many dining options West Chester has to offer right down the street of the concert venue. The concerts will be free of charge, so that anyone interested can come and join us.

The first iteration of our project will be held at the West Chester Quaker Meeting House on High Street. We are very grateful to the West Chester Quaker Meeting House for offering to host the inaugural concerts of this series. 

 The theme of this first musical program will be centered around Earth Day, with an exploration of the "musical ground" in 17th- and 18th-century works, performed on baroque instruments. A “ground" is a repeating musical phrase in the bass line, providing an opportunity for the upper voices to improvise variations in the melody on top. It’s a wonderful metaphor for nature and the earth in the way it repeats itself in its core through seasons and life cycles, while providing a plethora of beautiful variations in growth, experiences and epochs along with it.

The performance schedule:

April 19: 6pm “Happy Hour” concert

April 20: 4pm Family Concert

In addition to the scheduled concerts, on February 23rd we will have a “first taste” concert showcase of the musical program and fundraiser at Windish Music, 4 Prescott Alley, 6pm. Karen Dekker and Mark Rimple will perform repertoire for violin and lute - some of the pieces will not be played on the April program, so make sure not to miss it!

 Tickets for the Showcase: suggested donation of $20 at the door

Our fundraising focuses solely on the musicians fees for rehearsals and concerts, and travel costs. As organizers, we (Karen and Heidi) are dedicated to making this dream a reality and we will not be paid for our work.

The Musicians:

Jeffrey Thompson, tenor
Karen Dekker, baroque violin

Mark Rimple, lute

Eve Miller, cello

American tenor Jeffrey Thompson studied at Greece Olympia High School in Rochester, New York. He completed his Music - Vocal Performance studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory under William McGraw. Soon after he was awarded first prize in the Chimay International Baroque Singing Competition in Belgium by a jury led by William Christie. 

In 2002, Jeffrey was selected to participate in the first edition of Jardin des Voix with William Christie's group Les Arts Florissants, in a tour of Baroque works in Europe's most prestigious theatres. This resulted in a series of concerts with Les Arts Florissants,
 including George Frideric Handel's Acis and Galatea and Hercules, motets of Étienne Moulinée 

at the Palace of Versailles, and the role of La Pythonisse in Charpentier's David et Jonathas; and La Messe des Morts, recorded for Virgin Classics. He is also featured as the tenor soloist in the ensemble’s DVD recording of Rameau's motet In Convertendo.
 Other highlights of Jeffrey Thompson's international career have included the roles of Zotico in Cavalli's Eliogabalo, under the direction of René Jacobs; Atys in Les Paladins; Aldobrandin in Grétry's Le Magnifique, recorded for the Naxos label; and Lurewel in Monsigny's Le Roi et le Fermier; and performances of Purcell's The Fairy Queen, Philidor's Sancho Pança; G.F. Handel's Judas Maccabaeus and Theodora. Recordings include an album of motets and cantatas by Sébastien de Brossard, and a solo disc dedicated to the English composer, Henry Lawes, both with the French ensemble La Rêveuse, on the Mirare label. In 2012, he appeared as Castor in Castor & Pollux for Pinchgut Opera. 

Upcoming engagements include the title roles in Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie and
 Leclair's Scylla et Glaucus, Acamas in Royer's Pyrrhus, recorded for Alpha; a recording of Charpentier and Lully with Vincent Dumestre and his ensemble Le Poème Harmonique, The Evangelist in J.S. Bach's St John’s Passion (BWV 245), Monsieur Riss in Philidor's Les Femmes Vengées, Gianguir in Johann Christian Bach's Zanaida, and a recording of early forgotten Italian music with ensemble La Faenza. He is also an avid recitalist. Jeffrey Thompson currently resides in Rochester, NY.

Hear Jeffrey in a performance of "Greensleeves" here:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a07PqP3jOWY


Dutch violinist Karen Dekker grew up surrounded by music. Dedicated to all performance practices that music might call for, Karen performs regularly as a soloist, orchestral player and chamber musician with various ensembles on both baroque and modern violin throughout the United States and Europe. 

In recent performances, Karen has appeared as a soloist with Orchestra of Saint Luke’s at MassMoCa, Juilliard’s baroque ensemble J415 in a tour of New Zealand, and the American Classical Orchestra at New York’s Lincoln Center. Karen gave chamber music performances in William Christie’s gardens in Thiré, France and toured Europe with Les Arts Florissants and The Knights Chamber Orchestra. Karen can be heard on recordings with the Smithsonian Chamber 

Players of Mahler, Debussy and Busoni, Tchaikovsky with Orchestra of Saint Luke’s and Pablo Heras-Casado, and several releases of Haydn and Mozart with the Händel and Haydn Society, as well as in Alexandre Desplat’s film score for “Little Women”. Upcoming engagements include performances with Tempesta di Mare in Philadelphia and Zerbst (Germany), the Carmel Bach Festival in Carmel-by-the-Sea (CA) and many other appearances in the US and beyond. 

Karen regularly performs with ensembles such as New York Baroque Incorporated, Orchestra of Saint Luke’s, American Classical Orchestra, The Knights, Händel and Haydn Society, Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra and several other ensembles and is a member of Philadelphia’s Night Music Ensemble. She holds degrees from Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. Karen is based in the Philadelphia area where she lives with her husband and three young children.

Mark Rimple has garnered critical notice for his interpretation of early music from national newspapers and journals including the Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, Early Music America, and Early Music (UK). 

He is a founding member of the vocal-instrumental ensemble TREFOIL and appears frequently with viola da gambist Mary Springfels' ensemble Severall Friends (Santa Fe, NM). He has appeared with The Folger Consort, The Newberry Consort, Piffaro, the Renaissance Band, The Nota Bene Viol Consort, The King’s Noyse, Les Delices and Blue Heron, Ex Umbris (at the Clinton White House), New York’s Ensemble for Early Music, Mélomanie, Pomerium, Tempesta di Mare, Network for New Music, Seven Times Salt, The Brandywine Singers, Cygnus Ensemble and the GEMS production of The Play of Daniel. His CD of solo Italian lute music for three different instruments (Tre Liuti, available on CDBaby, ITunes, etc.) received highly favorable reviews. 

Mark principally plays medieval and Renaissance lute, archlute, gittern, citole, psaltery, cittern, and viol. In early 2023, he will make a recording of solo works for archlute and classical guitar (playing without nails) featuring works by Bach (BWV 1004 and 998) on archlute, and guitar repertoire by Villa Lobos, Tansman, Mompou, and Turina Before his early music career, he was an accomplished classical guitarist, specializing in new music. Mark has recorded early and new music as countertenor and lutenist with the Newberry Consort, Trefoil, Seven Times Salt, and Cygnus Ensemble and has performed with The Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra and Curtis Orchestra (on mandolin), The Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra (lute), Network for New Music (lute, guitar, mandolin) and The Philadelphia Classical Symphony (guitar). 

Mark is a Professor of Music Theory and Composition at The Wells School of Music at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
 

Eve Miller is a freelance cellist, recording artist, composer, and music educator. She received her bachelor’s degree in cello performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree in Music History from Temple University, studying cello with David Teie, Stephen Kates and Jeffrey Solow, and baroque cello and viola da gamba with Ann Marie Morgan. Eve is currently principal cellist of Philadelphia’s Bach Collegium and is a member of the city’s leading baroque orchestra, Tempesta di Mare, having formerly served as its principal cellist. 

As a member of La Rocinante baroque ensemble, she helped to found Festival Internacional de Música Barroca de Barichara in Colombia. Eve has also performed, recorded, and toured as a rock cellist in bands such as Rachel’s, Matt Pond PA, and Lewis & Clarke. 

Eve has recorded and performed as a guest artist with The Swivel Chairs, Trolleyvox, Mazarin, Mission of Burma, Low, Arcwelder, Rosu Lup, and Swearing at Motorists, and frequently performs as a session cellist for rock and alternative artists. Eve composes music for film and theater, notably for the American Friends Service Committee’s 90th anniversary documentary Spirited Engagement, and has collaborated with the SITI Company of New York on several theater pieces.

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We thank you so much for your support and can't wait to meet you in person at one of our concerts!

Heidi Lee & Karen Dekker