Our Mission

The Musicians in Ordinary are dedicated to exploring the solo song and vocal chamber music of the 16th and 17th centuries. Soprano Hallie Fishel and lutenist John Edwards are joined by other singers and instrumentalists, though the ensemble remains primarily (to use the phrase of the Stuart monarchs' bookkeeper) "musicians in ordinary for the lutes and voices." Careful attention paid to performance practise, including details of scoring, historical pronunciation and the playing techniques of their period instruments.

MIO place their repertoire in cultural context, often lecturing at colleges and universities, in English French and Italian literature, history and comparative literature, and even art and engineering departments, and at museums and other institutions.

About THE MUSICIANS IN ORDINARY

Named after the singers and lutenists who performed in the most intimate quarters of the Stuart monarchs’ palace, The Musicians In Ordinary for the Lutes and Voices dedicate themselves to the performance of early solo song and vocal chamber music. Soprano Hallie Fishel and lutenist John Edwards have been described as “winning performers of winning music.” A fixture on the Toronto early music scene for over 10 years, in 2012 MIO became Ensemble in Residence at St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto. They have concertized across North America and lecture regularly at universities and museums. Institutions where MIO have performed range from the scholarly to those for a more general public and include the Shakespeare Society of America, the Renaissance Society of America, the Shakespeare Association of America, Grinnell College, the Universities of Alberta, Toronto and at California at San Diego, the Kingston Opera Guild, Syracuse, Trent and York Universities and the Bata Shoe Museum. They have been Ensemble in Residence at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.