Who We Are
The Teares of the Muses is a New York University performing arts ensemble directed by Margaret Panofsky. It is a branch of the Collegium Musicum under the direction of Dr. Stanley Boorman; the Collegium Musicum is administered by the Faculty of Arts and Science Music Department. The Teares of the Muses is made up of both proficient players associated with the N.Y.U. community and N.Y.U. advanced viol students in the Collegium Musicum Viol Program (the Viol Program is open to all musically experienced N.Y.U. students, with or without a stringed-instrument background). The Teares of the Muses functions as a part of the Collegium course, meeting weekly to rehearse with Professor Panofsky. Although the Teares of the Muses became a permanent group in 2007 when the residency at St. Michael's Episcopal Church was established, some of the members have played for many years with Margaret Panofsky, who began teaching the Collegium viols in 1990.
Our Name
In 1591, the English poet Edmund Spenser published his lengthy poem, The Teares of the Muses (see the full text of the poem). Nine sections -- one for each Greek Muse from Clio to Polyhymnia -- describe their various sorrows. Here is the opening stanza of the Spenser poem:
The golden brood of great Apolloes wit,
Those piteous plaints and sorrowful sad tine,
Which late ye powred forth as ye did sit
Beside the siluer Springs of Helicone,
Making your musick of hart-breaking mone.
The composer Anthony Holborne's substantial collection, Pavans, Galliards, Almains of 1599, contains a lovely galliard titled "The Teares of the Muses."
Biographies of Current Members
Margaret Panofsky, a performer and well-known teacher of the viol, has been a director and faculty member for numerous early-music workshops. She has made guest appearances with many ensembles, including the New York Consort of Viols, Le Triomphe de l'Amour, Ensemble Soleil, Parthenia, and the Choir of Corpus Christi Church. An adjunct professor at New York University, she directs the Collegium's viol consort, the Teares of the Muses. Her comprehensive book, Bass Viol Technique, has been used worldwide since 1991. She received a B.A. from Stanford and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music.
Christina Brandt-Young plays the bass, tenor, and treble viols and has master's degrees in musicology from Northwestern University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. During the day, she is an appellate attorney and represents domestic violence victims for the New York Legal Assistance Group.
Jeremy Brandt-Young plays both bass and tenor viols. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the North Carolina School of the Arts where he studied classical saxophone with James Houlik. He is pursuing a master's degree in Management and Systems from N.Y.U. and works in Information Security for a financial services firm.
David Fenton started playing bass, tenor and treble viols after receiving his bachelor's of music in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory. Since earning his master's in musicology at N.Y.U., he has pursued the Ph.D. with his dissertation, "The Piano Quartet and Quintet in Vienna, 1780-1815." He has authored related articles in the most recent Grove Dictionary of Music. He is a computer consultant and programmer.
Joseph Izzo plays the tenor viol, and began studying under Margaret Panofsky during his sophomore year at N.Y.U. after attending a performance of hers. He is a candidate for a B.S. in chemistry, and is involved with computational research in the field. In his spare time, he does freelance computer work and has been a teaching assistant for several chemistry classes.
Michael Weiss began viol studies with Margaret Panofsky in spring 2008 and performed with the Teares of the Muses this past fall. He is currently pursuing a B.A. in mathematics at N.Y.U. In addition to studying the bass viol, Michael is an avid cellist who performs frequently with a number of ensembles. He continues his studies here in New York with Fred Zlotkin.
