Established in 2018, Serafina was initially commissioned for a one-off project, which we enjoyed so much it motivated us to form a permanent, independent early music ensemble. As longtime friends and colleagues, we choose to operate democratically and cooperatively, without formal roles. Each member brings her own musical expertise, including ensemble direction, performance, management, and musicological research.  

Serafina’s mission is to lift up music written by, for, and about women through performance, education, and advocacy, and we strive to present this under-performed repertoire with a balance of historical accuracy and creative interpretation. We challenge our modern audiences to find beauty, commonality, and relevance in the music of our ancient sisters. It's important to us to create inclusive spaces for both performers and listeners under the umbrella of "traditional classical music."  

Serafina was featured on the Society for Historically Informed Performance’s summer concert series in Boston, with a program featuring works by Strozzi, Cozzolani, and Caccini, among others. The ensemble has performed concerts in collaboration with the Detroit chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir, the University of Michigan Organ Conference. 

Artists:  

Catherine Lucander 

Katherine Sucha 

Amy Mizikow 

Stephanie Weil 

Instagram: @serafina_music 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SerafinaEarlyMusic 

Website: https://serafinamusic.com 

The Guild’s 2023-2024 season concludes with a performance by The Bayberry String Quartet. This concert will feature pieces by Mozart, the Beethoven Op. 74 "Harp" Quartet, and Dvorak's beloved "American" Quartet. Come spend an evening letting go with these masterpieces played by extraordinary players.

Three of Detroit's much-loved musicians, violinist Eliot Heaton, cellist Erik Ásgeirsson and pianist Pauline Martin, are delighted to again make music in the company of their Fair Lane Music Guild friends - this time, as a trio!  As always, expect a dynamic evening of chamber music, with time for CSD's customary Just Between Us "talk-back", following the concert.

Rev. Robert Jones, Sr. is a native Detroiter and inspirational storyteller, and musician celebrating the history, humor, and power of American Roots music. His deep love for traditional African American and American traditional music is shared in live performances that interweave timeless stories with original and traditional songs. For over thirty years, Robert has entertained and educated audiences of all ages in schools, colleges, libraries, union halls, prisons, churches, and civil rights organizations. At the heart of his message is the belief that our cultural diversity tells a story that should be celebrated, not just tolerated. 

Rev. Robert Jones makes his home in Detroit while performing throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. An award-winning multi-instrumentalist, he is accomplished at guitar, harmonica, mandolin, banjo fiddle, and ukulele. He has recorded six albums of original and traditional songs. Robert is the former host of the award-winning radio programs “Blues from the Lowlands” and “Deep River,” broadcast on Detroit Public Radio’s WDET-FM Detroit. And he has taught music history courses at Wayne State University in Detroit, and he serves as a member of the affiliate faculty at Boston’s Berklee School of Music. Jones has taught and performed for several folk music organizations, including the Ashokan Center, Summer Acoustic Music Week, Fiddle Hell, and the Houston Folk Society. In recent years Robert wrote, performed, and recorded a one-man show entitled “An Evening with Lead Belly,” and in recent years Robert has been a featured artist at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum (Springfield, IL), Rutherford B. Hayes Library (Fremont, OH,) and Gerald R. Ford Library (Grand Rapids, MI).  Robert is also a frequent performer and presenter for The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (Dearborn, MI). As an ordained minister and a Baptist pastor, he has an unwavering faith the cultural importance of sacred and traditional American roots music. In addition to his solo performances, he often collaborates musically with his wife, Sister Bernice Jones. In 2017 Robert and Matt Watroba co-founded “Common Chords”, 501.c3 educational organization designed to create community, cultural and historical connections through music and the arts.   In 2018 Robert received a Kresge Arts Fellowship for Music Composition and Performance.  He also teaches traditional instrumental music online at www.truefire.com. It was for Truefire that Robert wrote and produced 30 YouTube segments on traditional blues artists, entitled “Blues Chronicles”.  Robert is also currently working on the final stages of his book, “Roots & Branches, The Songs and Stories of Rev. Robert Jones, Sr., A Detroit Blues Singing Preacher”.
 
The late legendary Detroit Free Press columnist Bob Talbert wrote about Robert: “Perhaps the world’s most highly educated blues musician, an ordained minister, a longtime DJ, and a living encyclopedia of blues history, the Reverend Robert Jones is comfortable among juke joint loud talkers, fancy-hatted church ladies, and PhDs alike."