Charles Mokotoff and Howard Bass, both well-known and highly regarded performers in the Washington, D.C., area, will present English and Italian Renaissance lute duets and a suite by Telemann (originally for two baroque lutes, transcribed for guitars). Each performer will present a short solo set, Howard on lute, Charles on guitar.
Nationally known lutenist and guitarist Howard Bass has performed and recorded with La Rondinella, HESPERUS, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Folger Consort, the Baltimore Consort, and the Choral Arts Society of Washington. A member of Trio Sefardi (with Susan Gaeta and Tina Chancy), he has also performed extensively with Sephardic singer/composer Flory Jagoda in concert and at festivals in the U.S. and abroad; his guitar work can be heard on her fourth CD, Arvoliko. He also performs regularly with early music singer Barbara Hollinshead, with whom he has recorded albums of Elizabethan and French songs and lute solos. In addition to his music career, Howard produced programs, festivals, and recordings at the Smithsonian Institution over the course of a thirty-year career, retiring in 2010.
Charles Mokotoff holds bachelor and master’s degrees in guitar performance from Syracuse University and Ithaca College, respectively. Following his well-received 1987 Carnegie Hall debut, he performed and taught in the New York and New England area and twice toured in the Far East. A D.C. area resident since 1991, he has performed mainly in the Mid-Atlantic region, and most recently appeared at the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library in New York. Hearing-impaired for most of his life, he is an outspoken proponent of making music with hearing loss.