Illustration of pineapples with the text 'BROMELIAD ENSEMBLE' overlaid in green.

The Bromeliad Ensemble is a newly formed group of Midwest-based musicians dedicated to lively, historically-informed productions of music from the early modern period. Equally at home in the tavern, the palace, and the cathedral, core ensemble Abigail Hakel-Garcia (voice and violin), Sam Motter (cornetts and recorders), and Adrian Murillo (lutes and guitars), met while studying in the IU Jacobs School of Music’s acclaimed Historical Performance Institute and are privileged to bring their experience & education to new audiences.

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Abigail Hakel-Garcia is a versatile vocalist and instrumentalist, currently based in Mentor, OH. She holds a Bachelors of Music in violin performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and a Masters of Music in Historical Vocal Performance from Indiana University. She has performed with diverse ensembles such as Tonos del Sur, Quire Cleveland, Cleveland Chamber Choir, Trinity Chamber and Cathedral Choirs, Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, Bloomington Early Music Festival, and the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project. She is also at home in the world of new music, having performed and premiered pieces by such composers as Kate Soper, Margi Griebling-Haigh, Scott Davenport Richards, and Jeff Scott.

A man with glasses and long hair playing a cornetto while reading sheet music.

Sam Motter is a cornettist, recorder player, and specialist in early modern performance practice from Bloomington. Motter holds master’s degrees in musicology and historical performance from the JSoM, studying with Kris Kwapis, Clea Galhano, Bruce Dickey, Frithjof Smith, and Jeremy West. He has performed actively for over a decade and, notably, appears on the Grammy-nominated Canto América.

Motter performs nationwide, from the National Cathedral to a recent North American premiere of emperor Leopold I’s Requiem in Los Angeles. Collaborators include Crescendo Music, Musica Transalpina, the Oriana Singers, and the BBCP. Upcoming engagements include the Washington Bach Consort & Ars Lyrica Houston.

 

A man with glasses and long dark hair holding a lute, looking at the camera. He is wearing a black blazer and is sitting in a modern indoor setting.

Adrian Murillo is currently a student at the Jacobs School of Music finishing his doctoral studies in Historical Performance on lute and theorbo. He obtained his Bachelors and Masters at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on classical guitar and historical plucked instruments, having studied under David Tanenbaum, Marcin Dylla, John Dearman, Judicaël Perroy, Richard Savino, and currently with Nigel North. Adrian has performed as a soloist and in orchestras in the United States and Mexico with groups such as Apollo’s Fire, the San Francisco Opera, Bay Area Classical Harmonies, West Bay Opera, Opera Neo, Mission Chamber Orchestra and the SFCM Baroque Orchestra among others. Adrian also specializes in the performance of 19th century guitar repertoire and instruments as well as flamenco guitar performance.

A detailed Renaissance-style painting of a grand banquet with many figures, set in architectural columns and arches, with additional figures on a balcony above, in a classical pastoral scene.