Clay Zeller-Townson of Ruckus Early Music

I have become a big fan of Ruckus, a dynamic Early Music ensemble, and I so enjoyed this uplifting conversation with Clay Zeller-Townson, their Artistic Director and bassoonist. ou’ll be hearing clips from The Edinburgh Rollick with music from the Niel Gow collection, featuring the violinist Keir GoGwilt, and because this music is very much at the crossroads of Scottish traditional music and Baroque music, it delights audiences who are more into folk as well as baroque. You'll be inspired to hear Clay’s ideas around crafting something truly personal and unique and connecting with audiences, as well the importance of access to music education at all levels. We also got into Ruckus’ Fly the Coop project with flutist Emi Ferguson with a wonderfully fresh take on the music of J.S. Bach, and a lot of what Clay shared was how the musicians connect deeply with their audiences with contemporary relevance in many different ways. You’ll find the track names of the music included in the time stamps. The complete show notes on my website will take you the video and transcript for this episode. Ruckus Early Music Other episodes you'll love: bassoonist Christopher Millard, Lutenist Elizabeth Pallett, recorder player Sarah Jeffery , fiddler Alexis Chartrand, organist Gail Archer and cellist Juliana Soltis. Buy me a coffee? Newsletter Merch (00:00) Intro (02:04) Ruckus early music continuo band, creating unique style and sound (09:10) violinist Keir GoGwilt The Edingburgh Rollick (clip from The Jenny Nettles Set), Neil Gow (15:16) how Baroque bassoon is different from modern (18:10) Ruckus’ collaborative creative process (23:23) Mrs. Ferguson’s Strathspey, about the Beatles’ quote (26:28) Playing for dancers (31:54) playing for opera with no conductor (37:02) Fiona Gillespie with clip of The Broome of Coudenknowes (40:15) Clay’s childhood and discovery of the bassoon (42:19) other episodes you’ll love (43:11) Clay’s music education and forming Ruckus (46:38) flutist Emi Ferguson, album Fly the Coop with J.S. Bach Siciliana (54:53) The Edinburgh Rollick album art, The Gigg Set with clip (01:01:10) Clay’s life as an educator (01:08:02) Early Music scene (01:14:07) Roscoe Mitchell project