The Friends of the Head Tide Church, a volunteer non-profit group organized to preserve the 1838 historic Head Tide Church, invite the public to attend a special concert on Saturday, May 25 at 3:30 p.m.

The concert features the ensemble ScheckMate, comprised of Raffael Scheck, ‘cello and Timothy Burris, lute and guitar. They will perform on period instruments selections of works from the Barogue period by composers Bononcini, Ruvo, Burgmüller, McGuire, and Villa-Lobos. There is no cover charge for this event.

Raffael Scheck (cello) was born in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany). He is Katz Distinguished Teaching Professor of modern European history at Colby College, where he has taught since 1994. Before becoming a historian, he studied cello for several semesters with Claude Starck at the conservatory of Zürich. He has more recently specialized in baroque cello and performed with a variety of baroque groups in Maine, including the Colby Collegium and Music’s Quill.

Timothy Burris (theorbo and lute) has performed widely in Europe and the U.S., including many appearances with world-renowned early music specialists. The most recent of his nine CD recordings includes his transcription for baroque lute of Bach’s work of that name. A Fulbright alumnus, Mr Burris is a graduate of The Hague’s Royal Conservatory and holds a PhD from Duke University. He was lute instructor at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music in Antwerp from 1990-96, and is currently on the faculties of the Portland Conservatory of Music and Colby College.

Mr. Burris is the founder and artistic director of the Portland Conservatory Early Music Festival, which in 2017 celebrated its 6th year.

Although the 1838 Head Tide Church has not had an active year-round congregation for many years, it still serves Midcoast Maine as a unique venue for weddings, memorial services, lectures and musical events – and perhaps most importantly, as a perpetual and inspiring connection to our country’s earliest history.

The Head Tide Church is located just off Head Tide Road, connecting Routes 218 and 194) in Alna. For more information call Mary Bowers 882-7744.