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šŸ—£ Locals to Know: Meet Andrew Fouts, the Chatham Baroque violinist restoring a Manchester home

Andrew Fouts headshot

Todayā€™s Locals to Know is sponsored by Chatham Baroque. New York City-based ensemble East of the River comes to Pittsburgh for two concerts on April 30. Listeners will hear Hebrew, Arabic, and Ladino (Medieval Judaeo-Spanish) in this program consisting of songs and dances from liturgical and folk traditions. For more information, visitĀ www.chathambaroque.org.

Hi Andrew! Tell us about your workā€”your job and/or any volunteer work.Ā 

Iā€™m a violinist, and Iā€™m one of three co-artistic directors of Chatham Baroque, which is both a Baroque music ensemble and an early music presenter. “Early music” sounds niche, but itā€™s actually broad, spanning over a millennium of many different musical traditionsā€”think ā€œBeowulf to Beethoven.ā€ So, you may hearĀ Renaissance musicĀ performed at one concert,Ā J.S. BachĀ at another, Medieval poetry sung in Old English or Old Icelandic at yet another, and so on. In fact, theĀ show on April 30Ā is a group called East of the River playing music from Andalusia, the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and the Sephardic Diaspora. Thereā€™s something for everyone!

Pick a favorite local outdoor experience. What is it? Whatā€™re we doing? Whoā€™s going with ya?

A favorite walk of mine is just out my front door in Manchester, across the tracks to Allegheny Rows, up the Sunday Street steps, through Union Dale cemetery to catch the sunset or sunrise reflecting off the city, then byĀ BreadworksĀ or the Northside farmers’ market on the way back.

Whatā€™s your favorite local Instagram or TikTok account and why?

Beside following musicians and artists I admire, I otherwise find myself drawn to accounts surrounding infrastructure, urban planning, preservation, and local history. I love exploring all the nooks and crannies of Pittsburgh, preferably by bike, so I really appreciate the work ofĀ @bikepgh. Iā€™m also slowly restoring an old house, so I find inspiration from the likes ofĀ @pghboxĀ andĀ @housesofpittsburgh.

If you could eat only one meal from a local restaurant for the rest of your life, what would it be?Ā 

Thatā€™s really a hard question. I love a good bowl of soup, so might have to say the pho atĀ Two Sisters. Iā€™m really looking forward to visiting the newĀ ShadoBeniĀ on Brighton Road. I have a feeling it may become a go-to spot.

Three musicians play acoustic instruments in a large church.
Andrew and Chatham Baroque musicians doing what they do best.

Whatā€™s a project youā€™re working on (big or small) and how can our readers help you with it?

Chatham Baroque is getting ready to announce our upcoming 2022ā€“2023 season, which is going to be amazing. There will be so many phenomenal artists coming to Pittsburgh and we really canā€™t wait to share the news! Keep an eye on our website for the announcement & tickets. On top of our own concert season, I’m completely giddy about ourĀ upcoming project with Quantum Theatre, a fully staged modern premiere of the 1730 opera “Idaspe,” at the Byham Theater. Itā€™s full of great music and will bring together a ridiculously talented cast, a brilliant director and creative team, and a superlative sixteen-player orchestra in the pit. It’ll be the culmination of years of work and planning, coming off in one short runā€”the zenith of why I love my job!

What are you looking forward to this year?

Truly, Iā€™m looking forward to continuing to gather together in whatever context as a normal feature of life and community. For Chatham Baroque, part of that means settling into our new home at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS). Itā€™s a dream come true to return to in-person work on a beautiful campus in a vibrant neighborhood with tons of new folks to meet. We have an office on campus now, and the seminaryā€™s Hicks Memorial Chapel is such a great place to rehearse and perform. Come to theĀ East of the River concertĀ on April 30 if you want to hear what it all sounds like.

Interested in being featured and want to share your own cool project in the ā€˜Burgh? Send an email toĀ hello@theincline.comĀ with the subject line ā€œTI Locals to Know 2022ā€ and you just mightĀ  see yourself in a future newsletter.