CLASSICAL | Pegasus Early Music: 'Nevertheless, She Persisted' 

The 17th and 18th centuries were enlivened by some persistent and talented women composers and performers, all of them more or less erased by history until recently. This weekend's Pegasus Early Music concert features a potpourri of instrumental pieces, songs, and opera excerpts by five such women: Barbara Strozzi, Antonia Bembo, Isabella Leonarda, Julie Pinel, and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. Several of these composers have appeared on earlier Pegasus concerts. "They were persistent in working on their craft in a man's world," says Pegasus Artistic Director Deborah Fox, "and we're persistent in bringing their music to light." And while Fox didn't plan it that way, the performing roster consists of six talented women: Fox on lute, soprano Laura Heims, cellist Lisa Terry, harpsichordist Naomi Gregory, and violinists Boel Gidholm and Adriane Post (in her Rochester debut).

Pegasus Early Music presents "Nevertheless, She Persisted" on Sunday, February 2 at 4 p.m. at Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 North Fitzhugh Street. Pre-concert talk at 3:15 p.m. $28 general, $22 seniors, $10 students, free for grades 3-12. 703-3990, or at Parkleigh, 235 Park Avenue #215. pegasusearlymusic.org.