THE MUSICIANS

urora is a flexible group whose membership changes depending on the program they are currently working on. At present, the group is Liz Thompson, Susan Comen, and Amity Baker, singers, regularly joined by instrumentalists Mary Ann Samuels, hammered dulcimer and recorders and Susan Reit, harp and recorders. Liz, Susan, and Amity performed for many years together, in various combinations, before launching Aurora in the summer of 2001.

Liz Thompson, voice, percussion, and hurdy-gurdy, does most of the musicological research and programming for the group. Liz directed Anima, a women’s medieval vocal ensemble, from 1988 to 1998. Liz studied medieval performance practice with the late Barbara Thornton of Sequentia, with Ensemble PAN’s Laurie Monahan, and with Sequentia’s Benjamin Bagby. She has studied and performed traditional music, from southern shape-note songs to Bulgarian dances, with Northern Harmony, Bayley-Hazen Singers, Matrix, and the South End Scramblers. In addition to making music, Liz works as a consulting ecologist and instructor at the University of Vermont.

Susan Comen, voice and vielle, is a founding member of Aurora. She sang with Anima and with Social Band, and has performed with the Vermont Millennium Festival Chorus. She has also conducted children's choirs in Central Vermont and has taught Suzuki Violin since 1996. She has a BA in music from Lewis and Clark College in Oregon.

Amity Baker, voice and percussion, directs Social Band, Burlington, Vermont’s a capella chorus, and teaches music at various Vermont schools. She has directed summer music camps for children and teenagers, and gives singing workshops in a variety of settings. Amity has sung for many years with Northern Harmony, a professional singing ensemble that specializes in world and early music. She also sings with the South End Scramblers and other traditional music groups.

Mary Ann Samuels studied music at Hendrix College and the University of Vermont. She also studied privately with Steven Light (recorders) and Susan Borg (voice and piano). In the late 1970’s she began playing tin whistles and dulcimers, and performed with many folk groups. She recorded two cassettes of music for children, and one that features hammered dulcimer. Mary Ann has taught music in public and private schools since 1982. She has also taught numerous private lessons, workshops and summer camps. She currently performs with Susan Reit, with the recorder ensemble Full Circle, and with Aurora.

Susan Reit studied recorder with Steven Light and harp with Elizabeth Dahl in Vermont. She attended the Program for the Performance of Early Music at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. She has played with many different groups in many different places. Susan is a Suzuki recorder teacher and has completed the "Music Together" training for young children. She lives in Starksboro, Vermont with her husband, and there she home schools her two sons.