Frances Blaker and Barbara Blaker Krumdieck

Classical music music lovers will have a rare chance to hear Baroque music played on period instruments Friday night, Aug. 12, when the newly-formed North Carolina Baroque Orchestra kicks off a weekend of concerts across the state with a performance in Davidson. And it won’t just be a treat for listeners: musicians were clamoring for a chance to join in, too, says Davidson resident and baroque cellist Barbara Blaker Krumdieck.

Friday’s concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Congregation House at Davidson College Presbyterian Church on Concord Road.

Ms. Krumdieck, also music director of Davidson’s popular Music @ St. Alban’s series, was organizing a 50th birthday party for herself (it was July 23) and wanted to play some music. The idea for an informal music party – perhaps with a quartet – grew into a series of three concerts this weekend – in Davidson, Durham and Greenville, N.C.

As she invited friends, others heard about the idea and the quartet grew into an orchestra of about 20. “So many people wanted to play,” Ms. Krumdieck said. All are professionals who either live in North Carolina or have ties to the state.

Why the rush of interest from musicians? “They don’t get to play often,” Ms. Krumdieck explained. “There aren’t many opportunities to play baroque music in the Charlotte area, unless you make them yourself.”

So she did.

The music will include selections from Telemann’s “Wasser Musik,” Vivaldi’s “Tempeste di Mare,” and Chaconnes and Marches by French baroque composers Lully and Rameau. Durham-based singer Erica Dunkle will sing English songs with lute accompaniment, as well as a Bach aria for voice and recorder.

Conducting the group will be Frances Blaker, Ms. Krumdieck’s sister and also a recorder virtuoso. She is from San Francisco and conducts a group called the Bay Area Baroque Orchestra.

The concert is in part a family affair. Ms. Krumdieck’s husband, Richard, will play recorder, and her mother, Sally Balker, will also play cello. Ms. Blaker’s partner, Letitia Berlin, will also play recorder. Altogether, there are six violins, two violas, two cellos, a flute, two oboes, a lute a harpsichord and a baroque organ.

Those who attend will notice differences from a contemporary classical orchestra. For one thing, the woodwinds are all wood – not the metal varieties now in favor. Flutes and oboes have only a single key, with the rest of the fingerings over holes in the wood. And baroque tuning is slightly lower than modern standards.

Ms. Krumdieck’s Baroque cello is different as well. It uses gut strings, instead of metal ones, and lacks the end pin that modern cellists use to steady their instruments. That makes it “much more intimate” to play, she said. She has to cradle it between her legs, and that means “it feels much more a part of you.”

All the differences make for a different sound, Frances Blaker said. While a modern orchestra features lush, sweeping lines, its baroque counterpart, on period instruments, is more intimate, more “transparent, more light more airy. … You want the details of the phrases, the shape and nuances.”

Donations will be accepted at the door. Call 704-560-0101 for further information.