Music Styles
Karen Burciaga is an early strings specialist who bridges the worlds of classical and folk music. She is a founding member of Boston’s folk/early music ensemble Seven Times Salt and the viol consort Long & Away. Karen has performed on violin and viola da gamba across New England and Texas with groups including The King’s Noyse, Arcadia Players, Zenith Ensemble, Austin Baroque Orchestra, and others. She recently appeared in Boston’s Midwinter Revels on vielle and rebec.
A lifelong love of Celtic music led her into the world of fiddling and folk traditions. She enjoys playing (and dancing!) Scottish, Irish, English, and contra styles, with occasional forays into Cornish and Breton territory. She has fiddled for the Celtic band Ulster Landing, southern Italian folk band Newpoli, and English Country Dance bands in Greater Boston. Each spring, she attends the New England Folk Festival where she has been spotted attempting Balkan dance or trying out the nyckelharpa. Karen earned an MM in Early Music Performance from the Longy School of Music where she studied early strings with Dana Maiben and Jane Hershey and Renaissance and Baroque dance with Ken Pierce. She has taught both privately and at Pinewoods Early Music Week, the Texas Toot, and workshops for the Viola da Gamba Society - New England. When not making music, she can be found reading, petting cats, climbing small mountains, or playing pickleball.
Instruments
Modern violin and viola
Baroque violin and viola
Viola da gamba
Vielle (medieval fiddle)
Rebec (cousin to the vielle)
Renaissance guitar
Harp - occasionally!
Dance
In addition to her musical pursuits, Karen has experience with English and Scottish country dance, Renaissance, Baroque, Regency, contra, waltzing, and Irish ceili dancing, and is always interested in learning new styles. She is happy to teach your group some simple English folks dances or Irish ceili dances. She studied historic dance with Ken Pierce, Kaspar Mainz, and Dorothy Olsson and has danced in several baroque opera productions.
Teaching
Karen maintains a private string studio and has taught violin lessons for two decades. For several years she taught on the string faculty of the Texas TOOT, where she coached violin band and collaborated on English masque and Italian commedia dell'arte performances, and she has taught at Pinewoods Camp and workshops for the Viola da Gamba Society - New England.
Karen Burciaga is an early strings specialist who bridges the worlds of classical and folk music. She is a founding member of Boston’s folk/early music ensemble Seven Times Salt and the viol consort Long & Away. Karen has performed on violin and viola da gamba across New England and Texas with groups including The King’s Noyse, Arcadia Players, Zenith Ensemble, Austin Baroque Orchestra, and others. She recently appeared in Boston’s Midwinter Revels on vielle and rebec.
A lifelong love of Celtic music led her into the world of fiddling and folk traditions. She enjoys playing (and dancing!) Scottish, Irish, English, and contra styles, with occasional forays into Cornish and Breton territory. She has fiddled for the Celtic band Ulster Landing, southern Italian folk band Newpoli, and English Country Dance bands in Greater Boston. Each spring, she attends the New England Folk Festival where she has been spotted attempting Balkan dance or trying out the nyckelharpa. Karen earned an MM in Early Music Performance from the Longy School of Music where she studied early strings with Dana Maiben and Jane Hershey and Renaissance and Baroque dance with Ken Pierce. She has taught both privately and at Pinewoods Early Music Week, the Texas Toot, and workshops for the Viola da Gamba Society - New England. When not making music, she can be found reading, petting cats, climbing small mountains, or playing pickleball.
Instruments
Modern violin and viola
Baroque violin and viola
Viola da gamba
Vielle (medieval fiddle)
Rebec (cousin to the vielle)
Renaissance guitar
Harp - occasionally!
Dance
In addition to her musical pursuits, Karen has experience with English and Scottish country dance, Renaissance, Baroque, Regency, contra, waltzing, and Irish ceili dancing, and is always interested in learning new styles. She is happy to teach your group some simple English folks dances or Irish ceili dances. She studied historic dance with Ken Pierce, Kaspar Mainz, and Dorothy Olsson and has danced in several baroque opera productions.
Teaching
Karen maintains a private string studio and has taught violin lessons for two decades. For several years she taught on the string faculty of the Texas TOOT, where she coached violin band and collaborated on English masque and Italian commedia dell'arte performances, and she has taught at Pinewoods Camp and workshops for the Viola da Gamba Society - New England.