REBEKAH AHRENDT (viola da gamba), a native of San Jose, California, performs in the United States and Europe as a soloist and with ensembles including Disperata, Les Violettes, and Het Internationaal Collectief Oude Muziek (ICOM). She has been described as “a player to watch” and praised for her “warm tone and fine form.” Rebekah accidentally discovered the viola da gamba while a student at San José State University. She began lessons with John Dornenburg, then won a Rotary Club Ambassadorial Fellowship to continue her studies with Anneke Pols at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (1998-2002). Since returning to the Bay Area, Rebekah has been active as a viol teacher and ensemble coach, including workshops for the Viola da Gamba Society of America and the San Francisco Early Music Society summer workshops. Rebekah is currently completing a doctoral dissertation in Musicology at UC Berkeley. She has previously published on reinterpretations of Psyche in the eighteenth-century French cantata and reimaginings of the medieval in the Gothic scene.