My Cup of Tea
My Cup of Tea is a collaboration between Gail and Beneath A Tree. Recorded October 2020 at St. Stephen’s Belvedere by engineer Andrés Villlalta.
Bio
Historical Performance
Violin / Viola / Voice
GAIL HERNÁNDEZ ROSA
Grew up in Puerto Rico, where music is a strong part of everyday life. Her love for music started at a young age, allegedly singing before speaking. Supported by her father’s fascination with classical music and his training as a baritone, she started violin lessons at age three and voice lessons at age six.
Her career has taken her all over the world, living in several continents and performing with groups such as Gabrieli Consort & Players, Florilegium & Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Her interest in period instrument performance led her to London where she gained a Master’s degree from the Royal Academy of Music, making Gail the first violinist from her island to specialize in Historical Performance. Thanks to her cultural immersion and Scottish bonds, her love affair with baroque and Celtic folk music further blossomed, inspiring her to co-found Beneath A Tree (BAT). BAT was nominated as “Best Chamber Music Ensemble” & “Best Early Music Ensemble” for the 2024 San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards.
Gail is based in Northern California and performs with American Bach Soloists, Washington Bach Consort, Philharmonia Baroque, Bach Collegium SD, Ars Minerva, Voices of Music, leads Marin Baroque & Lakeside Camerata and has an active career as a soloist & chamber musician. She was nominated as “Best Instrumental Soloist” in the 2024 San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards.
Her engagements as a soloist and chamber musician include Valley of the Moon Festival, Lumedia MusicWorks, University of San Diego, Sonoma State University, American Bach Soloist Festival (Beneath A Tree), Marin Baroque and Kreutzer Quartet.
She believes in the power of music education, which has led her to be faculty at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland & Hill House International School.
As part of SCO Connects she was chamber music coach/conductor, given Masterclasses in the US & UK and has served as adjudicator for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra Competition and Junior Bach Festival. In 2021, Gail joined Sonoma State University’s Music Department.
Her recordings include Chopin Piano Concertos and Mozart Opera Arias & Overtures with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Linn Records), Telemann and Janitsch with Tempesta di Mare (Chandos Early Music), Mythologies Past and Present with the Washington Bach Consort (Acis Productions) and Concertos & Sonatas for Three Violin with American Bach. Gail’s debut solo album in Collaboration with Beneath A Tree was released in 2022.
Gail has a strong yoga & meditation practice. She loves cooking, hiking, open water swimming and laughing out loud at the many wonders that life offers.
