Two days prior to Johann Sebastian Bach's 326th birthday, The Salish Sea Early Music Festival will present "A Handel Celebration for Bach's Birthday," with soprano Linda Tsatsanis, baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan, baroque cellist David Morris and harpsichordist Lisa Michele Lewis at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at Vashon United Methodist Church.

The program will be dedicated to conductor and harpsichordist George Shangrow, who championed the oratorios and other large choral and orchestral works of Handel and Bach in the Northwest.

The soloists are widely recognized and well traveled musicians.

Hailed as “ravishing” by The New York Times, Canadian soprano Linda Tsatsanis has appeared as a

soloist with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra and other important Northwest orchestras and for the Indianapolis, Boston and Bloomington Early Music Festivals. She has recorded  solo albums with Origin Classical, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Naxos.

Flutist Jeffrey Cohan has performed as soloist in 25 countries, and is one of the foremost specialists on early and modern flutes. He can "play many superstar flutists one might name under the table," according to the New York Times.

Harpsichordist Lisa Michele Lewis regularly performs as a soloist on harpsichord and piano with local orchestras, most recently in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with Orchestra Seattle. She received a master of music degree in harpsichord at the University of Washington, where she studied with Carole Terry and Margriet Tindemans.

The suggested donation for the concert, a free will offering towards expenses, will be $15. Youth 18 and younger are free. For more  information, call (206) 463-9804, or visit www.concertspirituel.org.

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