The fact that Vivaldi was an extravagant performer himself and quite a maverick was an additional attraction.

'We just loved that combination of words - it was very evocative to us,' Adams says. His nickname was 'Il Prete Rosso'- the Red Priest.

Red Priest was founded in 1997 by Piers Adams, whom the Washington Post has called 'the reigning recorder virtuoso of our day.' The band's name comes from Antonio Vivaldi, a famous scarlet-haired composer and violinist, who also happened to be a priest. It's not your high-school English teacher's Baroque music ensemble. The British quartet has cut a wide swath through the Baroque music world, as you can tell from the titles of some of the group's programs: Priest on the Run, Nightmare in Venice, The Red Priest and the Virgin. Red Priest is swashbuckling, extroverted, and scandalous - energetic adjectives for a harpsichordist, cellist, violinist, and recorder player. Piers Adams, Red Priest's founder and recorder player, says that his ensemble is on the cutting edge of what's allowed in classical music.

Vivaldi red priest