Bird in Hand presents Larke & Laurel: "The Songcatcher's Notebook"

Bird in Hand welcomes you back to our seasonal concert series! Winter of 2026 is filled with storytelling through music. From ballads and ancient heros to seafaring songs and unrequited love, there is a bit of everything. Folk music with influences from around the world to our own backyard will invite you inside to cozy up with a tasty winter latte or cocktail. This concert series is free, and donations to directly support the artists are welcome.

Larke & Laurel features Kaitlyn Townsend, voice, and Chris Jenkins, classical guitar, invites audiences into creative, culturally rich experiences rooted in early music and folk music. The Songcatcher's Notebookexplores ballads and songs that crossed oceans, remembered rebellions, celebrated love and mourned love lost and were enjoyed in pubs and on front porches for hundreds of years. This concert features works by John Dowland, Robert Burns, works collected by Cecil Sharp & Francis Child and focuses on themes of love, loss, sin, and redemption.

Kaitlyn Townsend is regarded highly for her work with Baroque and early music. Recent appearances include performing as a soloist with the Shenandoah Valley Choral Society and the Arts Chorale of Winchester, with the new duo Larke & Laurel (with classical guitarist Chris Jenkins) and as a soloist for Sacred Mysteries, which included a world premiere of “Magnificat” by composer Douglas Byler. Other recent solo appearances have featured Ms. Townsend as a soloist with the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin College,as a featured performer in Staunton’s Bach Around the Clock Festival, with the Baroque Opera Workshop (with Christa Patton), with the Virginia Baroque Academy (with Arthur Haas) and as the mezzo-soprano soloist for Vivaldi’s Gloria in D major (Dr. Craig Robertson, conductor). Ms. Townsend performs regularly with the Rocktown Choral Artists (Douglas Byler, conductor) and Staunton’s Bach Around the Clock Festival Choir (Paul Weber, conductor) and as a solo and choral sub for various churches in the greater Washington, DC area. Ms. Townsend has also appeared in the role of Susan in Alice Parker’s opera, Singers Glen, with Richmond’s Red Letter Consort (Charles Humphries, conductor), Madison Baroque (with Dr. Jon Gibson) and The Governor’s Musick in Colonial Williamsburg.

Christopher Jenkins is a performer in the Washington DC area. He has given performances both at home and abroad, from Spain and Argentina to locations in, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, Texas, and Washington D.C. He has premiered works by various composers, notably Ralf Bauer. In addition to performance, he holds his Master’s Degree in Music from the University of South Carolina School of Music where he studied with Christopher Berg and received his Bachelor’s Degree from the George Mason University School of Music under the tutelage of Larry Snitzler. He studied classical guitar in Granada, Spain at the Interpretation of Spanish Song Festival with Gallardo del Rey and Joaquin Clerch. Christopher has performed in masterclasses for greats such as Pepe Romero, Martha Masters, and Gilbert Biberian. His studies with the late guitarist and composer Roland Dyens spanned several years.

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