06/28/2025
Mark your calendar! 7/20/25! Free admission!
Seth Dempsey is an American-Canadian multi-instrumentalist whose primary focus is on 17th-century basso continuo accompaniment, the music of John Dowland, arranging Romantic music for early instruments, and theoretical analysis of 16th- and 17th-century lute music. During his time as a classical guitarist, Seth studied under Andrew Zohn, Bryan K. Burns, and Oscar Valdez,
with whom he discovered his love for early music and the lute.
Seth’s initial studies of early music led him to study with Nigel North at Indiana university, where he had training in solo lute music and ensemble music spanning the early 16th-century until the late 18th-century. Since then, Seth has studied with Hopkinson Smith and has performed in master classes with Paul O’dette, Thomas Dunford, and Xavier Diaz-Latorre. Seth has recently completed his bachelor’s degree in early music performance in lute, with a minor in music theory, at McGill University under the tutelage of Sylvain Bergeron.
While at McGill, Seth took part in countless collaborations ranging from small ensemble to orchestral settings, including performances in the Montreal Baroque Festival and the Early Music America Summit in Boston. Seth founded the ensemble La Bella Incognita with the goal of pushing outside of the box of what a typical early music ensemble can be by programming music from all eras while uplifting artistry and beauty above tradition.
In addition to his performance background and projects, Seth has a passion for music theory. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in music theory at McGill university under Peter Schubert with a thesis focused on the analysis of the seconda prattica movement in early 17th century Italy.
