Giovanna Barbati is an Italian cellist and viola da gamba player whose repertoire extends from early to contemporary music and who has a special interest in improvisation. She appears frequently as a soloist and has given the first performance of a number of works for solo cello, many written especially for her. As a principal cellist, she has played at the Teatro Regio in Turin, and with groups such as the Innsbrucker Festwochen Orchestra, Accademia Bizantina, Les Talens Lyriques, Il Complesso Barocco, Real Compañìa Òpera da Càmara, L’Arte del Mondo, Camerata Bern and Concerto de’ Cavalieri. Musicologist Guido Olivieri teaches history of music and directs the UT Early Music Ensemble “Austinato.” Before joining the faculty at the Butler School of Music, Olivieri has been a Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool (UK) and at The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University, and a Mellon Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan.