Mistress Arianna Morgan, O.P. is a seasoned vocalist/musician with over 50 years of experience performing, teaching, and directing, the last 30 years of which have been within the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). She lives in the Barony of Lochmere (central Maryland), where she currently serves as Minister of Arts & Sciences, in the Kingdom of Atlantia.
Her primary goal is to research, perform, and teach medieval and renaissance vocal music with an emphasis on collaborative music.
Conducting
Arianna has directed multiple choirs including her local women’s choir, Laydes Fayre, which she founded in 1999; the Lochmere Vocal Music Guild; and a quintet called Bella Voce. She has also directed the Pennsic Choir three times (and will be directing it again in 2027), and the Pennsic select choir, Chorulus Pennsicus, four times. She’s also a member of the Known World Choirs Board of Directors.
Performing
Of course, she sings in all of the choirs listed above, as well as in the modern ensemble Patuxent Voices. Arianna also performs as a soloist at other events for occasions like peerage elevations. You can see a list of some of her performances here along with links to a few recordings.
Instrumental Music
Recently, she has taught herself to play recorder, playing with pick-up bands at multiple events for processionals and dancing. She also plays harp, guitar, and piano, and founded the Laydes Fayre Instrumental Consort in 2026.
Teaching
Arianna also enjoys teaching classes on various aspects of music, from singing to how to run a music ensemble to medieval notation. A list of topics is available on the Classes page of this blog.
Musical Composition and Arranging
She has arranged numerous songs for choirs, which involves starting with a medieval piece and then adapting harmony lines for each of the parts. She has also composed original pieces, both liturgical and secular, in the style of period composers. You can see a list of her pieces on the Composing and Arranging page of this blog.
Writing
Arianna has written numerous research papers as well as articles for her Baronial newsletter about various musical styles and composers. She represented the Barony of Lochmere in the Inter-Baronial A&S Competition and the Kingdom A&S Festival with a multi-media display on “Music of the Renaissance Mass” culminating in a live performance by Laydes Fayre singing the Gloria from a Mass she composed. She entered an original composition with documentation in the Tempora Atlantia at the Virtual Kingdom 12th Night in 2021 and won the prize for the highest scoring performing arts entry. At the Kingdom A&S Fair in 2022 she entered a display titled “Transcribing the Past (Pre-13th Century Music Notation).” A list of topics is available on the Writing page of this blog.
Continuous Learning
Outside of the SCA, Arianna has pursued many learning experiences through both the Amherst Early Music program and Medieval Music Besalu on topics ranging from singing using early styles of medieval music notation, music history, and renaissance solfegge to specific types of music like the Cantigas of Santa Maria and madrigals by the 16th c. composer Salamone Rossi.
Other Artistic Endeavors
She’s not “just” a musician! Arianna also enjoys needlework, both counted thread and free embroidery styles, silk banner painting, lucet and kumihimo cord-making, and hand sewing. The photo on the right below is her second gold work project.
Awards
Arianna was made a Court Baroness in 2000 and elevated to the Order of the Pelican in 2003 for her work as an officer and autocrat. She has received numerous other awards from the Barony of Lochmere and the Kingdom of Atlantia for service and arts as well as for archery. A complete list of her awards is available in the Kingdom Order of Precedence.
Outside the SCA
Chris Stuermer is retired from working as a civilian for the U.S. Military. She enjoys spending time with her cats, her poodle, and her husband Ernie. She has walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain three times, and volunteers in support of Ukraine.
