Ensemble Alcatraz has been presenting innovative performances of medieval and Renaissance music from Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy since 1984. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the group has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Their two recordings, Visions and Miracles and Danse Royale on the Elektra/Nonesuch label have brought them worldwide acclaim. Ensemble Alcatraz's members (Cheryl Ann Fulton, harps; Shira Kammen, vielle, rebec, and fiddles; Kit Higginson, recorders and psaltery; and Peter Maund, percussion) are all internationally recognized specialists in early music who combine scholarship with imagination, virtuosity and musicality. The musicians of Ensemble Alcatraz regularly perform with such groups as the Boston Camerata, Chanticleer, Hesperion XXI, Ensemble PAN, Medieval Strings, Philharmonia Baroque, Quarternaria, Angelorum, Skyedance, Magnificat, American Bach Soloists, The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Sequentia, and others. Alcatraz is an early Iberian word for “pelican,” a medieval religious symbol.