Two internationally renowned German period instrument soloists return to Seattle to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the lifetime of Georg Philipp Telemann, the 18th century’s most prolific composer, with flutist Jeffrey Cohan in “Telemann Celebration: 250 Years” on Sunday afternoon, March 12 at 1 p.m. at the Orcas Adventist Fellowship Church.

Harpsichordist Bernward Lohr and violinist Anne Roehrig will be joined by baroque flutist and artistic director Cohan. This fourth of seven 2017 programs presented by the Salish Sea Early Music Festival in Eastsound celebrates Telemann (1681-1767), easily the most famous musician in Germany during his lifetime who garnered a salary about three times that of the younger Johann Sebastian Bach, born four years later. Telemann’s self-confident, effusive and humorous nature and extraordinarily productivity won him the universal respect of his contemporaries.

Harpsichordist Bernward Lohr, director of Hanover’s Musica Alta Ripa, one of Germany’s most active period instrument ensembles, and baroque violinist Anne Röhrig, leader of the Hannoversche Hofkapelle, one of Europe’s premier baroque orchestras, join baroque flutist Cohan for a contrasting and colorful sampling of Telemann’s numerous solos, duos and trios for flute, violin and harpsichord.

Lohr and Röhrig are both professors at music conservatories in Hanover and also in Nuremberg, Germany. Their more than 30 recordings have garnered awards including the Diapason Dòr, the Cannes Classical Award, the German Recording Critics’ Prize and the coveted Echo Klassik Award several times. Both were awarded the 2002 Music Award of Lower Saxony.

Performances of “Celebrating Telemann” in the San Juan Islands are:

• San Juan Island on Saturday, March 11 at 7 p.m. at the San Juan Island Grange.

• Orcas Island on Sunday, March 12 at 1 p.m. at the Orcas Adventist Fellowship Church.

• Lopez Island on Sunday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at Grace Church.

The 2017 Salish Sea Early Music Festival, for the seventh year featuring the some of the finest period instrument specialists from the North America and Europe, presents seven contrasting performances of chamber music from the Renaissance through the time of Beethoven on period instruments in Eastsound, this year with three musicians from Germany, one from Montreal and others from around the USA and the Pacific Northwest. The festival has presented countless first performances in modern times of period instrument renditions of early works. Additional information is available at www.salishseafestival.org/orcas.