The "live oak" is an evergreen oak known for its strength and long life. It has been a symbol of new life since ancient times: in Catalan the word for the live oak is made into a verb, alzinarse, meaning to revitalize. Duo LiveOak (Nancy Knowles, soprano, poet and Frank Wallace, guitarist, baritone, composer) performs the great song repertoire from the middle ages to contemporary, accompanied by the classical guitar and its ancestors. In concert, Duo LiveOak is known for its versatility, grace, and spontaneity. They sing and play with passion and panache, showcasing their multiple talents by combining rich vocal harmonies, virtuosic playing, and acting skills to create performances that transcend the standard recital format.

LiveOak made its name in medieval and renaissance music, particularly that of Spain, in the 1980s and early 90s. As a composer Frank Wallace has "developed a formidable palette for voice and plucked strings, one that incorporates influences from early music to the latest avant garde"*, often set to Knowles' poetry. This body of new work, contemporary in style, but with echoes of ancient music, is now the major feature of the Duo's concerts.

Both as a duo and as members of the early music ensembles Trio LiveOak and LiveOak and Company, Wallace and Knowles have toured widely throughout the U.S. and Europe since 1976, performing at festivals such as the Holland Festival, the Regensburg Festival, Música en Compostela, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Barcelona Festival. Trio LiveOak made its debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1981. In 1982 Edward Rothstein wrote in the New York Times: "…their eloquence could not have been improved upon." A member for many years of the New England Touring Program roster, Duo LiveOak is currently on the New Hampshire Touring roster [LINK]. Although their main focus is duo work, Knowles and Wallace occasionally perform and record as soloists.

LiveOak has recorded for Titanic, Centaur, Musical Heritage Society, and most recently, Gyre. In 2001 Wallace won the Artist Fellowship Award of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts for his playing and composing on his first solo guitar CD, Frank Wallace: his own new works (Gyre 10012). See discography section

In 1976 Frank Wallace accepted a post to teach classical guitar at the New England Conservatory in Boston. At the time Wallace was also performing as a player of early instruments and as a singer: that same year he and Knowles, both students of Marleen Montgomery, founded the early music ensemble LiveOak. In 1979, with a desire to experience medieval music in a medieval acoustic, Trio LiveOak (the late John Fleagle, Nancy Knowles, and Frank Walllace) established their international reputation in a most unusual manner, by following the ancient pilgrimage routes on foot over the Pyrenees mountains from the French border to Montserrat (near Barcelona). For four weeks the trio trekked through the mountains and villages of the province of Catalunya with medieval instruments on their backs and enough vocal power to fill the gorgeous romanesque churches that grace every village and hilltop. Always greeted with amazement and enthusiasm, the trio returned a month later to follow their route by train and car in a formal concert series. The tour ended with a packed Santa Agatha church in the barri gòtic of Barcelona. The trip caught the attention of journalist George Semler who wrote about the young trio in the International Herald Tribune: "overflow publics, standing ovations…LiveOak is on the move."

Trio LiveOak evolved into LiveOak and Company in the late 1980s, which became known for its innovative programming, including several dramatic productions, conceived by Nancy Knowles. Throughout the U.S. and Europe in the early 1990's LiveOak and Company toured a musical play inspired by commedia dell'arte called The Lost Spindle. "The Lost Spindle reflected humor in sorrow and vice-versa, reaching to the essence of the music performed and the message it contained...you laughed, you cried, then you laughed some more."—The Tech (MIT). Singing Simpkin and Simon the King, a tavern drama with music of the 17th century commissioned by the Boston Early Music Festival, ran for five nights at the 1995 Festival: "...the show's low slapstick and high hilarity had us rolling in the aisles...who would not be charmed?" —The Boston Globe. Lanterns of Fire: Love and the Mystic in 16th Century Spain paired 16th century Spanish part songs with Knowles' readings in the original of the poetry of the great mystic St. John of the Cross, some of the greatest love poetry of all times. "Lanterns of Fire is one of the best compilations of Spanish vocal music available." —Renaissance Magazine

In the last decade Duo LiveOak has enriched its offerings with romantic and contemporary repertoire. For much of the 1990s they performed renaissance and romantic songs, the latter on exquisite 19th century guitars in Wallace's collection. During this period Wallace began composing, and the results have been so exciting that the Duo is now pioneering the creation and performance of a whole new body of song accompanied by guitar and lute, instruments which history has shown are an exquisite complement to the human voice. See Frank Wallace Editions

Both Knowles and Wallace are master teachers known for their warmth and intuition. For many years they gave weekend and weeklong workshops at their 1789 home in the scenic and artistic Monadnock region of New Hampshire. They both maintain teaching studios at Two Rivers Music Studios in Peterborough, where Knowles also leads Halcyon, a women's vocal ensemble.

*Boston Classical Guitar Society Newsletter, 2002