GRAMMY-nominated countertenor Reginal Mobley joins Music of the Baroque for “Reginal Mobley Sings,” 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21 at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. Also performing will be the Music of the Baroque Chorus, under the direction of Andrew Megill, along with the Music of the Baroque Orchestra. Conducting will be Nicholas Kraemer, Music of the Baroque’s principal guest conductor since 2002.
“The common thread in our November program is Reginald Mobley’s remarkable countertenor voice,” says Kraemer. “Equally compelling is the sheer variety of the music, all composed within a 50-year span. Henry Purcell’s marvelous talent with words is on full display in ‘Welcome to all the Pleasures’ and his intensely passionate yet restrained ‘Hear my Prayer’ for unaccompanied chorus. We enter a totally different sound world with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4. This familiar work is still full of surprises, not least the agile yet sweet partnership of virtuoso violin and two recorders. We then move to Handel’s dramatic genius with two great opera arias plus music from his colossal oratorio ‘Belshazzar.’ I also snuck in William Croft’s unusually titled ‘Suite from the Comedy call’d the Funeral.’ Croft’s quirky yet touching dances are delightful. Between Mobley’s musical genius and an exhilarating romp through the dramatic world of the Baroque, this is a concert not to be missed!”
Mobley’s voice of “pure of tone, immaculate in his articulation” (The Herald) will be showcased in arias from two of George Frideric Handel’s acclaimed operas: “Cara sposa,” from “Rinaldo,” and “Fammi combattere” from “Orlando.” Mobley will also be featured in excerpts from Handel’s oratorio “Belshazzar:” “O’ Sacred Oracles,” “See from his post Euphrates lies” and “I will magnify thee” from the closing scene.
The Music of the Baroque Chorus will be highlighted in Henry Purcell’s “Welcome to all the Pleasures,” “Fantasia on a Ground” and “Hear my Prayer, O Lord.” Performances by Music of the Baroque’s orchestra of J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #4, and lively dances from William Croft’s Suite, “The Comedy call’d the Funeral Music” will complete the program.
Tickets:
Music of the Baroque presents “Reginald Mobley Sings”:
• 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie,
9501 Skokie Blvd.(www.northshorecenter.org)
• 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Dr. (www.harristheaterchicago.org)
Tickets range from $25-$100. Visit www.baroque.org or call 312.551.1414
Students Go For Free at the Harris Theater: By popular demand, students will once again be able to attend any of Music of the Baroque’s seven performances at the Harris Theater during the 2022-2023 season free of charge. Students can reserve up to two complimentary tickets per valid student ID by visiting www.baroque.org or calling 312.551.1414. Student tickets will also be available at the Harris Theater box office starting two hours prior to the performance.
Related Special Event:
An advocate for diversity in music and programming, Reginald Mobley will discuss his unique career path and present a short recital of music by under-represented classical composers at a free event in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. “A Conversation/Concert with Reginald Mobley” will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Kehrein Center for the Arts, 5628 W. Washington Blvd. in Chicago. This event is free and open to the public. For reservations or more information, visit www.baroque.org.
About Music of the Baroque
Long recognized as one of the region’s top classical groups, Music of the Baroque’s professional chorus and orchestra is one of the leading ensembles in the country devoted to the performance of eighteenth-century works. The 2022-2023 marks the 20th anniversaries of Music Director Dame Jane Glover and Principal Guest Conductor Nicholas Kraemer. Andrew Megill was named Chorus Director in April 2022.
Over the past four decades, Music of the Baroque has presented premiere performances of many early masterpieces, including Monteverdi’s operas and 1610 Vespers, Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Day of Judgment,” Mozart’s “Idomeneo,” and numerous Handel operas and oratorios. The ensemble has drawn particular praise throughout its history for its performances of the major choral and orchestral works of J. S. Bach and Handel, Mozart, and Haydn.
Opera News calls Music of the Baroque “one of Chicago’s musical glories” and the Chicago Sun-Times writes, “Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra may be the big guys on the local classical music scene, but in terms of sheer quality of performance…Music of the Baroque inhabits the same stratosphere.”
Music of the Baroque draws audiences from across the Chicago metropolitan area, performing regularly at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, as well as at intimate Chicago and suburban churches.
Listeners across the country enjoy Music of the Baroque’s work through radio broadcasts and recordings on 98.7WFMT Radio.
Music of the Baroque's available recordings include "Messiah—Live in Chicago" recorded live in November 2021; "Bach's Mass in B Minor" recorded live during the 2019-2020 season; and "On This Night," recorded live during the ensemble's 2017 and 2014 holiday concerts and conducted by William Jon Gray.
Through its "Strong Voices" program, Music of the Baroque conducts arts education to support and enhance music education programs at Chicago public high schools.
For more information about Music of the Baroque, visit www.baroque.org.
Biographies
Music of the Baroque’s principal guest conductor since 2002, Nicholas Kraemer (conductor) began his career as a harpsichordist, quickly moving from playing continuo at the back of the orchestra to directing from the harpsichord at the front. His repertory widened in the 1970s, taking in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as the Baroque. In 1978, he formed Raglan Baroque Players.
Kraemer has held the positions of artistic director of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the London Bach Orchestra, and the Bath International Festival; permanent guest conductor of the Manchester Camerata; principal guest conductor of the Kristians and Symphony Orchestra and Musikkollegium Winterthur; and associate conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He was the first music director of Opera 80, now English Touring Opera.
Appearing worldwide with many prestigious ensembles, Nicholas Kraemer has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic; Rotterdam Philharmonic; Bergen Philharmonic; BBC Philharmonic; BBC National Orchestra of Wales; The Hallé Orchestra; Gothenburg Symphony; City of Birmingham, Detroit, Toronto, West Australian, and Colorado symphony orchestras; and the Minnesota Orchestra. In addition, he has directed specialist ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Philharmonia Baroque, and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. He has conducted the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, and Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan). He will conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a program of baroque masterpieces in March 2020.
Nicholas Kraemer’s opera engagements have taken him to Paris, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Geneva, and Marseilles with repertoire ranging from Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” and “L’incoronazione di Poppea” to 19th and 20th century works including Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos;” Britten’s “Albert Herring,” Noye’s “Fludde” and “Paul Bunyan;” and Stephen Oliver’s “Tom Jones.” He has conducted many Handel operas including “Arianna in Creta,” “Lotario,” “Tolomeo,” “Arminio,” “Ariodante,” “Il pastor fido,” “Rinaldo” and “Orlando” as well as the major Mozart operas. He has conducted “The Magic Flute” and Handel’s “Jephtha” at English National Opera, “Agrippina” for Theater Aachen, “Le nozze di Figaro” for Den Nye Opera, “Idomeneo” for Grange Park Opera, “La finta giardiniera” at the Buxton Festival and “Ariodante” for Scottish Opera.
Among his recordings are several discs of Vivaldi concertos with City of London Sinfonia for Naxos; Locatelli concerti grossi, Tartini violin concertos, and concertos by Durante, Pergolesi, and Leo with Elizabeth Wallfisch and Raglan Baroque Players for Hyperion; Handel’s “Rodelinda” for Virgin Classics; “Handel Great Oratorio Duets” with Carolyn Sampson, Robin Blaze, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for BIS; and works by Thea Musgrave with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for Collins Classics. He has contributed to several feature films, most notably as Baroque music director for “The Madness of King George.”
Noted for his "shimmering voice" (BachTrack), American countertenor Reginald Mobley (countertenor) is highly sought after for the Baroque, classical, and modern repertoire. He last appeared as soloist with Music of the Baroque in May 2019.
Mobley leads a very prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, where he resides, he became the first ever programming consultant for the Handel & Haydn Society following several years of leading H&H in his community engaging Every Voice concerts. He also holds the position of Visiting Artist for Diversity Outreach with the Baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire, and is a regular guest with Cantata Collective, Musica Angelica, Agave Baroque, Charlotte Bach Akademie, Seraphic Fire, Quodlibet, Pacific Music Works, Bach Collegium San Diego, San Francisco Early Music Society and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Recent engagements have included concerts and recordings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Opera Lafayette, Blue Heron, Chatham Baroque, Washington Bach Consort, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and Early Music Seattle. Future highlights include “Carmina Burana” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, “Messiah” with the New York Philharmonic and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras, a debut at Carnegie Hall with Orchestra St Luke’s and at the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles.
In Europe, Mobley has been invited to perform with the OH! (Orkiestra Historycsna) in Poland, Vienna Academy in Austria (Musikverein), Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Academy of Ancient Music, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Balthasar Neumann Chor & Ensemble, Bach Society in Stuttgart, Holland Baroque Orchestra and in the autumn of 2021, he performed the role of Ottone in “L'incoronazione di Poppea” in Geneva, MUPA and Teatro di Vicenza in a European tour with The Budapest Festival Orchestra. He has also extensively toured with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra under the baton of John-Eliot Gardiner, and more recently performed a series of English music programs in Germany with the Freiburger Barockorchester under the leadership of Kristian Bezuidenhout.
Mobley’s recordings have been received with great critical acclaim, most recently American Originals with Agave Baroque ensemble, recorded with Acis Productions, which has been nominated for a GRAMMY Award, following “A Lad’s Love” with Brian Giebler on BRIDGE 9542 label. Mobley features on several albums with the Monteverdi Choir and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, including a recording of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” and “Magnificat,” where he "encapsulates whimsical pathos" (Classical Music Magazine). His solo recording debut with ALPHA Classics will be released in June 2023.
Andrew Megill was named Music of the Baroque's Chorus Director in April 2022. He is recognized as one the leading choral conductors of his generation, admired for both his passionate artistry and his unusually wide-ranging repertoire, which extends from early music to newly composed works. He currently serves as the Suzanne and William Allen Distinguished Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). In addition, he leads three of North America’s finest professional vocal ensembles: the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale, and Fuma Sacra.
Megill frequently collaborates with the world’s leading orchestras. He has prepared choirs for the American Composers’ Orchestra, American Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonie, National Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Venice Baroque Orchestra for conductors including Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Joseph Flummerfelt, Rafael Frühbeck du Burgos, Alan Gilbert, Neeme Järvi, Zdenek Macal, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, John Nelson, and Julius Rudel. An accomplished orchestral conductor, he has led the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra, I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra, Masterwork Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and Sinfonia da Camera (Urbana, IL), and made his debut conducting the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 2014.
Megill is particularly admired for his performances of Baroque choral works. He regularly collaborates with leaders in the field of historically informed performance, including Masaaki Suzuki, Ton Koopman, Bruno Weil, Andrea Marcon, Paul Goodwin, Julianne Baird, Elizabeth Wallfisch, Nancy Wilson, Peter Hanson, and John Holloway. He has conducted many period-instrument orchestras, including Piffaro, Rebel, Sinfonia NYC, Brandywine Baroque, the Sebastians, Tempesta di Mare, and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra.
Megill previously served as Music Director of the Masterwork Chorus and Orchestra and Chorusmaster for the Spoleto Festival USA. He has been a guest artist with the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, TENET vocal ensemble, the Juilliard Opera Center, and Emmanuel Music, and served as interim choirmaster for Trinity Church in Manhattan. Prior to his appointment at the University of Illinois, he taught at Westminster Choir College for more than 20 years.