Music of the Baroque today announced plans for the 2022-23 season, the ensemble’s 52nd. The season marks the 20th anniversary of the appointments of Music Director Dame Jane Glover and Principal Guest Conductor Nicholas Kraemer and includes the St. Matthew Passion, the monumental work the ensemble planned as the highlight of its 50th-anniversary celebration during the 2020-21 season. The lineup also includes spectacular guest artists such as renowned countertenor Reginald Mobley, pianist Gabriela Montero and guest conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley. Music of the Baroque will also continue its participation in Project Inclusion.
“When I came to Music of the Baroque five years ago, a major part of the attraction was that Jane Glover was Music Director,” says Executive Director Declan McGovern. “I had worked with Jane when I was a music producer with the BBC, and I was aware of her exceptional work with Music of the Baroque in Chicago. I was also familiar with Nicholas Kraemer’s impressive track record as a Baroque specialist. Their friendship and artistry have permeated Music of the Baroque over the past 20 years, maintaining the unique sound that comes from historically informed performances on modern instruments and fashioning a chorus that is second to none in its sound and sensibility. To celebrate their 20th anniversary, we have programmed our most ambitious season in recent history.”
Dame Jane Glover directs two major dramatic works, including the season opener, Handel’s Jephtha (Sept. 18-19), and Bach’s Passion According to St. Matthew (April 2-3). In January, she will conduct Montero Plays Mozart, featuring renowned classical pianist Gabriela Montero in her MOB debut. Glover rounds out the season with Circle of Friends (May 7-8), showcasing six of the ensemble’s extraordinary musicians as soloists.
Says Glover, “I am thrilled to open our exciting new season conducting with one of Handel's superlative dramatic oratorios, Jephtha, which we have been longing to perform for years. I am especially excited about the St. Matthew Passion, the monumental pinnacle of Baroque music whose demands and proportions are such that we can rarely program it. We planned it for our Covid-delayed 50th season and can at last present it now, with a stellar cast headed by James Gilchrist as the Evangelist. I always love the concerts where our brilliant musicians step up as soloists. Our final program, Circles of Friends, features concertos written by a group of Viennese composers performed by Music of the Baroque’s principal musicians. But I look forward to all our programs—including those I shall not be conducting!”
Principal Guest Conductor Nicholas Kraemer conducts Reginald Mobley Sings (Nov. 20-21) featuring countertenor Mobley, last seen with Music of the Baroque in 2019, in a program of works by Bach, Croft, Handel and Purcell. He returns for London Calling (Feb. 26-27), a lively program of music with the city as the point of intersection. The concert includes the ensemble’s first performances of music by Boyce; Mozart’s first symphony, which was written during a stay in London; Handel’s first Water Music Suite; and Haydn’s Clock Symphony.
Says Kraemer, “The world changed for everyone after 2001, and for me, a whole new world opened with my introduction to MOB. Right from the ‘audition’ concert in November 2001, I knew this was an exceptional collection of musicians that were passionate about making music. From then on, I found a very special atmosphere which grew more intense as we all got to know each other. For me, there is a buzz of anticipation every time I’m in Chicago with MOB and a sadness every time I leave. What a privilege it has been (and continues to be!).”
Music of the Baroque’s new chorus director will direct the annual Holiday Brass & Choral Concerts (Dec. 15-18). The ensemble expects to make this appointment in the spring of 2022.
Music of the Baroque’s 2022-23 season opens on Sept. 18, 2022 and runs through May 8, 2023. Seven of the programs will be performed at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in downtown Chicago and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. The annual Holiday Brass & Choral Concerts occur at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, St. Michael Church in Old Town, Saints Faith, Hope, & Charity Catholic Church in Winnetka and
Alice Millar Chapel in Evanston.
Subscriptions On Sale Now
Subscriptions for the 2022-23 concert season may be purchased at www.baroque.org or by calling (312) 551-1414. Single tickets will go on sale in August.Programs, dates, times, locations and artists are subject to change. For more information, visit www.baroque.org. A complete listing of 2022-23 season repertoire in chronological order with performance dates, times and venues is attached.
MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE 2022-23 CONCERT SEASON - COMPLETE PROGRAM LISTING
(Programs, dates, times, locations and artists subject to change.)
PROGRAM #1: HANDEL’S JEPHTHA
Sunday, September 18, 7:30 p.m.
North Shore Center, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
Monday, September 19, 7:30 p.m.
Harris Theater | Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
HANDEL Jephtha
Music of the Baroque Chorus & Orchestra
Dame Jane Glover, conductor
David Portillo (Jephtha)
Lauren Snouffer (Iphis)
Clara Osowski (Storge)
Aryeh Nussbaum-Cohen (Hamor)
Neal Davies (Zebul)
Katelyn Lee (Angel)
Music of the Baroque’s interpretations of the great Handel oratorios have been celebrated since the organization’s inception in 1972. Written as Handel was going blind, the work is considered one of his finest accomplishments.
PROGRAM #2: BAROQUE HEROES
Sunday, October 9, 3:00 pm
North Shore Center, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
Tuesday, October 11, 7:30 pm
Harris Theater | Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
C. P. E. BACH Cello Concerto in A Major
TELEMANN Burlesque de Quixote
RAMEAU Suite from Castor et Pollux
J. S. BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major
Music of the Baroque Orchestra
Patrick Dupré Quigley, conductor
Paul Dwyer, cello
Quigley, founder and artistic director of Miami’s Seraphic Fire, leads an orchestral program exploring the concept of “hero” as it appears in Baroque music. Principal cello Paul Dwyer makes his Music of the Baroque solo debut in a cello concerto by C. P. E. Bach alongside Telemann’s Burlesque de Quixote and a suite of dances from Rameau’s Castor et Pollux. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 completes the program.
PROGRAM #3: REGINALD MOBLEY SINGS
Sunday, November 20, 7:30 pm
North Shore Center, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
Monday, November 21, 7:30 pm
Harris Theater | Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
PURCELL "Welcome to all the Pleasures"
Fantasia on a Ground for 3 violins and continuo
"Hear my prayer, O Lord"
J. S. BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major
HANDEL Italian arias
CROFT Suite from The Comedy call’d the Funeral
HANDEL Excerpts from Belshazzar
Music of the Baroque Chorus & Orchestra
Nicholas Kraemer, conductor
Reginald Mobley, countertenor
Countertenor Mobley, who first appeared with MOB in May 2019 and recently performed a virtual recital for the ensemble’s “Strong Voices” arts education program in Chicago public high schools, is showcased in music from Handel’s oratorio Belshazzar plus Italian arias by the composer, while the Music of the Baroque Chorus sings music of Purcell. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 and lively dances from music William Croft wrote for The Comedy call’d the Funeral are also on the program.
PROGRAM #4: HOLIDAY BRASS & CHORAL CONCERTS
Thursday, December 15, 7:30 pm
Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 Division St., River Forest, Ill.
Friday, December 16, 7:30 pm
St. Michael Church, 1633 N Cleveland Ave., Chicago
Saturday, December 17, 2:00 pm
Saints Faith, Hope, & Charity Church, 191 Linden St., Winnetka, Ill.
Sunday, December 18, 2:00 pm
Alice Millar Chapel- Northwestern University, 1870 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, Ill.
Music of the Baroque Chorus and Brass Ensemble
Conductor TBD
A festive program of joyful carols, solemn chant, and jubilant works for brass from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. The Holiday Brass & Choral Concerts will be conducted by Music of the Baroque’s new chorus director, an appointment the ensemble expects to make in the spring of 2022.
PROGRAM #5: MONTERO PLAYS MOZART
Saturday, January 21, 7:30 pm
Harris Theater | Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
Sunday, January 22, 7:30 pm
North Shore Center, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
BOLOGNE Symphony No. 1 in G Major, op. 11
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major
MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major
Music of the Baroque Orchestra
Dame Jane Glover, conductor
Gabriela Montero, piano
Mozart authority Jane Glover teams up with Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, rescheduled from the 50th anniversary season. Also featured is Symphony No. 1 by Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, following Music of the Baroque’s critically acclaimed February 2022 performances of The Chevalier. Rounding out the program is the first symphony in Mozart’s final trilogy: Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major.
PROGRAM #6: LONDON CALLING
Sunday, February 26, 7:30 pm
North Shore Center, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
Monday, February 27, 7:30 pm
Harris Theater | Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
BOYCE Symphony No. 5 in D Major
HANDEL Water Music Suite No. 1 in F Major
MOZART Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major
HAYDN Symphony No. 101 in D Major (Clock)
Music of the Baroque Orchestra
Nicholas Kraemer, conductor
Nicholas Kraemer returns for this lively program of music with the city as the point of intersection. The concert includes the ensemble’s first performances of music by William Boyce; Mozart’s first symphony, which was written during a stay in London; Handel’s first Water Music Suite; and one of Haydn’s “London” symphonies, Symphony No. 101 (Clock). London Calling also features four Project Inclusion fellows—young professionals from underrepresented backgrounds—who will join our ensemble for a week of masterclasses and rehearsals, culminating in the two concert performances. Project Inclusion was created by Paul Freeman, founder of the Chicago Sinfonietta, and subsequently adopted by the Grant Park Music Festival and now Music of the Baroque.
PROGRAM #7: THE ST. MATTHEW PASSION
Sunday, April 2, 7:30 pm
North Shore Center, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
Monday, April 3, 7:30 pm
Harris Theater | Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
BACH Passion According to St. Matthew
Music of the Baroque Chorus & Orchestra
Dame Jane Glover, conductor
James Gilchrist, tenor (Evangelist)
Yulia Van Doren, soprano
Elizabeth DeShong, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Roderick Williams, baritone
Tyler Duncan, baritone
Anima—Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus
Dame Jane Glover leads the Music of the Baroque Chorus, Orchestra, and a roster of world-renowned soloists in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Passion According to St. Matthew, originally intended to be the keystone work of the 50th anniversary season. Featuring two orchestras, two choruses, and a children’s chorus, the St. Matthew Passion requires immense resources and is often considered Bach’s crowning achievement. Soprano Yulia Van Doren, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, tenor Paul Appleby, and baritones Tyler Duncan and Roderick Williams join tenor James Gilchrist, who sings the role of the Evangelist.
PROGRAM #8: CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
Sunday, May 7, 7:30 pm
North Shore Center, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
Monday, May 8, 7:30 pm
Harris Theater | Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
VANHAL Symphony in D Minor
HAYDN Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Oboe, Cello, & Bassoon
DITTERSDORF Sinfonia Concertante for Viola & Double Bass
MOZART Symphony No. 34 in C Major
Music of the Baroque Orchestra
Dame Jane Glover, conductor
Gina DiBello, violin
Elizabeth Hagen, viola
Paul Dwyer, cello
Collins Trier, double bass
Anne Bach, oboe
William Buchman, bassoon
Glover leads music written by 18th-century composer friends performed by modern-day Chicago musician friends—Music of the Baroque’s principal players.