The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is an American orchestra based in San Francisco. PBO is dedicated to historically informed performance of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music on original instruments. The orchestra performs its subscription series in the following cities and venues:
Laurette Goldberg, a harpsichordist, teacher, and pupil of Gustav Leonhardt, [1] founded the PBO in 1981. She stood down as the ensemble's music director in 1985 and chose Nicholas McGegan as her successor. [2] McGegan served as PBO music director from 1985 through 2020. During McGegan's tenure, the Philharmonia Chorale was established in 1995 as the affiliated chorus with the PBO, under the direction of John Butt; Butt was succeeded by Bruce Lamott the following season. McGegan now has the title of music director laureate with the PBO.
In 2012, Richard Egarr first guest-conducted the PBO. Following two additional guest appearances, in January 2019, the PBO announced the appointment of Egarr as its next music director, with an initial contract of 5 years. The original intention was for Egarr to serve as music director designate for the 2020–2021 season, and then to take the title of music director with the 2021–2022 season. [3] In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PBO reconfigured its 2020–2021 season into a virtual season, and announced the advent of Egarr as its music director effective 1 July 2020, one season earlier than originally planned. [4] In June 2023, the PBO announced that Egarr is to conclude his tenure as its music director at the close of the 2023–2024 season. [5]
The PBO has collaborated with such arts organisations as Cal Performances, the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, and the New York Baroque Dance Company in the fully staged, modern-day premiere of Rameau's Le Temple de la Gloire in April 2017. [6] PBO regularly partners with the Mark Morris Dance Group. [1]
The PBO has commercially recorded for such labels as Harmonia Mundi, Reference Recordings and BMG and Avie. The ensemble initiated its own label, Philharmonia Baroque Productions, in 2011. [7] On radio, the PBO has been regularly featured on KDFC-FM.
Trevor David Pinnock is a British harpsichordist and conductor.
Raymond John Leppard was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the first major conductors to perform Baroque opera, reviving works by Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli. He conducted operas at major international opera houses and festivals, including the Glyndebourne Festival where he led the world premiere of Nicholas Maw's The Rising of the Moon, the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House. He composed film scores such as Lord of the Flies and Alfred the Great.
The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name. The musicians play on either original instruments from the period when the music was composed or modern copies of such instruments. They generally play Baroque, Classical, and sometimes Romantic music, though they have also played some new compositions for baroque orchestra in recent years.
The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener has been orchestra leader (concertmaster) since September 2007.
Gustav Maria Leonhardt was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments.
James Nicholas McGegan OBE is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert.
Antonius Gerhardus Michael "Ton" Koopman is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir.
Richard Egarr is a British conductor and keyboard player.
Daniel John Taylor, is a Canadian countertenor, conductor and early music specialist. Taylor directs the Trinity Choir, the Theatre of Early Music and is Professor of Opera, Voice and Early Music at the University of Toronto. Daniel Taylor is the General and Artistic Director of the Toronto Consort.
Laurence Alexander Cummings is a British harpsichordist, organist, and conductor. He is music director of the Academy of Ancient Music.
Phoebe Carrai is an American cellist.
Jaap ter Linden is a Dutch cellist, viol player and conductor. He specialises in performance of baroque and classical music on authentic instruments.
Sara Macliver is an Australian soprano singer, born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. Macliver is a versatile artist, appearing in operas, concert and recital performances and on numerous recordings. She is regarded as one of the leading exponents of Baroque repertoire in Australia, and lectures in Voice at the UWA Conservatorium of Music.
The Cazadero Performing Arts Camp is a performing arts camp located in the Sonoma redwoods in Northern California, United States. Established in 1957 by then Berkeley High School band director Bob Lutt, the first campers were a mixture of Berkeley High teens and members of the San Francisco Symphony.
Martin Pearlman is an American conductor, harpsichordist, composer, and early music specialist. He founded the first permanent Baroque orchestra in North America with Boston Baroque in 1973–74. Many of its original players went on to play in or direct other ensembles in what became a growing field in the American music scene. He later founded the chorus of that ensemble and has been the music director of Boston Baroque from its inception up to the present day.
Janet Williams is an American soprano who has won international critical acclaim for performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opera de Lyon, Nice Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Opera Geneva, Frankfurt Opera, Cologne Opera, Leipzig Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre as well as in concerts throughout Europe, North America, Canada, Israel and Japan with conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Myung-whun Chung, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Marek Janowski, Neeme Järvi, Raymond Leppard, Fabio Luisi, Sir Neville Marriner, Nicholas McGegan, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, John Nelson, Donald Runnicles, Gerard Schwarz and Michael Tilson Thomas.
Portland Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is an orchestra based in Portland, which is dedicated to historically informed performance of Baroque, Classical and early Romantic music on original instruments. It was founded in 1984 by harpsichordist, teacher, and early music pioneer Ton Koopman, and Monica Huggett served as Artistic Director from 1995 until 2021.
Seth Carlin was an American pianist and fortepianist. A student of Morton Estrin, Jules Gentil, Wilhelm Kempff, and Rosina Lhévinne, Carlin was especially noted for his performances of the music of Schubert. He appeared on French, Swedish, Chinese and German national television and radio and performed as soloist with orchestras including the Boston Pops and St. Louis Symphony under such conductors as Leonard Slatkin and Nicholas McGegan. He was a prizewinner in the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and the International Tchaikovsky Competition, and performed a complete cycle of Schubert piano sonatas in New York broadcast by National Public Radio.
The New York Baroque Dance Company is a professional American dance company located in New York City. It was founded in 1976 by Artistic Director Catherine Turocy and Ann Jacoby. With a mission to recreate and preserve the full range of 17th and 18th century dances the New York Baroque Dance company also serves the community with educational programs for all levels, from elementary school to university, as well as programs for the general public.
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen is an American countertenor known for bringing his "ravishing…otherworldly" instrument to a broad range of repertoire spanning the Baroque to the contemporary. Acclaimed as both a "complete artist" and "young star" in The New York Times, and as "extravagantly gifted... poised to redefine what's possible for singers of this distinctive voice type" in the San Francisco Chronicle, Nussbaum Cohen's passion for creating performances of great vocal beauty and dramatic intensity have earned him a reputation as "a redefining force in the countertenor field" (Limelight).