Jane Glover
Nicholas Kraemer
Edward Zelnis
Soloists
Staff
Board of Directors
Educational Outreach
Volunteer Ushers
Music of the Baroque occupies a special place in the rich cultural life of Chicago. Long recognized as one of the area’s top classical groups, the ensemble focuses much-deserved attention on repertoire that is often neglected by larger music organizations.
Music of the Baroque was first established in 1972 by its founding music director, Thomas S. Wikman, as a program of the choir of the Church of St. Paul and the Redeemer in Hyde Park. It was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1975, and achieved critical acclaim early in its history. From its church choir roots, Music of the Baroque has grown to be the Midwest’s premier professional chorus and orchestra specializing in the performance of eighteenth-century works.
Over the past three decades, Music of the Baroque has presented premier and revival performances of many early masterpieces—among them Claudio Monteverdi’s operas and 1610 Vespers, Georg Philipp Telemann’s Day of Judgement, 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 works of J. S. Bach and Handel.
Known for its steadfast commitment to artistic excellence, Music of the Baroque is one of the few groups of its stature in the country devoted to early repertoire. The ensemble has been consistently positioned with the city’s leading performing organizations. As the Chicago Sun-Times put it recently,
“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.”
From its earliest years, Music of the Baroque has drawn audiences from across the Chicago metropolitan area, performing mostly in the intimate settings of neighborhood churches chosen for architectural interest and acoustic excellence. In 2004, Music of the Baroque began performing as well in the new Harris Theater in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.
Beginning in 2007–08, all season programs except the holiday concerts will be presented twice—at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park and at First United Methodist Church in Evanston. Holiday concerts will continue to be heard at St. Michael's Church in Chicago's Old Town, Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest and Divine Word in Techny/Northbrook.
Listeners across the country have enjoyed the work of Music of the Baroque, which was the first professional chorus in America to have its own regularly scheduled nationwide broadcast series. Music of the Baroque concerts are currently heard on WFMT Radio.
Acclaimed conductor Jane Glover was named Music Director in September 2002. Nicholas Kraemer is the ensemble’s Principal Guest Conductor.
