Jennifer More
Marketing & Communications Director Jennifer More has been a part of Music of the Baroque for over 20 years. Through her program notes, as the host for our preconcert lectures (she even gives them on occasion—you can watch January's lecture for the Four Seasons here), and myriad other responsibilities, her dedication to our organization and love for the Baroque era is clear. Today, Jennifer shares two of her favorite MOB concert memories:
"When you’ve worked for an organization as long as I have (I started writing program notes in 1998!), choosing one favorite concert is impossible. But I can think of two that were particularly meaningful for the same reason—they marked the first time I was able to hear live performances of works that played a significant role in my life.
The first was Music of the Baroque’s 1996 performance of Purcell’s semi-opera, The Fairy Queen. I was working on my doctorate in musicology at the University of Chicago, and the focus of my dissertation was seventeenth-century English music. I’ll never forget what it was like to hear live, for the very first time, a work I knew so well through recordings and scores. The feel of the low strings vibrating in the hall, the way my ears rang when a perfectly-tuned note produced overtones, listening in a focused way—it’s an experience that can’t be digitally reproduced.
The second: Monteverdi’s Vespers for the Blessed Virgin (1610) in April 2016. Monteverdi specifically composed the Vespers with the reverberance of churches in mind, and listening to it live is an exhilarating experience. Dame Jane Glover assembled a phenomenal period instrument orchestra that included many of our regular players, and our chorus and soloists sounded absolutely spectacular. All three performances were unforgettable. (On a personal note, it was at these concerts that I started to get to know our principal double bass, Collins Trier—to whom I’m now married!)"
Read the next MOB Story: Kathryn and Robert Jandeska