Baroque Band

Baroque Band was incorporated as a 501(c)3 organization in January 2007 and gave its first public performances just four months later to rave reviews from the press and enthusiastic audiences. By the start of its first full season in fall 2007, the orchestra had secured a dedicated subscriber base, a growing foundation of individual donor support, and official artistic and educational partnerships, which continue today, with the Music Institute of Chicago (MIC) and with Rockefeller Memorial Chapel (RMC) at The University of Chicago. In 2008, Baroque Band was invited to become WFMT Radio’s first-ever Resident Ensemble, and the orchestra recorded its debut CD for the Grammy Award-winning Cedille Records label (scheduled release: fall 2009). The mission of Baroque Band, Chicago’s period-instrument orchestra is: • To present the highest quality performances of baroque music using period instruments and historically informed performance techniques; • To inform and educate the public - locally, regionally, and nationally - about music from the baroque era; • To provide opportunities for students and musicians of all levels and ages to gain hands-on experience with period instruments and techniques; and • To serve as musical ambassadors for the City of Chicago. Baroque Band is serving a vital role in bringing period-instrument performance and the education of future period-instrument musicians to the focus of Chicago and the surrounding region, and in so doing it is helping to showcase Chicago's cultural richness to the nation.