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Music of the Baroque (= MOB) is an American professional chorus and orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Most members of the orchestra also perform with other groups, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Chorus members have active operatic, teaching and recital careers and several perform regularly as soloists with Music of the Baroque.
The ensemble was founded by Thomas S. Wikman in 1972 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 received critical acclaim early in its history. The internationally acclaimed British conductor Jane Glover was named Music Director in September 2002. Nicholas Kraemer is the ensemble's Principal Guest Conductor. William Jon Gray was named chorus director in 2010. Declan McGovern has been the organization's executive director since 2017.
Under the direction of Jane Glover, Music of the Baroque (= MOB) occupies a special place in the rich cultural life of Chicago. Long recognized as one of the region’s top classical groups, Music of the Baroque’s professional chorus and orchestra is one of the leading ensembles in the country devoted to the performance of 18th-century works.
Over the past four decades, Music of the Baroque has presented premiere performances of many early masterpieces, including Monteverdi’s operas and 1610 Vespers, Georg Philipp Telemann’s Day of Judgment, W.A. Mozart’s Idomeneo, and numerous George Frideric Handel operas and oratorios. The ensemble has drawn particular praise throughout its history for its performances of the major choral and orchestral works of J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel, W.A. Mozart, and Haydn.
Opera News calls Music of the Baroque “one of Chicago’s musical glories” and the Chicago Sun-Times writes, “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.”
Music of the Baroque draws audiences from across the Chicago metropolitan area, performing regularly at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, as well as at intimate Chicago and suburban churches.
Listeners across the country enjoy the work of Music of the Baroque through radio broadcasts and recordings on 98.7WFMT Radio. Music of the Baroque's available recordings include "On This Night," recorded live during the ensemble's 2017 and 2014 holiday concerts and conducted by William Jon Gray; "Glover Conducts Mozart," featuring Symphonies 40 and 41; "Mother & Child," recorded live during the 2013 holiday concerts and conducted by Paul Agnew; and G.P. Telemann's Day of Judgment.
Through its "Strong Voices" program, Music of the Baroque conducts arts education to support and enhance music education programs at Chicago public high schools. |
