Emerging in the early 1980s as a grassroots cooperative of musicians, the Portland Baroque Orchestra has matured as a polished, professional organization squarely within the ranks of the best baroque orchestras in North America and Europe. The orchestra specializes in performing baroque and classical music on original instruments or replicas from the time the music was composed. These instruments and the techniques used to play them produce an orchestral texture very different from that of their modern counterparts. The improvisation and wit of historically informed performance practices add freshness, clarity, and vitality to the music of Corelli, Purcell, Bach, Telemann, Couperin, Vivaldi, and Handel as well as that of Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn. Succeeding PBO's regular guest director and artistic advisor Ton Koopman, Monica Huggett has been the group's artistic director for fifteen years, and she is considered one of the premier baroque violinists performing today. PBO's debut performances at the 2009 Oregon Bach Festival were the culmination of its twenty-fifth anniversary year, which included statewide performances of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and the orchestra's first baroque opera production with the Portland Opera. In 2010 PBO performed for the Cascade Head Music Festival and made its debut at Seattle's Town Hall on the Early Music Guild's International Series. In 2011 PBO has teamed with Montreal's Les Voix Baroques for touring performances and a new recording of Bach's St. John Passion. PBO regularly collaborates with such international period specialists as Richard Egarr, Paul Goodwin, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alexander Weimann, and Andrew Manze.
Trailer alert: Oregon Bach Festival salutes Helmuth Rilling's 44 Years with 30 sweet seconds of the Missa Solemnis. http://t.co/5yfVSpZxQ4 10:23 PM May 13th
Two awards in one week: Helmuth Rilling honored by Chorus America and city of Eugene http://t.co/Cp4l7rLOEG via @oregonbachfest 12:18 PM May 10th
With deep regret, Midori must withdraw from the July 8th orchestra concert for medical reasons. Chee-Yun steps in. http://t.co/dkjBUL3hnK 11:28 AM May 9th
Emerging in the early 1980s as a grassroots cooperative of musicians, the Portland Baroque Orchestra has matured as a polished, professional organization squarely within the ranks of the best baroque orchestras in North America and Europe. The orchestra specializes in performing baroque and classical music on original instruments or replicas from the time the music was composed. These instruments and the techniques used to play them produce an orchestral texture very different from that of their modern counterparts. The improvisation and wit of historically informed performance practices add freshness, clarity, and vitality to the music of Corelli, Purcell, Bach, Telemann, Couperin, Vivaldi, and Handel as well as that of Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn. Succeeding PBO's regular guest director and artistic advisor Ton Koopman, Monica Huggett has been the group's artistic director for fifteen years, and she is considered one of the premier baroque violinists performing today. PBO's debut performances at the 2009 Oregon Bach Festival were the culmination of its twenty-fifth anniversary year, which included statewide performances of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and the orchestra's first baroque opera production with the Portland Opera. In 2010 PBO performed for the Cascade Head Music Festival and made its debut at Seattle's Town Hall on the Early Music Guild's International Series. In 2011 PBO has teamed with Montreal's Les Voix Baroques for touring performances and a new recording of Bach's St. John Passion. PBO regularly collaborates with such international period specialists as Richard Egarr, Paul Goodwin, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alexander Weimann, and Andrew Manze.