Ravinia 2024 Issue 6

DAME JANE GLOVER British conductor Jane Glover, invested a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2021, has been Music of the Baroque’s mu- sic director since 2002 and becomes Principal Guest Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony next summer. Following her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975, Glover joined Glyndebourne’s artistic team in 1979 and was Music Director of its touring opera company during 1981–85. She was also artistic director of the London Mozart Players during 1984–91, and from 2009 to 2016 she was Director of Op- era at the Royal Academy of Music, where she is now a Visiting Professor. Glover was recently Visiting Professor of Opera at the University of Oxford, her alma mater. In 2020 she received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gamechang- er Award in recognition of her conducting ca- reer. A frequent guest conductor at the BBC Proms, Glover has appeared with all the major symphony and chamber orchestras in Britain, as well as ensembles across Europe, Asia, Aus- tralia, and the United States, recently including the New York Philharmonic; Orchestra of St. Luke’s; Cleveland, Minnesota, and Philadel- phia Orchestras; and Cincinnati, Houston, San Francisco, St. Louis, Sydney, and Toronto Sym- phonies, plus the period-instrument Philhar- monia Baroque and Handel & Haydn Society. She recently made debuts with the Baltimore, Chicago, and Fort Worth Symphonies, Helsinki Philharmonic, and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and will lead Mozart’s Requiem in her Camer- ata Salzburg this coming season. Highly active in opera with a core repertoire of Monteverdi, Handel, and Britten, Glover has led all of Mo- zart’s works since her first Glyndebourne credits in the ’80s. She has appeared with numerous companies and houses, including the Metropol- itan Opera, Royal Opera at Covent Garden, En- glish National Opera, Berlin State Opera, Opera Australia, Royal Danish Opera, Glimmerglass, Aspen Music Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, New York City Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, De- troit Opera, Teatro Real, and Teatro La Fenice. Dame Jane Glover has conducted Music of the Baroque for the Ravinia Festival in 2007, 2013, 2022, and 2023. MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE Long recognized as one of the region’s top clas- sical groups, Music of the Baroque is one of the leading ensembles in the country devoted to the performance of 18th-century works. The 2022/23 season marked the 20th anniversaries of music director Dame Jane Glover and principal guest conductor Nicholas Kraemer. Andrew Megill was named chorus director in April 2022. Highlights of the milestone season included Handel’s Jephtha in September 2022 and Bach’s St. Matthew Pas- sion in April 2023, as well as a program of Mozart and Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, with pianist Gabriela Montero in January 2023. Music of the Baroque’s present season features Haydn’s The Creation in September and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in late November with Glover, as well as an April 2025 program highlighting symphonies by Mozart and two of his mentors plus the composer’s Concerto No. 13 with pianist Imogen Cooper. The Academy of Ancient Music’s Laurence Cummings leads a program of primeval elements in the fall, then in January French conductor Marc Minkowski makes his debut with deific music from Rameau and Mozart. In the spring, Kraemer celebrates his 80th leading Handel’s Theodora and a program highlighting the chorus, from Palestrina and Byrd to Purcell and Bach. Music of the Baroque has presented premier performances of many early masterpieces, including Monteverdi’s operas and 1610 Vespers, Telemann’s Day of Judgment , Mozart’s Idomeneo , and many of Handel’s operas and oratorios. The ensemble has received critical praise throughout its 50-year history for its performances of the major choral and orchestral works of J.S. Bach as well as Handel, Mozart, and Haydn. Reaching audiences across the Chicago metropolitan area, Music of the Baroque appears regularly at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago’s Millennium Park and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, as well as at intimate Chicago and suburban church- es. The ensemble also reaches listeners nationally through recordings and live concerts broadcast on the WFMT radio network. Most recently Music of the Baroque released Messiah—Live in Chicago , recorded in November 2021 with Kraemer conducting and guest soloists soprano Sherezade Panthaki, mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, tenor Brian Giebler, and bass-baritone Matthew Brook. Its discog- raphy also includes Bach’s B-minor Mass, recorded live in September 2019 with Glover conducting and guest soloists soprano Yulia Van Doren, mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó, tenor Jonas Hacker, and baritone Tyler Duncan, and On This Night , a collection of brass and choral works recorded during the ensemble’s 2017 and 2014 holiday concerts conducted by William Jon Gray. Through its “Strong Voic- es” program, Music of the Baroque conducts arts education to support and enhance music education programs at Chicago public high schools. Music of the Baroque first performed at Ravinia in 1977 and is marking its seventh season with the festival. VIOLINS Gina DiBello concertmaster Kathleen Brauer asst. concertmaster Teresa Fream Gabriela Lara Reneé-Paul Gauthier Jesus Linarez Sharon Polifrone principal Ann Palen Rika Seko Lori Ashikawa Ann Duggan VIOLAS Elizabeth Hagen principal Terri Van Valkinburgh Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff Paul Vanderwerf CELLOS Dan Katz principal Judy Stone Anna Steinhoff BASSES Collins Trier principal Sam Shuhan FLUTES Mary Stolper principal Alyce Johnson OBOES Anne Bach principal Erica Anderson BASSOONS William Buchman principal Lewis Kirk HORN Oto Carrillo principal Samuel Hamzam TRUMPET Barbara Butler principal Tage Larsen Justin Kohan TIMPANI Douglas Waddell HARPSICHORD Mark Shuldiner RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 71 JOHNBATTEN(GLOVER);PATRICKGIPSON/RAVINIA(BAROQUE)