Heaven and Earth: Music of the Baroque Announces 2023-24 Season

Violinist Viktoria Mullova makes her MoB debut in a 2024 performance of Bach's two violin concertos (Photo: Aga Tomaszek)

Music of the Baroque, the eminent Chicago-area Baroque orchestra, has announced its 2023-2024 season, which it is calling Heaven and Earth. Boasting banner works like the Mozart Requiem and Bach’s St. John Passion, the season will feature eight programs performed at venues in and around Chicago.

Dame Jane Glover, the orchestra’s music director, leads three of the season’s programs; Nicholas Kraemer, MoB’s principal guest conductor, two programs. Conductor Andrew Megill will return to lead the orchestra’s annual Holiday Brass & Choral Concerts. Patrick Dupré Quigley, who is fast becoming a MoB go-to, will conduct the 2023-2024 finale, from which the season takes its name.

The season begins in September with Mozart’s Requiem. Glover conducts the Music of the Baroque Chorus & Orchestra, plus guest vocalists Susanna Phillips, Paula Murrihy, Manase Latu, and Michael Samuel, in Mozart’s late-life masterpiece. The program also features a performance of Bach’s Magnificat.

Subsequent performances bear the names Viva Vivaldi, Windy City (featuring a wind-forward selection of works), and Birds, Frogs, Crickets, & Dogs, which highlights programmatic works about the animal kingdom. And in January 2024, the orchestra welcomes violinist Viktoria Mullova for her MoB debut; the renowned violinist will share Bach’s two violin concertos under the baton of Jonathan Cohen.

In March 2024, Dame Jane Glover will welcome soprano Miah Persson, mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski, tenor Thomas Cooley, and baritone Neal Davies for a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion.

Quigley’s season finale, Heaven and Earth, will feature earthly and ethereal works by Bach, Purcell, Allegri, and Handel.

Season subscriptions go on sale March 7; individual concert tickets will go on sale in August. For more information, visit baroque.org.