From the President

Greetings! We are so glad that you, the Apollo’s Fire family, are here for the opening of our 29th Season: A Pilgrimage of Hope. The ancient Greeks called Apollo the god of music and healing because they knew that music has the power to move emotions and heal the spirit. Throughout the 2020-2021 season, Apollo will lead us on a musical journey from solitude to hope through six concerts - Resilience, Allure, Delight, Elegance, Triumph and Celebration. This year, we offer extra flexibility to ensure that you can enjoy our music in whatever way suits you best – Attend in Person or At Home. Please visit apollosfire.org for details.

Thanks to you, Apollo’s Fire now has more than 5 million views on YouTube! We are inspiring new audiences around the world to love early music.

Since March, Apollo’s Fire has helped our musicians through the pandemic by establishing the Apollo’s Fire Musicians’ Fund. To date, AF has paid more than $110,000 to musicians in partial payments for cancelled concerts and in summer stipends for many of our core musicians. You can help our beloved musicians by giving to the Musicians’ Fund, where 100% of your donation will directly support our musicians.

In this week’s concerts, we are pleased to feature soprano Ashlee Foreman, our first Diversity Fellow. Ashlee is one of four talented musicians chosen for AF’s MOSAIC PROJECT. Conceived by Artistic Director Jeannette Sorrell, MOSAIC is a bold Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative that offers training, performance opportunities, and mentoring for talented young musicians of color. Striving to prioritize diversity throughout our organization and our audience, the program seeks to nurture future musicians of color through a “pipeline” approach – reaching children, teens, and young adults at multiple touch points throughout a young musician’s development. Ultimately, our goal is to help increase diversity throughout the national early music field, reinforcing the message that “we all belong” in this world of classical music. Please read more about MOSAIC on p. 43.

Despite the pandemic, Apollo’s Fire is pleased this year to launch a regular Chicago residency, called the Windy City Miniseries. Thanks to a warm welcome from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago’s classical radio station WFMT, our guest performances there have drawn very large crowds. Please spread the word about AF’s concerts to your Chicago friends. More information is on p. 42.

We are so grateful for the loyal support of our patrons. Your generosity through this challenging time inspires us. We promise to inspire you with Passion. Period.

And now, let’s celebrate the Resilience of the human spirit together.