LATE SUMMER NIGHTS
Fencing Match ROUND ONE
APOLLO’S FIRE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chair
Charles A. Bittenbender
Chair emeritus
James B. Rosenthal
Vice Chair
Kathleen Cerveny
William A. Powel
Treasurer
Ryan Siebel
Assistant Treasurer
Jeffrey P. Barnett
Secretary
Andrew Gordon-Seifert
Karl Bekeny
Thomas Clark*
Amy K. Carlson
Nicole Divall**
Michael Frank, M.D. J.D.
Ka-Pi Hoh, Ph.D.
Thomas Forrest Kelly, Ph.D.
Richard J. Lederman, M.D. Ph.D.
Meng “Locky” Liu
Michael J. Meehan
John Olejko
Linda M. Olejko
Kim S. Parry
Katrina Pipasts*
David J. Reimer
Elisa Ross, M.D.
Phillip Rowland-Seymour
Noha Ryder
Jeannette Sorrell*
Kathie Stewart**
Rebecca Storey
Herb Wainer
David Walker*
Ed Weber, D.O.
Apollo’s Fire Chicago
Elisa Ross M.D., president
Katrina Pipasts, president emeritus
Doug Miller, vice president
Marietta McPike, secretary
Shay Olson, treasurer
Michael Angell
Charles A. Bittenbender
Stephanie Champi
Patricia Costante
Blondean Davis, Ed.D.
Rosalind Jackson, Ph.D.
Florence Nelson
Phillip Rowland-Seymour
James C. Sheinin, M.D.
Patricia Skigen
Jeannette Sorrell*
David Walker*
Community Advisors
Rodrigo Lara Alonso
Nathália Montezuma
Dianna White-Gould
Akron Advisory Board
Thomas Clark, chair
Theron Brown
Esther Cooper
Susan Delahanty
Barbara Feld
Ashlee Foreman
Bill Foster
Walter Keith
Geraldine Kiefer
George Litman, M.D.
Kenneth Shafer, M.D.
Sandra R. Smith
Libby Upton
The Ambassadors Council
Mitchell G. Blair
Frances E. Buchholzer
Robert Conrad
William E. Conway
Samuel S. Hartwell
Vivian Henoch
Rabbi Roger C. Klein
Annette Lowe
Deborah H. Nash
Robert Reynolds, M.D.
Allison Richards
Kasia G. Rothenberg, M.D.
Sandra R. Smith
Susan Troia
Edward Weber, D.O.
Fencing Match ROUND ONE
Jeannette Sorrell, harpsichord & direction
Kathie Stewart, flute
Daphna Mor, recorder
Alan Choo, Susanna Perry Gilmore, & Emi Tanabe, violins
René Schiffer & Rebecca Landell, violas da gamba
Friday, August 8, 7:30pm The Bath Church (UCC)
Saturday, August 9, 3:00pm & 7:30pm Harkness Chapel (CWRU), University Circle
Sunday, August 10, 4:00pm Rocky River Presbyterian Church
Program
ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741)
Allegro from Concerto Grosso in D Major, RV 564
GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN (1681-1767)
Concerto in E minor for Recorder and Flute, TWV 52:e1
Largo – Allegro – Largo – Presto
Daphna Mor, recorder | Kathie Stewart, traverso
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, BWV 1043
Vivace – Largo ma non tanto – Allegro
Alan Choo & Susanna Perry Gilmore, violins
Intermission
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU (1683-1764)
Dances from Les Fêtes d’Hébé and Dardanus
Tambourins – Ballet – Tambourin Reprise – Chaconne
RENÉ SCHIFFER (b. 1961)
Concerto in D minor for Two Violas da Gamba (“Tango”)
Adagio – Cadenza abrupta – Tempo di Tango
René Schiffer & Rebecca Landell, violas da gamba
VIVALDI, arr. Jeannette Sorrell (b. 1965)
La Folia (“Madness”)
Alan Choo & Emi Tanabe, violins
On Friday night, join us for “pairings” of sparkling drinks and light snacks, plus a brief Q&A with the musicians. Open to all.
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
A Summer Romp: ‘Fencing’ with Bach, Vivaldi, and Friends by
Jeannette Sorrell
I. “En garde!”
In the 18th century, the art of fencing began to transition from a selfdefense skill to a more refined, genteel recreation. Thrusting techniques, as taught in the aristocratic fencing schools of France, emphasized grace, posture, and elegance. In fact, young women began to practice this skill as well as men.
The etiquette of the fencing schools fostered a culture of courtesy and friendship. Swearing, drinking, smoking, and mocking other students was strictly prohibited. Gloves were required. Before engaging in a drill with another student, or before an assault, the students performed a reverence/salute to each other and anyone who may have been watching. This obligatory salute was intended to show respect to the adversary. It is striking (no pun intended) how much this stylized etiquette resembles the musical genre of 18th-century double-concertos. As developed by J.S. Bach, Telemann, and Vivaldi, these concertos showcase two soloists engaged in dramatic and rhetorical dialogues (often in the first movement of a concerto), gentle conversations (in slow movements), and fiery, spirited arguments (fast movements). The spirit of friendly competition reigns as the two soloists challenge each other to fierce feats of virtuosity in one moment, and then in the next, offer a graceful hand in courtesy. One can easily imagine a soloist shouting “en garde!” before launching into the third movement.
II. Two Friends and an Admired Colleague
Bach and Telemann were close friends, despite the inevitable competition between them. They also shared an admiration for their renowned colleague to the south, Antonio Vivaldi. Our program brings these three mutual admirers together in an evening that highlights their thrilling contributions to the double-concerto genre.
Bach and Telemann seem to have met when both were in their 20’s. In 1714, Telemann became godfather to Bach’s son Carl Phillip Emmanuel. Bach paid tribute to Telemann by transcribing and performing his music. Though Telemann was four years the elder, he was definitely the more trendy and forward-looking of the two composers. His sense of musical humor, lightness, and use of folk elements greatly endeared him to the public. In fact, Telemann received four times as much space in 18th-century German music encyclopedias as Bach did.
The composer whose music Bach most often studied and transcribed was Antonio Vivaldi. There is no surviving record of any meeting between Bach and Vivaldi, but Bach’s admiration for Vivaldi must have been very great. He arranged at least seven of Vivaldi's violin concertos into keyboard pieces.
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM (continued)
Vivaldi was considerably more famous than Bach during the first half of his career. As music master at the prestigious Ospedale della Pietà in Venice (a special school for orphaned girls and illegitimate daughters of the nobility, with an extraordinary emphasis on music), Vivaldi attained great honor throughout Europe. Tourists from as far as England flocked to Venice to attend the concerts of the "redhead priest" and his girls. By 1725, Vivaldi was celebrated throughout Europe.
Vivaldi served as music-master to the top-level orchestra of the orphanage – the showcase ensemble. In this role, he composed about 500 concertos for his young female protégés. In writing these concertos for the Pietà orchestra, Vivaldi was the great developer of ritornello form – the form that became the model for concerto-writing by all European composers of the century, including Bach. The Italian word “ritornello” means something that returns. The same word is used to mean the refrain in pop music – and indeed, Vivaldi’s ritornellos convey the bold and driving sense of rhythm that is more commonly associated with pop music. Like pop composers today, Vivaldi was writing for teenagers.
III. The Music
The Allegro from Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins & Two Cellos sets the stage for our musical fencing evening, as Vivaldi provides fiery solo/duo writing interwoven with a spirited ritornello.
We then move to Telemann’s Concerto in E Minor for Flute & Recorder. The opening Largo is, in my view, a free and expressive prelude, where the two soloists get acquainted in a gentle conversation. This bursts into a fiery, fugal Allegro, with virtuoso episodes for the two soloists alternating with bold orchestral statements. The folk-inspired Presto (finale) reflects Telemann’s 3-year stint at the court of a Polish count, where summers were spent in the Polish countryside. There, Telemann became acquainted with the folk music of Polish peasants and developed a love for its “barbaric beauty.” The drone bass in this rustic movement suggests outdoor musettes or bagpipes, bringing this concerto to a raucous conclusion.
As with most of Bach’s concertos, the ever-popular Concerto for Two Violins had most likely been written for Cöthen, but Bach revived it for the Leipzig Collegium. The dramatic dialogue of the first movement and the red-hot finale show the influence of Vivaldi in their fiery ritornellos. The serene Adagio in F major is a gentle conversation between the two soloists, like two old friends.
J.P. Rameau’s dances from his operas Les Fêtes d’Hébe and Dardanus are delightful gems of the French baroque stage repertoire. Rameau was France’s leading opera-ballet composer, and up until Tchaikovsky, was generally considered the greatest ballet composer of all time. He is admired for his synthesis of folk-dance with classical 18th-century ballet, giving vibrancy to the baroque stage. The Tambourin is a rustic Provencale folk dance that is
accompanied by a drum (“tambour”). It became wildly popular in baroque operas, including in London. The Chaconne is an elegant dance in triple meter, which often served as the finale in French baroque operas. In the Chaconne from Dardanus, one can often “hear” the various characters of the opera flitting across the stage as the musical character changes.
Our fencing match takes a new turn when the two gamba players enter the spotlight in René Schiffer’s “Tango” Concerto for Two Violas da Gamba. The Tango is an Argentine dance that became popular among the European immigrants in Buenos Aires during the 1890’s. Some Tango-like dances also appeared in 18th-century Spain. The music is in 4/4 time, with strong repeated notes in the accompaniment. It was traditionally played by a sextet, including two violins, piano, double bass, bandoneón (an accordion-type instrument), and guitar.
Our resident composer René Schiffer shares these comments about his piece:
My “Tango” Concerto originated in 2000 as a playful attempt to show that the gamba can be a loud instrument, and that baroque and classical composers were wrong in their failure to provide us with true concertos for it. Thanks to the use of chords and double stops, the two gambas easily stand out in this piece against an ensemble of strings and guitars. And indeed, when the piece was recorded on CD by Apollo’s Fire, it was shown that the gambas held their own against a whole string orchestra. The Tango’s signature elements of rhythmic simplicity and harmonic ostinato structure are also characteristic of many baroque dance forms used to conclude many pieces of the time.
We close the program with my arrangement of Vivaldi’s trio sonata, La Folia (“Madness”). The traditional folia tune and dance served as inspiration for Vivaldi as well as several other baroque composers (Corelli, Marias, Geminiani, and C.P.E. Bach.) Scholars believe that the dance originated in Portugal, where young girls would engage in the “folly” or “madness” of a wild dance around the fire. The folia is a triple-meter ground bass, beginning in a haughty sarabande-like rhythm and traditionally growing faster and faster toward the end. The tune is full of the dramatic tension of courtship and seduction. Vivaldi’s version of La Folia, which I believe is the finest of them all, was originally a trio sonata; I arranged it as a concerto grosso so that all of us could join in the fray.
© Jeannette Sorrell, Cleveland, 2025
For further reading: The Historical Fencer: Etiquette in the 18th-century Fencing Schools https://historicalfencer.com/etiquette-in-the-18th-and-19th-century-fencing-schools-part-i-18th-century/
SOLOIST PROFILES
Violinist ALAN CHOO
“was a dynamo, delivering lines with panache. He exemplified virtuosity” (Cleveland Plain Dealer). The Concertmaster and Assistant Artistic Director of Apollo’s Fire, he made his solo debut with the ensemble at the Tanglewood and Ravinia Music Festivals in 2017. His solo album of Biber's Mystery Sonatas with Apollo’s Fire was released on AVIE Records in 2024 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Classical chart, earning a double 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine, and receiving rave reviews from The Strad (UK) and Classica Magazine (France). Alan is also Founder and Artistic Director of Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s first professional baroque ensemble and Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. As a soloist, he has appeared with the FVG Orchestra (Italy), St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Tafelmusik Winter Institute Orchestra, and more. He holds a Doctorate in Historical Performance Practice from CWRU.
Violinist SUSANNA PERRY GILMORE, enjoys a multifaceted career as orchestral concertmaster, soloist, chamber musician and Celtic fiddler. She has performed with Apollo’s Fire since 2014 when she joined them for the Sugarloaf Mountain concerts and recordings as well as the Sephardic Journey album. She is concertmaster of the Omaha Symphony and co-creator of Celtic Journey, a touring orchestral pops production. She received her degrees from Oxford University and New England Conservatory.
REBECCA LANDELL, cello & viola da gamba, has been praised for her “luminous” (Cleveland.com) and “notable” (The New York Times) sound which elicits a range of expression “from classically evocative to Hitchcock horrifying” (Washingtonian). Her solo appearances include performances with Apollo’s Fire, Les Delices, Atlanta Baroque, Columbus Symphony, and Batzdorfer Hofkapelle. She pursues a variety of educational opportunities including working with the faculty at Oberlin Conservatory, where she teaches baroque cello and viola da gamba.
DAPHNA MOR, recorder, is an Israeli-American baroque musician and a specialist in music of the Jewish diaspora. Known for her “astonishing virtuosity” (Chicago Tribune), she has appeared as soloist with Apollo’s Fire, the New York Collegium, the New York Early Music Ensemble, and as a guest member of the New York Philharmonic. She has also appeared in a duo with Joyce DiDonato on the singer’s tour In War and Peace. As a performer and teacher of Jewish liturgical music, Ms. Mor serves as the Music Director of Beineinu, a New York initiative dedicated to the modern cultivation of Jewish culture. She is also co-director of the ensemble East of the River with Nina Stern. Their latest album IJA MIA, Music of the Sephardic Diaspora, was released in 2024 on AVIE records. She can be heard on Sting’s album If on a Winter’s Night for Deutsche Grammophon, and on O Jerusalem! with Apollo’s Fire on AVIE.
SOLOIST PROFILES (continued)
RENÉ SCHIFFER, cello & viola da gamba, is praised for this "interpretive imagination and patrician command of the cello" (Cleveland Plain Dealer).
A native of Holland, he toured internationally with Sigiswald Kuijken's La Petite Bande for 16 years. He has also performed and recorded with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and in over 50 projects with Tafelmusik. As a concerto soloist, he has performed at Carnegie Hall and many international venues. He can be heard on over 40 CD recordings across 6 labels.
KATHIE STEWART, traverso & recorder, is Curator of Historical Keyboard Instruments and Teacher of Baroque Flute at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She is a founding member and principal flutist of Apollo’s Fire, and has performed with ensembles including The Cleveland Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Portland Baroque, Philharmonia Baroque and the Washington Bach Consort. She is also Assistant Director of the Seattle Baroque Flute Workshop. Kathie is an avid proponent of Celtic music, playing Irish flute and whistle on several Apollo’s Fire recordings.
EMI TANABE, violin, enjoys a multi-faceted career as a baroque violinist and a solo crossover artist. In addition to being a core member of Apollo's Fire, she performs with the Chicago-based period group Haymarket Opera. With Apollo's Fire, she has performed on tour across the U.S. and Europe. Her facility with world music styles and improvisation has led to many solo violin performances with Tango, Flamenco, Celtic, and jazz ensembles across the country. She has appeared with such groups as the renowned Surabhi Ensemble, the GRAMMY®-nominated children’s music band Wendy&DB, and the dinner theatre production “Teatro ZinZanni." Emi is a native of Japan and holds degrees in violin performance from the University of North Texas and Roosevelt University.
JEANNETTE SORRELL,
Artistic Director, Conductor & Harpsichordist
“Sorrell is an absolute dynamo onstage and a pleasure to see conduct... a force to be reckoned with.”
–SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE
GRAMMY®-winning conductor Jeannette Sorrell is recognized internationally as one of today’s most compelling interpreters of Baroque and Classical repertoire. She is the subject of the documentary by Oscar-winning director Allan Miller, titled PLAYING WITH FIRE: Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting, commercially released in 2023.
Bridging the period-instrument and symphonic worlds from a young age, Sorrell studied conducting under Leonard Bernstein, Roger Norrington and Robert Spano at the Tanglewood and Aspen music festivals; and studied harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam. She won First Prize in the Spivey International Harpsichord Competition, competing against over 70 harpsichordists from Europe, Israel, the U.S., and the Soviet Union.
As a guest conductor, Sorrell made her New York Philharmonic debut in 2021 to rave reviews and returned in 2023. She has repeatedly conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco, and New World Symphony; and has also led the Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center (NYC), Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, Houston Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, and the Orchestra of St Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, among others. Upcoming engagements in 2025-26 include return engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and Detroit Symphony, and debuts with the Manchester Hallé Orchestra (UK) and the Oregon Symphony.
As founder and conductor of APOLLO’S FIRE, she has led the renowned ensemble at London’s BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall, the Madrid Royal Theatre, St. Martin-in-the Fields, the Irish National Concert Hall, Library of Congress, and many international venues. Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire have released 34 commercial CDs, including 13 bestsellers on the Billboard classical chart and a 2019 GRAMMY® winner. Her CD recordings of the Bach St. John Passion and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons have been chosen as best in the field by the Sunday Times of London (2020 and 2021). Her Monteverdi Vespers recording was chosen by BBC Music Magazine as one of “30 Must-Have Recordings for Our Lifetime” (September 2022). Other albums include the complete Brandenburg Concerti of Bach (Billboard Classical Top 10 in 2012), and four discs of Mozart, and five creative multicultural programs.
With over 20 million views of her YouTube videos, Sorrell has attracted national attention and awards for creative programming.
APOLLO’S FIRE
“Sorrell and her dazzling period band… are incandescent”
– THE SUNDAY TIMES, London
GRAMMY®-winning ensemble
Apollo’s Fire is praised as “the USA’s hottest baroque band” (Classical Music Magazine, UK). Led by award-winning harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell, the period-instrument orchestra is dedicated to the baroque concept of moving the passions of the listeners.
Apollo’s Fire has performed six European tours, with sold-out concerts at the BBC Proms in London, Madrid’s Royal Theatre, Bordeaux’s Grand Théàtre de l’Opéra, St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Heidelberg Spring Festival, the National Concert Hall of Ireland, and venues in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, and Portugal. Chosen by the DAILY TELEGRAPH as one of London’s “Best 5 Classical Concerts of the Year,” Apollo’s Fire’s 2014 London performance was praised for “superlative music-making... combining European stylishness with American entrepreneurialism.”
North American tour engagements include Carnegie Hall (twice), the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals (several times), the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (several times), the Boston Early Music Festival series, the Aspen Music Festival, Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art, and major venues in Toronto, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Apollo’s Singers have twice performed with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Jeannette Sorrell, winning rave reviews.
At home in Cleveland and Chicago, Apollo’s Fire enjoys sold-out performances at its series, which has drawn national attention for creative programming.
With over 20 million views of its YouTube videos, Apollo’s Fire has released 34 commercial CDs and won a GRAMMY® award in 2019 for the album Songs of Orpheus with tenor Karim Sulayman. Thirteen of the ensemble's CD releases have become best-sellers on the classical Billboard chart, including Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Monteverdi Vespers, Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, and Sorrell’s crossover programs including Sacrum Mysterium – A Celtic Christmas Vespers; Sugarloaf Mountain – An Appalachian Gathering; Sephardic Journey – Wanderings of the Spanish Jews; and Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain.
VIOLIN
Alan Choo, concertmaster
Susanna Perry Gilmore, associate concertmaster
Emi Tanabe, principal
Hanna Bingham
Freya Creech
Aniela Eddy
Andrew Fouts
VIOLA
Liz Hagen, principal
Kiyoe Matsuura
Yaël Senamaud-Cohen
CELLO & VIOLA DA GAMBA
René Schiffer, principal
Rebecca Landell
CONTRABASS
Sue Yelanjian, principal
RECORDER
Daphna Mor, principal
Kathie Stewart
TRAVERSO
Kathie Stewart, principal
THEORBO & GUITAR
William Simms, principal
Brandon Acker
PERCUSSION
Anthony Taddeo
HARPSICHORD
Jeannette Sorrell
MUSICIAN PROFILES
BRANDON ACKER, theorbo & guitar, is a specialist on early plucked instruments. He runs a successful YouTube channel which has over 640,000 subscribers and 70 million views. In 2020, he and his wife founded the online music school Arpeggiato. Brandon’s performance career has evolved from playing in rock bands to his current focus playing early music. He has toured extensively through Canada, the US, and the UK, and is in high demand both as a soloist and continuo player.
HANNA BINGHAM, violin, is based in the greater Chicago area. Raised in Dekalb, Illinois, Hanna holds a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Northern Illinois University and earned her Master’s degree in string performance from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. Hanna gained a strong love for early music from her time at Northwestern, where she studied with David Douglas of the Newberry Consort and Stephen Alltop. Hanna was previously a 2024-2025 Young Artist Fellow for Apollo's Fire.
YAËL SENAMAUD-COHEN, viola, is recognized for her versatility in a wide variety of musical styles, including modern and baroque viola, baroque violin, and viola d’amore. She is Principal Viola of the South Carolina Philharmonic and of the Jackson Symphony, and has been a member of Apollo’s Fire, Indianapolis Baroque, and CityMusic Cleveland. She also regularly collaborates with Les Siècles, a period orchestra based in France. She is a graduate of the Conservatoire National de Paris and Peabody Institute.
FREYA CREECH, violin, performs widely across North America and her native UK. This season includes appearances with Opera Lafayette, Apollo’s Fire, The Thirteen, and as Principal Second Violin with Washington Bach Consort, and she also plays regularly with the Smithsonian Chamber Academy on their renowned collection of Strads. Freya collaborated with True Concord Voices & Orchestra on their most recent record, which earned a GRAMMY® nomination (2025) and she has also produced two albums of little-known solo violin music.
ANIELA EDDY, violin, captivates audiences across North America and Europe with her nuanced, expressive playing. She performs with leading ensembles including Seraphic Fire, Voices of Music, Trinity Baroque, Handel & Haydn, TENET, Novus, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
A graduate of Juilliard and CIM, Aniela is a founding member of Quartet Salonnières and Relic. She has appeared live on NPR with Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion and at festivals such as the Lucerne, Carmel Bach, and Göttingen Handel festivals.
ANDREW FOUTS, violin, has been noted for his “mellifluous sound and sensitive style” (The Washington Post). In 2008, he won the American Bach Soloists’ International Baroque Violin Competition. He is coartistic director of Pittsburgh’s Chatham Baroque and a frequent concertmaster of the Washington Bach Consort. Andrew performs regularly with Apollo’s Fire, Opera Lafayette, Four Nations Ensemble, and Ars Lyrica. His teachers included Charles Castleman at the Eastman School of Music and Stanley Ritchie at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
ELIZABETH HAGEN, viola, is a graduate of Northwestern University and now enjoys an active career performing on modern and baroque violas in Chicago. She is principal violist of Music of the Baroque, Haymarket Opera and The Callipygian Players. She has performed with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Rembrandt Chamber Players, Chicago Opera Theatre, The Joffrey Ballet, The Newberry Consort and The Chicago Philharmonic. For the past nine summers, she has played with The Grant Park Symphony.
KIYOE MATSUURA, viola, performs with Haymarket Opera, Ensemble Affect, Indianapolis Baroque, Bella Voce, Bach & Beethoven Experience, Madison Bach Musicians, Ars Musica Chicago, and Callipygian Players. She is a co-founder of Ensemble Vitelotte. Kiyoe was an Apollo's Fire Young Artist Fellow for the 2024-25 season. Based in Chicago, she is also a dedicated violin teacher and has recorded over 250 YouTube videos of violin student repertoire.
WILLIAM SIMMS, theorbo & guitar, appears regularly with Apollo’s Fire, The Thirteen, Heartland Baroque, Indianapolis Baroque, The Arcadia Players, and The Washington Bach Consort. He has performed numerous operas and oratorios with such ensembles as The Washington National Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and American Opera Theater. Venues include Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Barns of Wolf Trap, Tanglewood, and the National Cathedral. He performed on the GRAMMY®-winning Songs of Orpheus with Apollo’s Fire and Karim Sulayman.
ANTHONY TADDEO, percussion, is a percussionist and composer based in Cleveland. He has studied with world-renowned percussionists such as Jamey Haddad, Kendrick Scott, and Jimmy Cobb. He has toured North America and Europe extensively and his versatility has led him to be featured on over thirty albums with diverse musicians and genres. Amongst film score work, his most recent compositions can be heard in his group, Alla Boara, which seeks to bring recognition to Italy’s richly diverse folk music.
SUE YELANJIAN, contrabass, has performed with many of the leading North American baroque orchestras, including Relic, Tafelmusik, the Handel & Haydn Society, and Chatham Baroque. She has performed at the Carmel Bach Festival, Tanglewood, and Ravinia, as well as the Sturm und Drang Festival in Germany. She attended Oberlin Conservatory and received degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Boston University.
If you live in an east-side suburb of Cleveland, we would be grateful to add you to our list of “Innkeepers.” This is a unique and enjoyable way to get to know our Artists outside of the concert hall. Many of our Innkeepers have formed long and close friendships with their AF “adopted family members.”
For more information, please contact Community Engagement & Operations Coordinator, Carsyn Avegno at cavegno@apollosfire.org.
APOLLO'S FIRE BEYOND THE STAGE
Take Apollo's Fire home with you! AF's 34 acclaimed CD recordings can be found on all major streaming services or online at apollosfire.org/cds-shop. With over 20 million views (and counting!) on YouTube - visit our channel at apollosfirebaroque and subscribe to be notified about the latest recordings Watch Apollo's Fire on Medici.tv and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
LE TRE SOPRANO The Three Ladies of Ferrara
Amanda Forsythe | Amanda Crider | Amanda Forsythe
Jeannette Sorrell | Apollo’s Fire
“Apollo’s Fire, under Jeannette Sorrell, are fearless and inventive in their recreation of this music.. the programme is full of a keen lust for life, dance and love on the sharp edge of death and misfortune.”
BACH'S COFFEEHOUSE
“The Technicolor phrasing Sorrell drew from her players only increased this vividness… From their hair-trigger dynamic shifts in the opening phrase to the whirlwind final bars.”
– CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW
VIVALDI & Friends
LA FOLIA (“Madness”) & Other Concertos
“The showstopper is La Folia… building to dizzying whirls.”
– THE INDEPENDENT (London)
TELEMANN Don Quixote and
Other
Suites
& Concertos
“A hugely entertaining and characterful disc… The playing under Jeannette Sorrell is unfailingly bright-eyed, alert, and quite brilliantly executed with flair and panache.”
– FANFARE Record Magazine
CATCH APOLLO'S FIRE ON TOUR!
ACROSS THE COUNTRY
August 13, 2025 – Ravinia Festival, CHICAGO
November 9, 2025 – Early Music COLUMBUS
December 16, 2025 – University of Notre Dame, INDIANA
February 6, 2026 – Sanibel Island, FLORIDA
February 8, 2026 – VIRGINIA Commonwealth University
April 12, 2026 – Music Before 1800, NEW YORK CITY
LONDON MINI-RESIDENCY at St. Martin-in-the-Fields | April 2026
FENCING MATCH: Apollo's Fire vs. The Brits!
Friday, April 24, 7:30pm
A musical duel between Apollo's Fire and members of the world-renowned English Baroque Soloists – all led by Jeannette Sorrell. Not to be missed!
BAKLAVA BASH: A Middle Eastern Celebration
Friday, April 24, 10:00pm
(Late-Night Bistro Concert in the Crypt)
JOIN US in LONDON!
Israeli recorder virtuoso Daphna Mor and Palestinian-American oud master Ronnie Malley join friends Alan Choo, Emi Tanabe, and Tina Bergmann to evoke a Middle Eastern café in 1700.
O JERUSALEM! – Crossroads of Three Faiths
Saturday, April 25, 7:30pm
The troupe of 26 international artists brings Jeannette Sorrell's acclaimed program to London's most beautiful baroque venue. A memorable night!
APOLLO'S FIRE CHICAGO SERIES
October 4 - 5 | Purcell's DIDO & AENEAS
December 14 - 15 | Praetorius CHRISTMAS VESPERS
February 3 - 4 | WINTER SPARKS from Bach & Vivaldi
April 17-19 | O JERUSALEM! Crossroad of Three Faiths
AUGUST: 8-10 OHIO | 13 CHICAGO (RAVINIA)
Fencing Match ROUND ONE
Late summer nights are for passion, romance, and sometimes… fiery duels. Join us for a red-hot concert of dueling double-concertos by Vivaldi, J.S. Bach, and Telemann.
OCTOBER: 3 & 9-12 OHIO | 4-5 CHICAGO
PURCELL
Dido & Aeneas
Purcell's poignant legend of love and betrayal. Dido & Aeneas is paired with sparkling instrumental dances from Purcell’s King Arthur and Faery Queen
NOVEMBER: 7-8 OHIO (SEVERANCE HALL)
MOZART Requiem
Jeannette Sorrell leads 70 of the nation’s finest period-instrument specialists and early music singers in Mozart’s masterful Requiem alongside a new premiere by composer Eric Gould.
DECEMBER: 12 & 18-21 OHIO | 14-15 CHICAGO
PRAETORIUS
Christmas Vespers
Praised as “a sheer delight” (New York Times), Apollo’s Fire’s acclaimed program returns in this haunting and joyous celebration of the Christ child.
JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 1 OHIO
MARCH: 5-8 OHIO
WINTER Sparks
from Bach & Vivaldi
Eight Apollo's Fire principals set sparks flying in virtuoso works from the Baroque masters, including Bach's brilliant Orchestral Suite No. 2
Palace of VERSAILLES
The gorgeous orchestral music of Lully, Marais, and Rameau features flutes, oboes, and theorbos in this program full of the majesty of 17th-century France.
APRIL: 9-11 OHIO | 17-19 CHICAGO
APRIL: 16 OHIO
OJerusalem!
Crossroads of Three Faiths
This evocative program is a loving tribute to the peoples whose music and faith brought such vibrancy to the Middle East.
Fencing Match
ROUND TWO
AF principal players step into the spotlight with double-concertos by Bach, Vivaldi, and more. This program heads to London following the local performance!