Established as a chamber ensemble in 1976, the Philomel Baroque Orchestra is now Philadelphia’s foremost baroque ensemble performing concerts of early music. Core members of the Philomel Baroque Orchestra also perform as the Philomel Baroque Quintet. Philomel's activities include a major series of 12 to 15 early music concerts Philadelphia and environs; touring engagements; recording; radio broadcasts; and community outreach programs to elderly audiences, public school students, and young listeners and their parents. In addition, Philomel Baroque Orchestra recently initiated a series of programs presenting the music and arts of early Philadelphia in a number of the city’s leading historic sites. Performances introduce tourists, regional audiences, and local students to everyday life in the cultural capital of the emerging nation.

Philomel Baroque Orchestra’s baroque music programs programs explore the vibrant concert life of colonial Philadelphia. They present rediscovered gems, such as the 2002-03 season’s regional premier of Handel’s “Gloria” with soprano Julianne Baird — selected as a “most memorable performance of 2002” by Andante magazine. And they feature signature performances of masterworks like the four-violin concertos of Vivaldi’s Opus 3 (November, 2003) and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (May, 2004).

Among recent achievements, Philomel Baroque Orchestra was the baroque music ensemble selected to perform for Pennsylvania’s annual Governor’s Awards for the Arts ceremony, and the organization was awarded a $100,000 challenge pledge from the Lenfest Foundations to establish an endowment enabling annual recordings by Philomel Baroque Music ensembles. Philomel early music concerts are featured on broadcasts on Philadelphia’s WHYY-TV12, WHYY-91FM, and WRTI-FM.

"Philomel" is a poetic name for the nightingale, a European songbird with a beautiful and often rhapsodically varied call. The name was used in 17th- and 18th-century poetry as a symbol of nature's simple yet sublime beauty, the ideal that inspired the best of mankind's artistic endeavors.

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Philomel Concerts, Inc.  |  P.O. Box 41055, Philadelphia, PA 19127-0055  |  215-487-2344
Dates, venues, pricing and programs are subject to change.  |  Copyright 2006