The European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO) is a training initiative which allows young performers of

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

to gain orchestral experience as part of their career development. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between

conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

study and a professional career. The success of the project, under the direction of the world's leading baroque musicians, can be measured in the number of ex-EUBO members who now play in Europe's leading baroque orchestras. Founded in 1985 and originally based in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, UK, the orchestra moved to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

after

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

History

EUBO was founded in 1985 as a major initiative of European Music Year to celebrate the 300th anniversaries of three great baroque musicians:

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, also known as Domingo or Doménico Scarlatti (26 October 1685-23 July 1757), was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the deve ...

and

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

. Since then, more than 600 full-time members of EUBO have given over 900 performances in 54 countries worldwide. The orchestra performs at many of Europe's leading music festivals and concert halls, including the

Amsterdam Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

St John's Smith Square St John's Smith Square is a redundant church in the centre of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Sold to a charitable trust as a ruin following firebombing in the Second World War, it was restored as a concert hall. This Grade I listed churc ...

in London, the festivals

Bachwoche Ansbach The Bachwoche Ansbach (Ansbach Bach Week) is a biennial music festival in Ansbach, Germany, dedicated to the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach, held since 1947. The main venues are the Orangerie and the great hall of the palace Residenz Ansba ...

, and specialist early music festivals in Utrecht, York, Brugge, Valletta and London. Outside Europe, as well as tours to Japan, United States and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, EUBO has played in less favoured parts of the world such as

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

, and

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

Structure and funding

The European Union Baroque Orchestra is an educational charity registered in England & Wales with its administrative office in Wootton, Oxfordshire. The orchestra is completely renewed every year. Auditions take place in spring, with usually around 100 young baroque musicians applying for the 20–25 places in the ensemble. The successful applicants then come together for concert tours which take the talented young orchestra to all corners of Europe. Members of EUBO gain performing experience, working together under the inspirational leadership of Music Director

Lars Ulrik Mortensen Lars Ulrik Mortensen (born 1955) is a Danish harpsichordist and conductor, mainly of Baroque solo music, chamber music and early music repertory. He was a professor in Munich in 1996–99 and has since then been artistic director of Concerto Cop ...

and some of the world's finest baroque musicians.

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...

, Margaret Faultless,

Roy Goodman Roy Goodman (born 26 January 1951) is an English conductor and violinist, specialising in the performance and direction of early music. He became internationally famous as the 12-year-old boy treble soloist in the March 1963 recording of Alle ...

, Enrico Onofri,

Rachel Podger Rachel Podger (born 1968 in England) is a British violinist and conductor specialising in the performance of Baroque music. Career Podger was born to a British father and a German mother. She was educated at a German Rudolf Steiner school then ...

Paul Agnew Paul Agnew (born 1964 in Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europ ...

Gottfried von der Goltz Gottfried von der Goltz (born 1 June 1964 in Würzburg, Germany) is a German violinist and conductor, specialising in the baroque repertoire. Born into the ancient Brandenburgish Goltz family, Gottfried was a great-grandson of the former commande ...

Alfredo Bernardini Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon name Alfred (name), Alfred and a common Italian language, Italian, Galician language, Galician, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given na ...

Sergio Azzolini Sergio Azzolini (born 1967, in Bolzano) is an Italian bassoonist and music conductor. Early life Azzolini was born in Bolzano, Italy in 1967 and learned bassoon after his mother suggested being a musician would provide a long term job for him. ...

and

Amandine Beyer Amandine may refer to: * Edibles: ** Amandine (cake), a Romanian chocolate sponge cake filled with chocolate or almond cream ** Amandine (garnish), a French culinary term for a garnish of almonds ** Amandine potato, a type of potato * Amandine ...

are amongst the artists who regularly work with EUBO. EUBO is partnered by nine European organisations within a co-operation project ‘EUBO Mobile Baroque Academy’ with co-funding from the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. The project addresses the unequal provision across the EU of baroque music education and performance in new and creative ways. EUBO has been honoured with the status of Cultural Ambassador for the European Union in perpetuity. Since 2008, EUBO has been Orchestra-in-Residence in

Echternach Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in L ...

, Luxembourg, working together with the City of Echternach, Festival International Echternach and the cultural centre Trifolion. EUBO's residency in Echterach and the Echter’Barock series of concerts are made possible by grants from the City of Echternach and the Ministry of Culture in Luxembourg.

Discography

*1990 – Handel – ''

Tamerlano ''Tamerlano'' (Tamerlane, HWV 18) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Agostin Piovene's ''Tamerlano'' together with another libretto entitled ''Bajazet'' aft ...

''. Roy Goodman, director *1991 – ''William Corbett – Bizzarie Universali''. Roy Goodman, director;

Andrew Manze Andrew Manze (born 14 January 1965) is a British conductor and violinist living in Germany. Born in Beckenham, United Kingdom, Manze read Classics at Cambridge University. Manze studied violin and worked with Ton Koopman (his director in th ...

, violin *1991 –

Pieter Hellendaal Pieter Hellendaal (1 April 1721 – 19 April 1799) was a Dutch composer, organist and violinist. At age 30, he migrated to England where he lived for the last 48 of his 78 years, and where he was known as Peter Hellendaal. He was one of th ...

– ''6 Concerti Grossi''. Roy Goodman, director; Andrew Manze, violin *1992 – ''Birds, Beasts and Battles''.

Monica Huggett Monica Huggett (born 16 May 1953 in London, England) is a British conductor and leading baroque violinist. Biography At the age of 16, Huggett started studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London, with Manoug Parikian and Kato Havas, baroque ...

, conductor/violin *1996 – J. S. Bach '' Markus Passion''. Roy Goodman, director; Ring Ensemble of Finland (Musica Oscura) *2002 – ''Handel – Apollo e Dafne, The Alchemist'' (

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

CD) *2002 – ''Handel, Rameau, Rebel''. Roy Goodman, directorClassica No.43, June 2002 CLACD043 *2003 – ''The Spirit of History'' (The Gift of Music CD) *2004 – ''Music for a Great House'' (The Gift of Music CD) *2005 – ''Rameau: Ballet Suites'' (Naxos CD) *2006 – ''Bach:

Matthäus-Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It set ...

, Johannes-Passion, Markus Passion, Lukas Passion'' (

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also sp ...

CD) *2007 – ''George Frideric Handel, Johann Sterkel, John Stanley – Suites & Solos'' (The Gift of Music CD) *2008 – ''Jean-Philippe Rameau, Johann Joseph Fux, Johann Sebastian Bach – Baroque Suites''. Lars Ulrik Mortensen, director (The Gift of Music CD) *2013 – ''George Frideric Handel – Pure Handel''. Lars Ulrik Mortensen, director; Maria Keohane, soprano (ERP 6212) *2013 – ''Handel, Bach, Ferrandini, Torelli – Joy & Sorrow unmasked DVD''. Lars Ulrik Mortensen, director (ERP 6412) *2013 – ''G. F. Handel – Peace & Celebration''. Lars Ulrik Mortensen, director; The Choir of Clare College Cambridge (OBSIDIAN 711) *2014 – ''A. Vivaldi – The Four Seasons & String Concerti.'' Lars Ulrik Mortensen, director; Huw Daniel, violin; Bojan Cicic, violin; Johannes Pramsohler, violin; Zefira Valova, violin; Antonio De Sarlo, speaker (OBSIDIAN 713)

References

External links

EUBO website
{{Authority control 1985 establishments in Europe Musical groups established in 1985 European youth orchestras Early music orchestras Organizations related to the European Union Music and the European Union Music charities based in the United Kingdom Pan-European music organizations

History

Structure and funding

Discography

See also

References

External links