The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (also known simply as Tafelmusik) is a Canadian

Baroque orchestra A Baroque orchestra is an ensemble for mixed instruments that existed during the Baroque era of Western Classical music, commonly identified as 1600–1750. Baroque orchestras are typically much smaller, in terms of the number of performers, than t ...

specializing in

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

and based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. They often perform with choir and play

period instruments In the historically informed performance movement, musicians perform classical music using restored or replicated versions of the instruments for which it was originally written. Often performances by such musicians are said to be "on authentic ...

. The orchestra was founded in 1979 by oboist Kenneth Solway and bassoonist Susan Graves. Violinist

Jeanne Lamon Jeanne Lamon, (August 14, 1949 – June 20, 2021) was an American-Canadian violinist and conductor. Biography Lamon was born as Jean Susan Lamon in the Queens borough of New York City and was raised in Larchmont, New York. Her parents were Isaa ...

served as Music Director from 1981 to 2014. Lamon then held the title of Chief Artistic Advisor until 2017 when Italian violinist Elisa Citterio was appointed the new Music Director. Lamon continued to perform and tour with the orchestra in a reduced capacity until her death from lung cancer in 2021. Citterio left abruptly in early 2022 and the orchestra is now searching for a new music director. The orchestra has nineteen full-time members who specialize in historical performance and technique, with additional musicians joining the ensemble when required. The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under the direction of Ivars Taurins, was formed in 1981 to complement the orchestra.

Performing

Tafelmusik performs over 50 concerts for its subscription season at its home venue in

Trinity-St. Paul's United Church Trinity-St. Paul's United Church and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts is a church belonging to the United Church of Canada in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 427 Bloor Street West, just west of Spadina Avenue in the city's downtown ...

, a historic church in

the Annex The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road. The City of Toronto recognizes ...

neighbourhood of

, with selected performances at the George Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto Centre for the Arts and at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for the Performing Arts, Royal Conservatory of Music. They also collaborate with

Opera Atelier Opera Atelier is an opera company located in Toronto, Canada. It was founded in 1985 by husband and wife Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. The company mounts baroque operas from the 17th and 18th centuries that are presented in venu ...

multiple times each season, operating as Opera Atelier's pit orchestra for their performances at the Elgin Theatre in downtown Toronto. Tafelmusik's annual ''Messiah'' and ''Sing Along Messiah'', traditionally held at Massey Hall, have become very popular events during Toronto's Christmas season. The orchestra tours about twelve weeks each year across Canada, the United States, and Europe. It has also toured in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, as well as Australia,"An unforgettable concert combining Bach's music and world"
''Canberra Times'', By Jennifer Gall, 25 May 2018. New Zealand, Israel and Greece. From 1993 to 2011, Tafelmusik was orchestra in residence at the German ''Klang und Raum'' Festival in the small village of

Irsee Irsee is a village and municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria in Germany. The centre of the village is dominated by a monastery (Klosterbau), dedicated to the Virgin Mary The monastery was founded in 1186 by Margrave Henry of Ron ...

in Bavaria. The University of Toronto Faculty of Music has partnered with Tafelmusik and appointed the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra as its Baroque Orchestra in Residence. In 2002 the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute was created to provide pre-professional and professional musicians with a unique training programme in instrumental and vocal baroque performance practice. The institute is a two-week program consisting of masterclasses, private lessons, choral and orchestral rehearsals, chamber ensemble work, lectures and seminars, and baroque dance classes. Tafelmusik also runs the Tafelmusik Winter Institute, a one-week intensive training program launched in 2013. The orchestra also performs without sheet music in several multimedia shows celebrating the history of music and musical instruments. Their production ''J. S. Bach: The Circle of Creation'' has toured internationally. In 2017, the orchestra played at the swearing-in ceremony of Julie Payette, former

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

, as Governor General of Canada; Payette is a former member of the choir."Former astronaut Julie Payette sworn in as Canada's 29th Governor General"
''CityNews'', by Terry Pedwell, The Canadian Press. Oct 2, 2017

Awards

* 9 JUNO Awards, most recently for Classical Album of the Year for Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6, and Children's Album Of The Year for ''Baroque Adventure: The Quest for Arundo Donax'' * The 1996 Echo Klassik Award for Best Orchestra of the Year (Germany's highest recording accolade) The orchestra's recordings have also received the following awards: * Editor's Choice in ''Gramophone Magazine'' * Recording of the Month in ''BBC Music Magazine'' * ''Diapason D'Or'' awards * Record of the Year in ''Absolute Sound Magazine'' * Disc of the Month in ''CD Review'' * Nominations for Record of the Year in ''Gramophone Magazine'' * England's ''The Penguin Guide'' awarded Tafelmusik's recording of Vivaldi's ''The Four Seasons'' its highest accolade — the Rosette in 1994.

Discography

The orchestra has made over 75 recordings, DVDs and CDs. Some are to be found in Sony Classical's Vivarte series. Tafelmusik launched the independent label Tafelmusik Media in January 2012, with new releases of The Galileo Project (CD and DVD), Sing-Along Messiah (DVD), and Messiah (CD), as well as re-releases of Tafelmusik CDs originally recorded for Sony and CBC Records. The recordings include: * Bach's Brandenburg Concertos * The Mozart ''Requiem'' (directed by

Bruno Weil Bruno Weil (born 24 November 1949, in Hahnstätten) is a German symphonic conductor. He is principal guest conductor of Tafelmusik, the period-instrument group based in Toronto, Music Director of the Carmel Bach Festival in California, and artistic ...

) * The complete piano concertos of Beethoven (with Jos van Immerseel as soloist and conducted by

) * Works by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach * Handel's ''Music for the Royal Fireworks'' coupled with Concerti a duo cori Nos. 1-3 * Works by

Salamone Rossi Salamone Rossi or Salomone Rossi ( he, סלומונה רוסי or שלמה מן האדומים) (Salamon, Schlomo; de' Rossi) (ca. 1570 – 1630) was an Italian Jewish violinist and composer. He was a transitional figure between the late Ita ...

References

External links

* http://www.tafelmusik.org/
Colbert Artists Management Inc.

November 11, 1993 {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1979 Canadian orchestras Musical groups from Toronto Early music orchestras Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year winners 1979 establishments in Ontario Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment winners Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Vocal or Choral Performance winners