The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is an American orchestra based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. PBO is dedicated to historically informed performance of Baroque, Classical and early Romantic music on original instruments. The orchestra performs its subscription series in the following cities and venues: * San Francisco: Herbst Theatre * Berkeley: First Congregational Church of Berkeley * Stanford: Bing Concert Hall * Palo Alto: First United Methodist Church

History

Laurette Goldberg, a harpsichordist, teacher, and pupil of Gustav Leonhardt, founded the PBO in 1981. She stood down as the ensemble's music director in 1985 and chose

Nicholas McGegan James Nicholas McGegan OBE (born 14 January 1950 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England) is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert. Biography McGegan received his early education at Nottingham High School. He sub ...

as her successor. McGegan served as PBO music director from 1985 through 2020. During McGegan's tenure, the Philharmonia Chorale was established in 1995 as the affiliated chorus with the PBO, under the direction of Bruce Lamott. McGegan now has the title of music director laureate with the PBO. In 2012,

Richard Egarr Richard Egarr (born 7 August 1963) is a British conductor and keyboard player. Biography Born in Lincoln, Egarr received his early musical training as a choirboy at York Minster and at Chetham's School of Music. He was an organ scholar at Clar ...

first guest-conducted the PBO. Following two additional guest appearances, in January 2019, the PBO announced the appointment of Egarr as its next Music Director, with an initial contract of 5 years. The original intention was for Egarr to serve as music director designate for the 2020-2021 season, and then to take the title of music director with the 2021-2022 season. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PBO reconfigured its 2020-2021 season into a virtual season, and announced the advent of Egarr as its music director effective 1 July 2020, one season earlier than originally planned.

Collaborations

The PBO has collaborated with such arts organisations as Cal Performances, the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, and the New York Baroque Dance Company in the fully staged, modern-day premiere of Rameau's ''Le Temple de la Gloire'' in April 2017. PBO regularly partners with the

Mark Morris Dance Group Mark William Morris (born August 29, 1956) is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments. Morris is popular among dance aficionados, ...

Recordings and Media

The PBO has commercially recorded for such labels as

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''harm ...

, Reference Recordings and BMG and Avie. The ensemble initiated its own label, Philharmonia Baroque Productions, in 2011. On radio, the PBO has been regularly featured on

KDFC-FM KDFC (90.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, that broadcasts classical music 24 hours daily. It is owned by the University of Southern California. KDFC is the radio home of the San Francisco Symphony and the S ...

Honors and awards

* 1991 - Grammy Award, Best Choral Performance (Other than Opera)], Handel: ''Susana'') * 1991 -

Gramophone Award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refe ...

for Baroque Vocal, Handel: ''Susana'') * 2004 - "Ensemble of the Year" by

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. History 1898–19 ...

. * 2012 - GRAMMY nomination for Best Orchestral Performance (Haydn: Symphonies 104, 88 & 101)

Music directors

Laurette Goldberg Laurette may refer to: * Laurette (given name) * Laurette (play), 1960 American play based on the life of Laurette Taylor and starring Judy Holliday * Laurette, Illinois *Buckskin Joe, Park County, Colorado, a ghost town originally called Laurette ...

(1981–1985) *

(1985–2020) *

(2020–present)

References

External links

Official website of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
{{Authority control Early music orchestras Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups from San Francisco Choirs in the San Francisco Bay Area Orchestras based in California