Apollo's Fire

Apollo's Fire, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra is a popular and critically acclaimed period-instrument ensemble specializing in early music (Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical) based in Cleveland, Ohio. The ensemble unites a select pool of early music specialists from throughout North America and Europe. Under the direction of Artistic Director Jeannette Sorrell, the ensemble has been noted internationally for creative and innovative programming, and praised by BBC Music Magazine for "forging a vibrant, life-affirming approach to early music... a seductive vision of musical authenticity."

Named for the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo's Fire was founded in 1992 by the award-winning conductor and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell. Sorrell, who was 26 at the time, had assistance from Roger Wright (music administrator), who was then Artistic Administrator of the Cleveland Orchestra. Sorrell came to the attention of Wright through recommendations from conducting faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Festival where she had studied under Leonard Bernstein, Roger Norrington and others. Wright was handling the Cleveland Orchestra's search for an assistant conductor, and he invited Sorrell to an interview for the position. The interview was conducted by Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Christoph von Dohnányi along with Roger Wright. During the interview, Dohnányi told Sorrell that there was "no point in finding time with the orchestra for her to audition, as the audience in Cleveland would never accept a woman as a conductor." Sorrell replied that she had not applied for this job, and her true goal was to work with a period-instrument orchestra. Following this encounter, Wright decided to help Sorrell launch a period-instrument orchestra.

Sorrell launched an ensemble dedicated to the baroque ideal that music should evoke the various Affekts or passions in listeners, using the 17th-century tools of rhetoric and drama. The orchestra received a start-up grant from the Cleveland Foundation in 1992, and made its debut to critical acclaim in June of that year. Apollo's Fire immediately began receiving touring invitations from concert series presenters, and has been an active touring ensemble since its first season. The group's recordings and concerts have been broadcast frequently on National Public Radio, Britain's BBC, Canada's CBC Radio 2, and the European Broadcasting Union since its 4th season.

...
Wikipedia