Previous Concert Seasons
Season 1
Birth of the Orchestra
November 5 & 6, 2005
English Baroque
April 28 & 30, 2006
Season 2
Concertos of Bach and Telemann
September 22-24, 2006
17th Century Treasures
November 3 & 4, 2006
La Notte: Chamber Music by Candlelight
January 6, 2007
Glories of Venice
April 20-22, 2007
Season 3
Festive Bach and Handel
September 14-16, 2007
17th-Century Treasures: Trumpet and Strings
November 10 & 11, 2007
Chamber Music by Candlelight: Virtuoso Violins
January 11-13, 2008
Gradus ad Parnassum, with St. Martin’s Chamber Choir
February 15-17, 2008
Haydn and High Baroque: 18th-Century Concertos
May 2 & 4, 2008
Season 4
Concerto Metamorphoses
September 12-14, 2008
French Connections, with Jennifer Lane
November 14-16, 2008
Chamber Music by Candlelight
January 9 & 10, 2009
17th-Century Treasures: Dido and Aeneas
February 21 & 22, 2009
A Handel Celebration
May 1-3, 2009
Season 5
Echoes of Venice
September 25 & 26, 2009
Noël Nouvelet, with St. Martin’s Chamber Choir
December 18-20, 2009
Mozart by Candlelight, with the Novello Quartet
January 22-24, 2010
Bach Meets Frederick the Great
February 26 & 27, 2010
The Four Seasons
May 6-9, 2010
Season 6
Bach, Italian Style
September 24-25, 2010
Fiori Musicali: 17th-Century Masters of the Keyboard
October 10, 2010
Fifth Anniversary Celebration
November 12-14, 2010
Venice and Versailles - Annual Candlelight Concert
January 7-9, 2011
New World Baroque
March 4-5, 2011
Water Musick
May 13-15, 2011
Season 7
The Art of the Violin
September 16-18, 2011
Venus and Adonis
November 19-20, 2011
Italian Sojourns
January 6-8, 2012
Requiem for a King
March 2, 2012
Brandenburg Concertos
May 10-13, 2012
Season 8
17th Century Treasures: La Susanna
September 22-23, 2012
A Dangerous Liaison
November 3-4, 2012
St. Matthew Passion
March 23-24, 2013
Don Quixote
May 17-19, 2013
Season 9
Vespers in Venice
September 27-28, 2013
Handel at the Opera
November 8-9, 2013
Virtuoso Vivaldi
February 14-16, 2014
Heart of the Baroque
May 16-18, 2014
Season 10
Muse in Motion: An ARS Celebration
September 19, 2014
Elements
November 7-8, 2014
The Story of Jephte
January 9-10, 2015
Marie
February 14-22, 2015
Friends and Rivals
May 16-17, 2015
Season 11
Encore: Audience Favorites
October 16-18, 2015
Mystery and Joy
December 4-6, 2016
Bach Times Three
February 26-28, 2016
Fanfares and Flourishes
May 20-22, 2016
Season 12
Bach Meets Vivaldi
October 13 & 16, 2016
Serenissima una Noche: Christmas in Spain and the New World
December 2-4, 2016
Playing with Fire
March 17-18, 2017
Mozart Among Friends
May 19-21, 2017
Season 13
Return to Bach
Annual Directors' Concert
August 13, 2017
The Glories of Venice
Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Vivaldi
October 13-15, 2017
Festive Bach and Handel
Chamber Concert
December 3, 2017
Arcangelo’s Circle
The spirit of Corelli in 18th-Century London
January 6 - 7, 2018
The Muse Project
In Collaboration with Lighthouse Writers Workshop and Stories On Stage
February 23, 25, 2018
The Complete Brandenburg Concertos
May 17 - 20, 2018
Season 14
An Evening with the Fittz-Nowell Duo
September 22, 2018
Art from the Heart
October 20, 2018
Handel & Purcell - The London Connection
October 6, 7 2018
Bach for the Holidays
November 28, Dec 1, 2018
A Taste for Baroque
February 21, 23, 24, 2019
Monteverdi’s Orfeo - May 11 - 12 2019
One of the earliest operas and still an enduring favorite, Orfeo sounds as fresh and contemporary today as it did at its 1607 premier. This poignant tale of love and loss comes to life in a compelling concert production directed by Grammy winner Stephen Stubbs, with Cynthia Miller Freivogel as concertmaster. A stellar cast of vocal soloists joins an orchestra of strings, harp, continuo, trupets, recorders, cornet and trombones!
Guest Conductor/Lutenist- Grammy® winner, Stephen Stubbs
Concertmaster - Cynthia Miller Freivogel
Season 15
August 15, 2019
Pathways to Bach
featuring Cynthia Miller Freivogel
BCOC's leader Cynthia Miller Freivogel will perform two of J.S. Bach's extraordinary works for unaccompanied violin - the Partita in B minor (BWV 1002) and Sonata in C major (BWV 1005). Cynthia will share her thoughts about her own personal journey with "solo Bach," and Frank Nowell will talk about what to look for in our exciting 2019-20 season.
Our annual directors' concert has become a BCOC favorite, so mark your calendars now for an intimate summer evening of music and conversation. Plus an additional surprise for your entertainment!
October 18, 2019
Littleton Community Concert
A free concert for people of all ages and backgrounds. Explore the joy of music from Mozart and Bach. What did the instruments of their time sound like? Short selections by Corelli, Bach, Handel, Mozart and Haydn, with engaging stories about the composers and lively demonstrations of the rich, organic sounds of period instruments: Baroque violin, cello, harpsichord, oboe, and natural horn.
PRESENTED BY LITTLETON UMC CONCERT SERIES
October 19 - 20, 2019
Mozart and Haydn: A Musical Sunrise
The orchestra expands with period wind instruments for an exuberant program of Haydn’s “Morning” Symphony, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate with soprano Laura Heimes, and Mozart’s Violin Concerto in G with Cynthia Miller Freivogel as soloist. Music of new beginnings... and new adventures!
November 16, 2019
Bach in the Coffeehouse
Experience the music of Bach’s time as it was performed at Zimmerman's Coffee House in Leipzig by Bach's sons and students. A "one to a part orchestra" led by harpsichordist Frank Nowell performs vivacious concertos by Bach, Telemann and Scarlatti, interwoven with the stories behind the music. Join the musicians at intermission for a relaxed coffeehouse atmosphere and conversation.Tickets only available through Capitol Hill Concerts. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Prodigy Coffee - a social enterprise run by the talent of young adults from Northeast Denver who have previously been disconnected from school and/or work.
Janurary 11,12 2020
Dido and Aeneas
Set aside an evening for magic! A fast-paced story of love, politics, sorcery…set to Henry Purcell’s wondrous music. A new semi-staged production brings this 17th century masterpiece of English musical theatre to life for 21st century audiences. “One of the most beloved operas… Dido’s final ‘Lament’ is a showstopper.” Ellen Harris, New York Times. Emily Marvosh plays both Dido and The Sorceress ~ “Staggeringly gorgeous,” The Boston Globe. Andrew Garland as Aeneas, Danielle Sampson as Belinda. Martin Davids, Concertmaster. Read a preview of this concert from Ruth Carver: READ
January 29, 2020
Celebration and Devotion at the End of the World
Intimate, Powerful! Colombian-born Guitarist, and a BCOC favorite, Daniel Zuluaga has selected Peruvian Baroque music from the Trujillo Manuscript. During the difficult era of colonialism in South America, music thrived and crossed cultural boundaries in both directions. With Adam LaMotte violin, and soprano Nell Snaidas, praised by the New York Times for her “vocally ravishing” performances. Enjoy the surrounding art exhibit at Museo de las Americas while you are enchanted. Limited seating.
Feburary 29, March 1
The Complete Goldberg Variations...with strings attached!
J.S. Bach’s beloved variations reveal a fresh dimension in an arrangement for strings and continuo, interwoven with selected variations in their original form for solo harpsichord. Our performance spotlights the combined talents of BCOC’s ensemble of strings and continuo led by Cynthia Miller Freivogel.
Season 16
Harpsichord Duo
Sep. 10, 2020
A Free Streaming Concert - Frank Nowell & Wesley Leffingwell.
Discover Baroque Seminar
Sep. 17, 2020
Free, via Zoom. - Throwing a Temperament. How tuning affects the sound and mood of the major and minor keys.Discover Baroque sessions.
Singular Voices
Thursday October 1, 2020 at 7pm– live-stream only.
Three BCOC musicians perform solo pieces by Bach and his circle, each followed by an interpretation by an artist -- poet, photographer or theater maker.
Hearts Resounding!
October 18, 2020
BCOC celebrates the power of music to evoke our brightest joys and deepest longings. Familiar music of Bach and Handel, Telemann’s spirited Viola Concerto with soloist Emily Anne Bowman, plus a new Chaconne for solo violin composed and performed by Martin Davids.
Salzburg 1715
Streaming premiere Nov. 15, 2020
In honor of her 1715 Baroque violin, Cynthia Miller Freivogel performs the complete Partitas of Johann Joseph Vilsmayr, from a beautiful church in Amsterdam. The six solo partitas comprise an extraordinary virtuoso journey through a wide range of moods, keys, and special tunings for the violin.
Flights of Fancy
A virtual concert - February 26, 2021
The centerpiece for the program is Georg Philipp Telemann's Don Quixote Suite, a light-hearted musical portrayal of Quixote and his adventures. Complementing the Telemann suite are two different versions of La Folia, a popular tune that has captured composers' imaginations for over 400 years. The program will also include music by Arcangelo Corelli and Joseph Boulogne.
Chamber Music, Live*!
June 24 , 2021
Season 17
Directors Concert: A Sweet & Savory Mix
July 29, 2021
Live performance with Cynthia Miller Freivogel, violin & Frank Nowell, harpsichord. Our annual directors’ concert this year takes on special meaning as we celebrate 15 years! Sonatas from Arcangelo Corelli and his re-discovered predecessor Isabella Leonarda. This concert is included with current Masterworks subscriptions.
A Joyful Reunion
Oct. 9 & 10, 2021
Handel’s Water Music, Suites in G and D with strings & recorder; A Suite of Bach’s Goldberg Variations; and a Telemann concerto for 2 violas featuring Vijay Chalasani and Emily Bowman; plus music by Biber and Albinoni.
Nov 11 - 13, 2021
A journey of rousing music and insightful stories, sailing on melodies from Latin America to Europe. Hear the amazing adventures of Ignatius Sancho, a Black British composer born on a slave ship, who inspired a contemporary composition by Jonathan Woody. Vivaldi, Telemann’s The Nations, Murcia’s guitars, and more. (This is a Confluence Series concert, not included with subscriptions)
A Winter Pair of virtual concerts on-demand only:
Festive French Noëls, December 6 - 25
French composer Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, January 3 - 31
A package of two virtual concerts: Festive French Noëls in December featuring Frank Nowell harpsichord, plus strings and recorders; and in January, music of the celebrated French composer Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre featuring Cynthia Miller Freivogel, violin with Katherine Heater, harpsichord.
Heartstrings
Sat. Feb. 12 - 13, 2022
A Valentine from our full BCOC orchestra with leader Cynthia Freivogel as soloist. Music shaped by the heart from Bach, Handel, Vivaldi ~ including selections with guest artists Broken Box Mime Theater, bringing images of Romance and Memory.
(This is a Confluence Series concert, not included with subscriptions)
Coffee Cantata ~ Bach’s Comic Opera
March 20, 2022
at 7pm
Bach’s raucously funny and fast-paced mini-opera in which a hyper-caffeinated daughter outsmarts her father. Our imaginatively staged production features nationally acclaimed voices including soprano Danielle Sampson. Plus a Telemann flute concerto.
Season 18
Nature’s Voice
Thursday evening July 21, 2022
Director’s Concert
Cynthia and Frank welcome guest artist Laura Heimes, soprano for Selections from Handel's "Nine German Arias," musical poems delving deeply into our human connections with Nature. Plus music of Purcell and the beloved Bach Chaconne for solo violin.
Chamber Music at Noon
Tuesday, August 9th, 2022 at noon
An eclectic program of chamber music by Vivaldi, Telemann, and three French composers, plus a fantasia by contemporary composer David Loeb, based on a Sephardic melody.
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons ~ Four by Four
October 7-9, 2022
Four virtuoso violinists perform a perennial audience favorite! Our exuberant celebration of violin artistry also features improvised solo fantasias to introduce each season, and our own new arrangement of Vivaldi’s fiery La Folia. Soloists: Cynthia Freivogel, Martin Davids, Ingrid Matthews and this year’s selected artist in our continuing Young Artist Spotlight, Pauline Kempf.
December Light
December 16-18, 2022
Strings and recorders bring a luminous glow to the winter night. Baroque favorites blend with our own new arrangements of traditional folk music from around the world. Corelli’s beloved Christmas concerto, lively French Noels, virtuoso solo concertos of Bach and Handel. Cynthia Freivogel, soloist.
Bach Meets Vivaldi
January 13, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Presented by Center for Musical Arts in Lafayette, CO
Join the musicians of Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado for an enchanting evening of music by two towering figures of Baroque music: J.S. Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. The two composers never met, but our program imagines what might happen if they did! Excerpts from Bach's brilliantly crafted masterworks are interwoven with Vivaldi concertos that reflect the glimmering lights and vivid colors of 18th-century Venice. Selections alternate between the two composers in an intriguing musical dialogue celebrating the vibrancy and ingenuity of Baroque at its best!
Opera: La Púrpura de la Rosa / The Blood of the Rose
January 27-29, 2023
La Púrpura de la Rosa (The Blood of the Rose) recounts the famous, fated, forbidden love affair between Venus, the Goddess of Love, and the very mortal and handsome Adonis. The Spanish libretto is by the great Golden Age dramatist, Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Filled with suspense, seduction, and comedy this opera’s music composed by Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco is rich in harmonies, plaintive melodies and Latin American dance rhythms. Featuring Nell Snaidas, guest director; Grammy nominated Jennifer Ellis Kampani, Soprano; Guadalupe Peraza, mezzo-soprano, and more amazing voices.
Read the full opera cast biographies
View and download the libretto text in Spanish/English
Appalachian Roots
March 24-26 2023
BCOC presents a transatlantic tour beginning in Stuart England where mystical ballads describing ancient fables blended with court compositions of art song and music salons. Emigrants from the British Isles packed their bags for the nascent land of America with their stories and tunes in tow, their music settling in the Appalachian hills. Here new instruments picked up old melodies and historical ballads took on a life of their own. Compositions and stories include those by Henry Purcell, John Playford, Niel Gowell, Jeremiah Ingles, ballads collected by Francis James Child, and all those tunes composed by the collective hands of generations of fiddlers and pipers. Featuring Cynthia Freivogel, violin.
FANDANGO! Voices, Violins & Guitars
A virtual concert, available on demand April 14 - 30, 2023
Featuring two GRAMMY-nominated sopranos, Nell Snaidas and Jennifer Ellis Kampani, with Jon Wasserman & Peter Schimpf on guitar and a BCOC ensemble. Fiery instrumental dances complement vocal virtuosity, all captured in the visual splendor and exquisite acoustics of the historic St. Thomas Church.
Director’s Concert
Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 7pm
An intimate evening of chamber music in the exquisite acoustics of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, along with informal commentary from the artists. Music full of surprises and delights from Bach and 17th-century Germany and Austria, with works by Biber, Buxtehude, Bertali, Weckmann, Westhoff, and Schenck. Featuring Frank Nowell, harpsichord; Cynthia Miller Freivogel and Martin Davids, violin; Zoe Weiss, viola da gamba and Baroque cello.
Chamber Music at Noon
Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 12pm
Seven BCOC artists come together for a varied program of spirited chamber music, with works by Vivaldi, Corelli, Telemann, Anna Bon di Venezia, and Johann Christoph Pez
Special Events (Seasons 1 through 14)
Preview Concert
September 23 & 24, 2005
Organ Tour of Europe, with organist Linda Raney
January 7, 2006
Abendmusik: Tribute to Dietrich Buxtehude
October 14, 2007
Trumpet and Organ, with trumpeter Kathryn James Adduci
October 4 & 5, 2008
The Art of Fugue, with harpsichordist Kathleen McIntosh
November 22, 2009
Two Violins by Candlelight
December 20, 2011
Biber to Mozart, an Evening with Cynthia Miller Freivogel
December 2, 2013
A Salzburg Christmas with St. Martin’s Chamber Choir
December 13, 15 & 20, 2013
Sketches of Marie, with BCOC and Wonderbound
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Directors’ Concert: 1715
July 23, 2015
Réjouissance: Tenth Anniversary Celebration!
August 30, 2015
Shape and Form (with Lighthouse Writers Workshop)
November 15, 2015
Portraits of Bach
March 19-20, 2016
Directors’ Concert: Circa 1600
August 14, 2016
Bach for the New Year
January 7, 2017
A Dangerous Liaison, with Wonderbound
February 10-12 and 18-19, 2017
West Side Live! Presents: The Muse Project
February 24, 2018
Baroque Out of Bounds: Dessert and D'Amore
April 8, 2018
Father and Sons, with St. Martin's Chamber Choir
April 13 - 15, 2018
Family Ties: Bach Sons and Telemann
July 29, 2018
Dissolve...Baroque + Spoken Word + Hip-Hop Dance
January 25, 27 2019
Celebrating The Baroque In Colorado” by Kyle MacMillan, EARLY MUSIC AMERICA Magazine
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