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

Season 5 brochure

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

Season 6 brochure

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

Season 7 brochure

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

Season 8 brochure

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

Season 9 brochure

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

Season 10 brochure

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

Season 11 brochure

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

Season 12 brochure

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

Season 13 brochure

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

Season 14 Brochure

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

Cast:

Orfeo - Aaron Sheehan, tenor

Euridice/Prosperpina - Nola Richardson, soprano

Messagiera - Danielle Sampson, soprano

Musica/Ninfa - Kathryn Radakovich, soprano

Caronte - Matthew Treviño, bass

Speranza/Pastore - Daniel Moody, countertenor

Apollo/Pastore/Spirito - Steven Soph, tenor

Pastore/Spirito - Joseph Gaines, tenor

Plutone/Pastore - Adam Ewing, baritone

Learn more about the cast ...

Season 15

Season 15 brochure

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

Celebrate BCOC's return to live music with an informal noon-time concert of Baroque chamber music, with duos and trios by George Frideric Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, Jacques Duphly, CPE Bach and Ignatius Sancho.

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.

Cross-Currents
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