Apollo's Fire
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{promotional|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox orchestra
| name = Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra
| type =
| image = A performer looks out from the loft (2601775254).jpg
| caption =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| short_name = Apollo's Fire
| alt =
| former_name =
| founded = {{Start date|1992}}
| disbanded =
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| location = Cleveland, Ohio and Chicago
| concert_hall =
| principal_conductor = Jeannette Sorrell
| music_director =
| website = {{URL|https://apollosfire.org}}
}}
Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra is a period-instrument ensemble specializing in early music (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic). The ensemble is based in Cleveland, Ohio and, since 2021, also in Chicago. The ensemble is composed of early music specialists from throughout North America and Europe, and led by conductor/harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell.{{cite magazine|last1=Stewart|first1=Andrew|title=Fire-Starters|magazine=BBC Music Magazine|date=November 2010|pages=52–54}}{{cite web |last=Cummings |first=Robert |title=Appollo's Fire - Music Biography, Credits, Related... |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/apollos-fire-mn0002218641 |access-date=21 October 2012 |work=allmusic.com |publisher=Rovi Corp.}} Apollo's Fire and Jeannette Sorrell won a GRAMMY Award in 2018, shared with tenor Karim Sulayman.{{Cite web |last=Clawson |first=Kerry |title=Apollo's Fire wins Grammy |url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/02/13/apollo-s-fire-wins-grammy/5995458007/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Akron Beacon Journal |language=en-US}}
Founding and Early History
Named after the Greek god of music and the sun, Apollo's Fire was founded in 1992 by the American conductor and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell. Sorrell, who was 26 at the time, had assistance from Roger Wright, 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.{{cite magazine|last1=Stewart|first1=Andrew|title=Firestorm: The USA's hottest baroque bandis heading our way|magazine=Classical Music Magazine (UK)|date=6 November 2010}} Wright was handling the Cleveland Orchestra's search for an assistant conductor, and he invited Sorrell to an interview for the position.{{cite magazine|last1=Stewart|first1=Andrew|title=Fire Storm: The USA's hottest baroque band is heading our way|magazine=Classical Music Magazine (UK)|date=6 November 2010}} 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."{{cite magazine|last1=Glanville|first1=Justin|title=The Sorrell Affekt|magazine=Oberlin Magazine|issue=Summer 2017|pages=40–43}} Sorrell replied that she had not applied for this job, and her true goal was to work with a period-instrument orchestra.{{cite magazine|last1=Glanville|first1=Justin|title=The Sorrell Affekt|magazine=The Oberlin Magazine|issue=Summer 2017|pages=40–43}} Following this encounter, Wright decided to help Sorrell launch a period-instrument orchestra.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
The orchestra received a start-up grant from the Cleveland Foundation in 1992, and made its debut in June of that year. Apollo's Fire then began receiving touring invitations from concert series presenters, and has been an active touring ensemble since its first season.{{cite web|title=Touring History|url=https://apollosfire.org/touring/touring-schedule/|website=apollosfire.org|date=17 June 2016 }}{{Third-party inline|date=September 2024}}
In 2004 Sorrell launched a multicultural/folk wing of Apollo's Fire – a troupe specializing in traditional music (Celtic, Appalachian, Sephardic), performed on period instruments in a historically informed aesthetic. Apollo's Fire was awarded major grants through the NEA American Masterpieces initiative in 2009 and 2010 for Jeannette Sorrell's research, creation, and recording of the innovative crossover program, "Come to the River: An Early American Gathering." This recording became a top-10 bestseller on Billboard Classical in 2011. The album was hailed by the American Record Guide as "one of the most joyous releases, intoxicated by the sheer joy of being alive."{{cite magazine|last1=Greenfield|title=CD Reviews|magazine=American Record Guide|date=September–October 2011|volume=74|issue=5|page=216}}
Awards and honors
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.apollosfire.org Official Home Page]
- [https://www.youtube.com/apollosfirebaroque videos]
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Category:Musical groups from Cleveland
Category:Musical groups established in 1992
Category:Early music orchestras
Category:Orchestras based in Ohio