Under the direction of early keyboard specialist Linda Burman-Hall, the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival has been presenting regular concerts since 1974, bringing early music to Santa Cruz and other California audiences in hundreds of concerts. Baroque music opens the world of historic sound, and can lead both musician and audience on countless voyages of musical discovery. Experimenting with "new" ideas about "old" instruments and music, our Festival performers virtually travel through time.

The SCBF presents annual seasons of early classical music. Our concerts feature internationally-known as well as local artists performing on historical instruments. The themes of our concerts center around the "baroque" period (from the time of Bach, Händel, and Vivaldi). At the same time we extend our boundaries both geographically and temporally: Concerts with Swedish, Eastern European, and Spanish music have featured on our series, as has music from the medieval, renaissance, and classical eras -- even contemporary neo-baroque works. Each year we offer 5 season concerts (February - May) and 3 special events (May, July, November), as well as an annual Youth Chamber Music Competition (February). For musicians, music students, and music lovers alike our series offers the opportunity to experience a creative range of acoustic chamber music performances.

Meet our Team | More about SCBF | Contact us

Meet our Team:

The SCBF is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of community volunteers, and depends on the services of a small body of paid contract staff. Based on individual skills and interests, the contributions of our board members cover a wide range of duties from community outreach to computer work to cooking. The Festival's Board of Directors works closely with the Artistic Director and General Manager to keep the organization alive and running. Members of the organization's Board of Advisors contribute in select areas of interest. Finally, in exchange for complimentary admission to concerts our Volunteers assist as ushers and hosts at concerts and special events.

Board of Directors

Linda Burman-Hall Artistic Dir./Founder	Kathryn Tobisch President	Donald Wilson Treasurer	Sophy Chou Secretary
David Copp Board Member	Judy Foreman Board Member	Greg Hayford Board Member	Alverda Orlando Board Member
Carol Wilhelmy Board Member

Board of Advisors

Loretta Rao, Alexandra Romanoff, Bruce Sawhill

Production

Alissa Roedig General Manager

Judy Foreman Graphic Designer Mildred Weifert Bookkeeper

Volunteers

Sandie Bradshaw Volunteer Coordinator

Volunteers Concerts & Special Events

Charles Sutton Curator, Instrument Exhibit

Join us! We are always seeking additional members and volunteers to join our team. If you would like to directly contribute towards the Festival's efforts and be involved with our activities behind the scenes, please email us, or call us at 831-457-9693.

More about the SC Baroque Festival

The Santa Cruz Baroque Festival was founded in 1974 by early-keyboard specialist Linda Burman-Hall as a way to share the joys of early music with friends and the community. In the beginning, in an old Victorian house at Schwan Lagoon, there was just a handful of fine musicians playing with rising excitement through centuries of early scores while studying historical treatises, puzzling how their own instruments could best express this old and enchanting music and touch the heart of the listener. With this commitment, the festival's concerts have continuously revived the excitement and controversy that early music generated when it was new. Since its early days, the Baroque Festival has grown as presenting organization, bringing early classical music to Santa Cruz area audiences in hundreds of concerts and over the course of nearly 40 seasons.

Our mission is to present an annual concert season of early classical music as it sounded in its own time. By balancing masterworks and innovative collaborations, local and touring artists, and experimenting with new ideas about old instruments, we aim to engage our audience in a virtual journey through musical time. These goals are realized as follows:

● Presenting 5 early music season concerts each year (February-May) under the umbrella of a season theme.

● Expanding the envelope of 'baroque' by:
(1) Balancing timeless baroque works with unique and educational concert themes;
(2) Featuring international touring artists alongside regional artists;
(3) Investigating crossovers with a variety of folk music styles; as well as
(4) Engaging in collaborations with other arts disciplines.

● Presenting off-season fundraiser events in support of the concert season and the organization's operations.

● Engaging in community outreach through informative concert notes, our annual Youth Chamber Music Competition, radio broadcasts, and collaborations with emerging ensembles other organizations.

Our festival has been fortunate to host many early music 'stars' like violinists Monica Huggett and Elizabeth Wallfisch, vocalists Max van Egmond and Julianne Baird, harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt and organist Anthony Newman. Major touring groups heard in our concerts include Anonymous Four, Chanticleer, and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. At the same time Dr. Burman-Hall's regionally-based ensemble Lux Musica forms an anchor to each season by collaborating with guest artists and presenting creative endeavors that are distinctly 'locally-brewed'. Our artists perform on original and replica instruments, which are not commonly heard on concert stages, but communicate the music of their time with great integrity and power. Frequently our musicians play from facsimile or 'urtext' editions, using historical playing styles that include improvisation of ornaments and figured bass. Though baroque 'masterworks' remain our focus, our programming ranges from the medieval mysticism of Hildegard of Bingen to renaissance and baroque styles to the classical and romantic repertoire, including premieres of contemporary neo-baroque works. While we have occasionally been able to stage ambitious larger projects such as Bach's St. John Passion and Handel's Messiah, we have mainly concentrated on the way that ethnic traditions - whether Celtic, Nordic, Spanish, or Turkish - have influenced the development of the 'classical' style. Our 5 season concerts are unified by an annual season theme, such as "World of Baroque" (2007), "Musical Ecology" (2009), and "Endangered Musics" (2011).

As longstanding early-music presenter serving audiences from Monterey to San Francisco, the SC Baroque Festival fills a unique artistic niche in the greater Santa Cruz area and surrounding counties. Yet our creative approach to programming keeps the contemporary listener and the Bay Area's demand for cultural and artistic diversity in mind.


Contact us

	To sign up for our events reminder list click here to send us your email or mail address.	Contact us by mail Santa Cruz Baroque Festival P.O. Box 482 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 Call us: 831-457-9693 Email Us