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 voluntary board members, and also depends on the services of a small body of paid staff. The contributions of our board members cover a wide range of duties from website design to cooking, based on individual skills and preferences. The Festival's board works closely with the Board President, Artistic Director, and General Manager to keep the organization alive and running. In exchange for complimentary admission to concerts volunteers assist as ushers and hosts at concerts and special events.

Board of Directors

Linda Burman-Hall Artistic Dir./Founder	Kathryn Tobish President	Donald Wilson Treasurer	Sophy Chou Secretary
Gertrude Fator Ad Coordinator	Debbie Simpson Garden Tour Coordinator	Judy Foreman Board Member	Loretta Rao Board Member
Colleen Meagher Board Member	Alexandra Romanoff Board Member	Charles Sutton Board Member	Bruce Sawhill Board Member
Carol Wilhelmy Board Member

Production

Alissa Roedig General Manager

Judy Foreman Program Design & Production Eddie Roedig Web Design (Cobiadesigns.com) Mildred Weifert Bookkeeping

Volunteers

Sandie Bradshaw Volunteer Coordinator

Volunteers Concerts & Special Events

Alverda Orlando Meeting Representative

Join us! We are always seeking additional board 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 contact us (email info@scbaroque.org, 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. This commitment to early music led to over 3 decades of concerts with like-minded musicians. As the Baroque Festival has grown as a presenting organization, its concerts have continuously revived the excitement and controversy that early music generated when it was new. Under Dr. Burman-Hall's ongoing direction, the organization has brought early music to Santa Cruz and other California audiences in hundreds of concerts.

Our series balances a mix of solo, chamber, orchestral and choral music, as well as sacred and secular works, demonstrating the variety in early music repertoires. Productions of famous Baroque works such as Bach's Johannespassion (1984) and Art of Fuge (2009), as well as Händel's Messiah (1986), have alternated with unique 20th-century premieres of masterworks by composers such as Lully (1987) and Stradella (1990), and music by computer in the style of Mozart and Bach (1997, 2001 & 2006). Although Baroque masterworks remain a consistent part of our repertoire, our programming in most years spans well beyond the festival's overall theme of 'Baroque'; including the eight centuries of music from the Middle Ages to Classic and contemporary periods. Our thematically-oriented concerts also stretch Baroque music's boundaries geographically, by presenting historic and traditional styles of Spain, Sweden, Ireland, and Turkey, as well as Gypsy influences, with the upcoming 2010 season featuring imagined 18th-century intersections with Indian music. Our commitment to artistic integrity leads us to the use of original and replica instruments, which communicate with great integrity and power in acoustically appropriate concert halls. Our musicians play from facsimile or "Urtext" editions, using historical playing styles, including improvisation of ornaments and figured bass. The artists featured at Baroque Festival concerts collaborate in programming that is unique to our series and have included a blend of acclaimed stars and touring groups, as well as regionally-based artists, often working together on the same concerts. Our series also includes regular co-operations with locally based composers, such as David Cope and Lou Harrison, as well as the UCSC Chamber Singers and the G. B. Kirby Chamber Singers (2008 & 2009).

As the only longstanding early-music presenter north of Monterey and south of San Francisco, the SC Baroque Festival fills a unique artistic niche in the larger Santa Cruz area. 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 (e)mail list, send us your email or mail address at info[at]scbaroque.org	Contact us by mail Santa Cruz Baroque Festival P.O. Box 482 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 Call us: 831-457-9693 E-mail us: info[at]scbaroque.org