'Sprightly and upbeat': Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra's lively show makes stop in Los Alamos

Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra is bringing a program packed with musical gems to Los Alamos.

The program’s title, “A Night at Bach’s Coffeehouse,” was inspired by a famous coffeehouse in 18th century Leipzig, Germany, according to a Los Alamos Concert Association news release. The performance will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Duane W. Smith Auditorium at Los Alamos High School, as part of the Los Alamos Concert Association’s season.

The repertoire includes Antonio Vivaldi’s Ciaconna in C Major, arranged by Jeannette Sorrell and performed by violinists Alan Choo and Emi Tanabe, Concerto in C Minor for 2 Violins, RV 509 performed by violinists Choo and Chloe Fedor, and Concerto in B Minor for 4 Violins performed by Choo, Tanabe, Edwin Huizinga and Andrew Fouts.

Also part of the program are J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 performed by Apollo’s Orchestra, and Georg Philipp Telemann’s Selections from Recorder Suite in A minor performed by Daphna Mor on recorder.

“(Apollo’s Fire) is a fabulous Baroque orchestra that was started by Jeannette Sorrell,” said Linda Deck, artistic director of Los Alamos Concert Association. “She’s got such a wonderful history. She’s a fabulous harpsichordist and she created this orchestra, probably 20 years ago or more, as the conductor. They’ve just received huge acclaim.”

Deck said Sorrell started her own orchestra after auditioning for another big orchestra and being told by a male conductor that she would not be considered because the audience would not accept a woman conductor.

“She started this wonderful orchestra, and of course, it’s all Baroque, so it’s great repertoire, which they will be playing a lot of on (Feb. 16), which is the Vivaldi, the Telemann and Bach,” Deck said “This music is delightful and sparkly and sprightly and upbeat, and people really love it.”

Choo, the concertmaster and assistant artistic director for Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra, will lead the performance.

“I think we were under the impression that Jeannette would be traveling with them, and for whatever reason, she is not traveling with them this season,” Deck said. “Alan has taken over the role and he is a fabulous violinist. So, no problem there. We’re really happy to have him playing with us.”