What better way to start Christmas? ... As always it was a real treat for us all. ...more

Celebrating the 300th birthday of our favourite reverend, Richard Mudge (1718-1763) ...more

How lovely to be invited to Swaffham's Assembly Rooms for an evening of some of our favourite music. ...more

Our soloist for our biggest concert of this year was extraordinary baroque violinist Rachel Podger, the Gramophone Artist of the Year 2018.... ...more

Binham is a very special place. We have now been there for several years running ... they seem to like us! ...more

It doesn't have to be the lead violinist who directs the ensemble and this concert directed by cellist Kate Bennett-Wadsworth showed hwo the dynamics can change and work indifferent ways. ...more

It is always a privilege and pleasure to work with Master of Music, Ashley Grote, and the excellent Cathedral Chamber Choir. ...more

Another in our Live Programme Notes Series with Dr Simon Heighes - Pictures at and Exhibition.. but NOT Mussorgsky's version, our own Baroque version ...more

The music of JS Bach in our majestic Cathedral is hard to beat... ...more

When this concert was planned none of us really knew how it would evolve... in fact a week before the scores were still just dots on a page. BUT how it changed in one week! ...more

Well this one was really special..... ...more

It was a huge pleasure to welcome our guest director, Austrian violinist, Lucia Froihofer, specialist in the music of Johann Fux. ...more

This year's SG Wealth Management Gala Concert featured Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos - a pillar of the Baroque repertoire. ...more

Our 'summer mini-tour' saw the return of popular German duo, Philipp Spatling and Jens Lohmann, for a summer programme of sparkling recorder playing, with 2 performances; at St Stephen's in Norwich (21st) and then at the wonderfully atmospheric Norman Priory at Binham (22nd) ...more

Norwich Baroque re-united with Suffolk upper-voice vocal ensemble, Seraphim, under the baton of their charismatic director, Vetta Wise, for an exciting mixed programme of contemporary and baroque music featuring 2 works by Patrick Hawes “Song of Songs” and “The Angel of Mons” ...more

It was a delight to return to the magnificent Wymondham Abbey with resident organist, Rob Goodrich for a programme of English Baroque. Our programme included concertos by Handel and Rev. Mudge - perfect for the historic chamber organ. ...more

JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion is a masterpiece of epic proportions. This was our second performance of "the great Passion" and again, it was a day never to forget. ...more

The latest in our Live Programme Notes series was as popular as ever. Dr Simon Heighes master-minded a programme demonstrating the way composers, and particularly Bach, built upon snippets of is their own work, borrowed from others and knitted together fragments. ...more

Starting as we mean to go on; wonderful music and a fascinating subject introduced by a 'local girl' who has made it to the very top of her profession ...more

Another Messiah by Candlelight with our friends of the Cathedral Chamber choir, and it was as fresh and wonderful as ever! That's the genius of Handel... and of Ashley Grote! ...more

Truly a Prelude to Christmas mixed platter of pre-Christmas gems familiar and rare was served up led by our own Music Historian Simon Heighes. ...more

What a complete privilege to play such a gorgeous work in the beautiful surroundings of Norwich Cathedral. ...more

This concert was always one not to miss but took on extra significance with the sad death of our Honorary Friend, Douglas Losh-Atkinson, in September to whom we dedicated the concert. ...more

The flying fingers of Adrian Chandler (director of La Serenissima) and the passionate cello playing of Kate Bennett-Wadsworth captivated a full cathedral for an evening of Vivaldi. One member of the audience commented that she was "on the edge of her seat throughout".. well, had we been sitting, that is exactly where we would have been too...! exciting times :-) ...more

Friday 22nd - 7.30pm at St Stephen's Church, Rampant Horse Street Norwich
Saturday 23rd - 7.30pm at Binham Priory, North Norfolk.
it was time to celebrate our 10th birthday.. twice! We celebrated with some of our favourite works PLUS the winning composition from this years Losh-Atkinson Historic Sounds Composition Competition. ...more

The Chamber Choir summer concert last year was a particularly happy event....for some reason. This year was equally special with some of Handel's most sparkling and celebratory music. ...more

Saturday 28th - 7.30pm at St Mary's Church, Attleborough
Sunday 29th - 6pm at Framlingham Church
It was a pleasure to join the hugely popular upper-voice ensemble, Seraphim, with their director, Vetta Wise, for these two concerts of music by Hasse, Vivaldi and Pergolesi. ...more

Our live programme notes concerts with music historian Dr Simon Heighes are always popular. This time we welcomed soloists, soprano Jayne May-Sysum and her 'lover,' tenor, Daniel Bartlette, as well as the dastardly Derby O'Shannon aka Baritone, Jamie Wright. Enormous thanks must go to Simon for so much work put into this venture. ...more

It was a privilege and pleasure to perform Bach's St John Passion on Palm Sunday, with our colleagues from Norwich Cathedral under the baton of Master of Music, Ashley Grote. ...more

Two masters of their art, Crispian Steele-Perkins and Simon Munday demonstrated what can be done with natural trumpets as we were treated to a silvery and sparkling start to our 10th birthday year! ...more

This remains one of our favourite concerts of the year. Messiah, by candlelight, at Christmas with the brilliant Cathedral Chamber Choir under the direction of Master of Music, Ashley Grote.

Huge thanks to Jim Laws for the candles and lighting, to Niki Taigel for photographs
.... and to for everyone for their support for another year!
Happy Christmas!

How lucky we are to have 3 such vibrant soloists within our ranks.... this was a treat for us all. The contrasting styles gave each solo line its own personality.. thank you so much to our friends and comrades Jim O'Toole, John Crockatt and Rachel Stroud. ...more

We were thrilled to have not one, but three exciting soloists for this Bach celebration! Violinist Rachel Podger is perhaps the best known violinist of the moment and with her own ensemble, Brecon Baroque, has received rave reviews. It is always a delight to welcome back our patron, countertenor Michael Chance, this time to perform with Rachel, something they had wanted to fix for a long time and luckily we were the hosts! Additionally we had the pleasure of oboist Joel Raymond with us and he joined Rachel in Bach's gorgeous double concerto for violin and oboe. An evening we will all remember for a long time..... ...more

It is a always a delight to welcome back our engaging, Norwich-born music historian, Simon Heighes, to guide us and you through the evening. The trio of Simon, Jayne May-Sysum (soprano) and our director Jim O'Toole has developed its own chemistry. if you missed this one, do try to come next year... April 15th is the date to get into your diary. ...more

As was the habit in the 17/18th Century, we decided to take you on a grand tour, with music from Italy, France, Germany, Holland and England. This concert also saw the premiere of the winning entry form the 2nd Losh-Atkinson Composition Competition. It was a pleasure to have the winning composer, Philipp Spatling, with us, not only to be present at the premiere of his work but also to take part in the performance. ...more

7.30pm Norwich Cathedral - As ever it was a delight to join the Cathedral Consort for their summer concert; a joyful programme for a summer's evening! ...more

Performing Dido and Aeneas is something we have dreamed of for a while and it turned out that The Morley Consort of Voices was also desperate for an opportunity to enjoy Purcell's most popular opera!.. A happy co-incidence and one which led to a weekend of emotion; excitement, anticipation, joy, exhaustion, harmony (in every sense) and tears.... of the right sort. Purcell's ability to stir the soul never ceases to amaze us..... ...more

This was a great opportunity to hear a rarely-heard compilation of Vespers music by the Neapolitan composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi; large-scale choruses combine with subtle solo arias to produce a work of great character to be performed in the spacious acoustic of St John's Catholic Cathedral. ...more

JS Bach’s choral masterpiece, St John Passion, with the mixed choirs of Norwich Cathedral directed by Master of Music, Ashley Grote was a privilege and pleasure. Performing such works makes you feel so fortunate in so many ways. We are extremely lucky..... ...more

Sheringham born trumpet soloist, Simon Munday, was our soloist at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, for the best solution to any festive season fustiness! Despite the freezing temperatures the music by Torelli, Telemann, Corelli, Albinoni and Hellendaal was much enjoyed by a big audience. ...more

Again Messiah by Candlelight sold out! It was, as ever, a privilege to join the Cathedral Consort conducted by Ashley Grote and a fine team of soloists including our Patron Michael Chance for the best start to Christmas. ...more

Norwich Baroque, soprano Jayne May-Sysum, Minstrels' Gallery, mince pies, mulled wine and Baroque Christmas gems in comfortable, warm surroundings. It was a treat to enjoy an early Christmas concert with our friends, full of variety. ...more

This date was reserved for some of our favourite baroque works.. this time with a French theme. Not all the composers were themselves French but all were influenced by French form or style in some way. Several of the band were unwell but all struggled through and no-one would have known in the concert... thanks team.. you are the best! ...more

The mini-tour is always a highlight of the year and this year Norwich Baroque was joined by Catherine Martin for 2 concerts: on 5th Sept. at St Stephen's Church, Norwich, and on 6th at the wonderfully atmospheric Binham Priory. ...more

It was a treat to return to Aylsham church for a programme of bright and beautiful baroque to celebrate the life of Alison Snape. Our programme also included the winning entry from the Losh-Atkinson Historic Sounds Composition Competition, Disconcerto by Rupert Jeffcoat. ...more

7.30pm Wymondham Abbey, as part of the Wymondham Music Festival.
Cellist Richard Tunnicliffe joined Norwich Baroque to celebrate the music of the Bach family.... not just J.S, but C.P.E and Johann Bernhard too. It was pleasure to have Richard back with us just a couple of months after joining us as principal cellist for St Matthew Passion. ...more

As ever it was a pleasure and privilege to welcome the master of natural trumpet himself, Crispian Steele-Perkins for a programme of English music. A sell-out audience was also good to see! ...more

Norwich Baroque combined with the massed choirs of Norwich Cathedral: the boys choir, girls choir, the lay clerks and the Consort for a performance of JS Bach's epic work that he referred to as "The Great Passion". It was a privilege to perform such amazing music. ...more

7.30pm, Norwich Central Baptist Church.
Soprano Jayne May-Sysum, "Live programme notes" from engaging musicologist Simon Heighes plus a tribute to Burn's Night. Music by Handel, Vivaldi, Hayes, Arne and Mackintosh. ...more

Messiah by Candlelight actually SOLD OUT... we were as amazed as anyone that our massive Cathedral would sell out, but it did! ...more

It was a treat to welcome Joel Raymond (oboe), Hayley Pullen (bassoon) and guest director, Rachel Stroud for an evening of woodwind concertos and music for string ensemble. ...more

What a privilege it was to welcome two such highly respected performers to join us in Norwich Cathedral...a concert to be remembered for us all. ...more

Our third mini-tour was as good musically and socially as we had hoped and a great time was had by all. It was a pleasure to welcome back Norwich born, Annabel Knight, to perform with us on both flute and recorder. ...more

Well, this was a first...certainly for us, and possibly for East Anglia.
A virtual tour around the Britain of baroque times, but from the comfort of a NEW VENUE ... the Norwich Central Baptist Church on Duke street in central Norwich. It was fantastic to have "Live programme notes" courtesy of engaging Early Music academic, Simon Heighes plus the return of our friend, soprano Jayne May-Sysum.... a great time was had by all! ...more

Coronations have always been a great excuse for composers to write some of their most rousing and joyful music. With Keswick Hall choir in the beautiful surroundings of St. Peter Mancroft we were joined by woodwind, trumpets and timps for a celebration of sound!

J.S Bach's St. John Passion is one of the great choral works of the baroque period. To perform it in the serene beauty of Norwich Cathedral was a real pleasure. For the first time we joined the mixed choirs of the Cathedral: The Lay Clerks, the boys choir and the girls choir. ...more

What is it about Norwich Baroque and snow?! Again we hit snow in a big way... disruption to rehearsals and concert... plus suddenly un-insured rehearsal venue, infected wild cat bites, winter vomitting bug, ...oh, and a soloist with laryngitis! However, Michael Chance, a true professional, offered us a series of 3 mini-talks about opera in Handel's day versus today and the rivalries which existed then and now.
So in the end it was a great afternoon.
Short of Hibernation next year from Oct-April we will just have to hope we avoid the snow in the future! ...more

The return of the ever-popular Christmas by Candlelight was as always a great evening. A huge 629 people came AND the retiring collection raised a fantastic £1097.41 rounding off a good year very nicely. ...more

Well, as hoped, this was a treat for all lovers of J.S Bach; a real Bach-Fest! Some of his best loved concertos and some less well-known in an evening show-casing our home grown talent. ...more

Again we headed off on our late-summer mini-tour with a programme of easy listening and varied Baroque treats. On Friday 31st August at 7.30pm we performed at the beautiful St. Mary's church, Attleborough, and on Saturday 1st September we returned to Binham Priory which has to be one of the atmospheric concert venues in East Anglia. ...more

Norwich Baroque was delighted to welcome probably the most well known name in the world of baroque brass playing, Crispian Steele-Perkins, to perform with us in Wymondham Abbey as part of the Wymondham Festival. ...more

The successful partnership between the Cathedral Consort and Norwich Baroque continued with a return visit to our beautiful Cathedral and a programme of Bach and Boyce. ...more

Something new for 2012 .... Norwich Baroque was delighted to welcome Sasza Zargowski and partner Moira Goff for an afternoon of French elegance and dance. What a fantastic time we had! ...more

This year our annual antidote to "seasonal over-indulgence" featured the gentle sound of the Lute and Mandolin played by Andrew Maginley. ...more

Well, we were totally bowled over by the fabulous singing of our two soloists, Elizabeth Watts and Michael Chance. The combination of their wonderful voices, their total professionalism and the fact that they are both such lovely people is hard to beat. Many thanks to them both for making 29th Oct 2011 a night to remember. An enthusiastic audience of 450 people shared the experience with us.... it is certainly something we will try to repeat in the future, so watch this space! ...more

What a fantastic weekend we had! Two well attended, enthusiastically received concerts, good music, lovely weatehr and such a lovely group of players..... a great time was had by all. We hope to return to both venues in the future. ...more

By great good fortune we had the exciting opportunity to welcome Baroque trumpet virtuoso John Foster, the director and inspiration behind Australian Baroque Brass, to perform with us. He was joined by his good friend, and ours, John Coulton for an evening of sparkling trumpet duos and solos. ...more

The inspiration for this concert was three-fold: to perform the wonderfully English Capel Bond bassoon concerto, to invite back recorder player Katriina Boosey and to make a return visit to the historic Noverre ballroom at Norwich Assembly House. ...more

Norwich Baroque was delighted to welcome back its Patron, Michael Chance, for an evening of countertenor gems in the comfortable and intimate surroundings of the United Reformed Church, Princes street, Norwich. A good audience was treated to a selection excerpts from Purcell`s The Fairy Queen and Dido and Aeneas, Bach`s St Matthew Passion, and Handel`s Messiah and Israel in Egypt. Michael's performance of Erbarme Dich, with the violin obligato beautifully played by Rebecca Livermore, will live on in the memories of many people...as will Biber's Battalia a 10.. for quite different reasons! It was a delight to watch Andrew our bass player take so readily to the role of side drum (courtesy of a piece of paper woven between the strings) and rifleman.... ...more

Norwich Baroque and the Norwich Cathedral Consort had the pleasure of performing two of the most joyous masterpieces of the era, Handel`s Dixit Dominus and J.S.Bach`s Magnificat in Norwich Cathedral to a large audience. ...more

Following her concert with us last January, we immediately booked Jayne to come return brighten up the start to the new year for 2011. Her performance on this bright winters afternoon didn't disappoint. ...more

Norwich Baroque and The Cathedral Consort`s own atmospheric start to Christmas returned for a second time by popular request. An amazing 541 people braved the festive but freezing conditions for a sparkling evening of magical Christmas music in our beautiful candelit Cathedral. ...more

Following his inspiring performance of Vivaldi`s Four Seasons in August 2008 violinist Peter Hanson returned by popular request to direct Norwich Baroque`s exploration of the rich mix of music and culture in mid eighteenth century England and London in particular.
It was a treat to perform music by some of our favourite composers with a slightly larger ensemble than usual, including Andy Maginley`s theorbo which contributed to a warm and full sound in the beautiful united reformed church. ...more

Norwich Baroque was invited to be part of the Centenary celebrations of St John`s Roman Catholic Cathedral, performing a programme of baroque and contemporary music with the choral group Escorial. It was a treat to welcome Simon Jones to direct and his wife, old friend of Norwich Baroque, Andrea Morris as principal 2nd violin. ...more

Norwich Baroque was delighted to welcome back its patron, countertenor Michael Chance, to perform Vivaldi`s two beautifully atmospheric works, Nisi Dominus and Stabat Mater. The ornate grandeur of the Abbey was a perfect setting for such profound works, and with the sounds of Norwich Baroque`s period instrument ensemble, and guests, the Amphion Consort, the large audience was treated to an evening straight from 18th century Venice. ...more

St Michael`s Church Aylsham was the setting for an evening of baroque favourites and some less well known gems from our collection, at the invitation of Aylsham Music Society. ...more

Norwich Baroque and the Cathedral Consort continued their successful partnership under the baton of David McKee to perform Bach`s masterpiece, the great Mass in B minor. It was a privilege to perform such wonderful music in the magnificent (if rather chilly) setting of Norwich Cathedral. ...more

Jayne May-Sysum is a soprano whose musical sincerity and love of communicating with her audiences have won her plaudits wherever she has performed, and on this particular Sunday, after weeks of snow and freezing temperatures, her singing was a delight. ...more

It was a delight to welcome Richard Tunnicliffe as soloist and director for an evening of English Baroque music in the beautiful Georgian surroundings of Norwich Assembly House. Richard`s recording of all 6 Garth cello concertos with the Avison Ensemble in 2007 was highly acclaimed so it was a privilege that he was able to join us to perform 2 of them as part of a programme full of English Elegance. ...more

Directed by Jim O`Toole, Norwich Baroque was delighted to be performing in support of The King of Hearts at a time when its very survival had come into doubt due to financial pressure. It was also an excellent opportunity to thank Alan and Aude Gotto for their support since Norwich Baroque began and indeed for their tireless promotion of baroque music locally. ...more

The Brandenburg concertos had been on our wish list ever since we first began planning Norwich Baroque programmes in 2006. With a team of four excellent soloists concertos IV and V were performed on period instruments under the leadership of Rebecca Livermore of The Academy of Ancient Music. ...more

On a hot summer Sunday, violinist, Rebecca Livermore, of the Academy of Ancient Music, and Cellist, Alison McGillivray, of Concerto Caledonia, gave a recital of Bach and Morley in the serene and beautiful surroundings of St. Helen`s, the church of The Great Hospital, Norwich. ...more

Norwich Cathedral Consort and Norwich Baroque, directed by Paul Clarke and conducted by David McKee, returned to Norwich Cathderal for a performance of Handel`s masterpiece, Messiah. ...more

In the candlelit beauty of the Norwich Cathedral, Norwich Baroque again joined forces with the Cathedral Consort for our own atmospheric visit back in time to Christmas of the 17th and early 18th Centuries. ...more

Norwich Baroque, directed by Paul Clarke, was delighted to welcome Michael Chance, one of the finest countertenors of his generation, and David Mckee, bass, to sing three of Bach`s most beautiful cantatas. ...more

Visiting director and violin soloist Peter Hanson proved very popular with the musicians and audience alike. He was joined by Oboist Jeremy Foster and by far the biggest audience we have had to date for this popular programme lead with great freshness and energy by Peter in the serenity of Norwich Cathedral. ...more

Directed by Paul Clarke, Norwich Baroque headed out of town on a hot early summers day to the idyllic setting of Wymondham Abbey with the Norwich cathedral organist, David Dunnett. ...more

Norwich Baroque, directed by Keith Hobday, was joined by trumpet duo john Coulton and Bevin Mack for our first concert in the United Reformed Church, Princes Street, Norwich. ...more

Norwich Baroque`s first concert with the Norwich Cathedral Consort and conductor David Mckee was infact two; the first performance was as part of the evening service in the Cathedral and the second was a concert performance two weeks later. ...more

Directed by Paul Clarke and conducted by Jody Butler, Norwich Baroque teamed up with local choir, Viva Voce, and five excellent soloists for its first choral concert. ...more

Directed by Paul Clarke, Norwich Baroque enjoyed Telemann`s programmatic "Don Quixote" and the overture "Les Nations" plus two recorder concertos, beautifully played by Alison Baldwin. ...more

For our second concert we returned to St Peter Mancroft, welcoming guest director Andrea Morris of the Academy of Ancient Music and trumpet soloist John Coulton. ...more

Norwich Baroque`s first concert, in the church of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, featured soloists Lucy Curnow - Violin, Jeremy Foster - Oboe and Geoff Davidson - Baritone. ...more