Program areas at AF
Subscription series grammy-winning Baroque Orchestra Apollo's Fire's 2021-22 season marked its 30th season under founding artistic director jeannette sorrell. the season comprised 31 subscription concerts, seven programs performed in multiple venues across northeast Ohio- however one program which was planned for january 2022 was canceled/postponed till fy23 due to a spike in the covid omicron virus. Vivaldi's four seasons rediscovered -october 2021violin fantasy tracing the path from biber to bach november 2021handel's messiah december 2021lift every voice a celebration of brotherhood & sisterhood january 2022 (due to the omicron virus, concert was postponed to fy23)israel in egypt a dramatic oratorio. February 2022virtuoso bach & vivaldi march 2022mozart and the chevalier may 202230th anniversary celebration concert at severance hall!highlights of the season included a return to carnegie hall in march and to severance hall in may. Additionally, jeannette sorrell made her guest conducting debut with the new york philharmonic, bringing the renowned Apollo's singers with her (handel's messiah, december 14-18).af continued its watch-at-home video series, an initiative conceived in response to the pandemic. A subscription or ticket allows patrons either to attend in person or watch the concert-video at home (or both). Apollo's Fire also released 2 new cd albums on british label avie this season, in celebration of the ensemble's 30th anniversary. Af has made a significant effort to support its musicians and freelance artists during the pandemic. Across the country, freelance artists and even many musicians who held salaried positions faced a total loss of income. To date, af has distributed approximately $250k to our musicians through the musicians' fund, initiated with lead gift support from the afboard of directors. the fund was deployed to provide partial fees for canceled concerts. 100% of the donations to this fund are passed on to the musicians. Touring af tours nationally and internationally, and has performed 5 european tours. Over the years af has performed on the world's best stages including carnegie hall, the bbc proms in london, wigmore hall, tanglewood, ravinia, to name a few. In march 2022, Apollo's Fire returned to carnegie hall. the ensemble also returned to chicago with the launch of its windy city miniseries (5 concerts in evanston and lincoln park). In the 2021-22 season, af also performed in sonoma, ca; vail/beaver creek, co; winston-salem, nc ; and worcester, ma. Education & outreach af is deeply rooted in education and outreach through its community access initiative which augments its other outreach activities. the cai deepens af's focus on students, families, and individuals across all socioeconomic levels, thus bringing communities together for a shared transformational experience. Apollo's Fire believes in the power of music to inspire, transform, and uplift. We feel that all deserve to share in that experience in a manner that is accessible and affordable. Education and outreach activities include deeply discounted $12 tickets; free family concerts; in-school workshops with young students; free student rush tickets at all concerts; free family nights where students & parents from selected public schools will be invited to attend a subscription concert for free; and Baroque bistros- casual concerts at area restaurants. This is in addition to discounted senior citizen tickets; young artist apprentice program; musette program (children's choir ages 11-17)in 2019, af's board of directors approved the launch of the mosaic project- the second phase of af's community access initiative. In this phase, Apollo's Fire is prioritizing diversity throughout our organization and our audience. Ultimately, our goal is to help increase diversity throughout the national early music field.