Apollo's Fire Plays a New Passion   By Leighanne Saltsman '04
			Apollo's Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, will break new ground when it performs the Bach St. Matthew's Passion the last weekend of March. A three-concert series (at Akron's Civic Theater on the 28th, Cleveland's Severence Hall on the 29th, and Oberlin's Finney Chapel on the 30th) constitutes the orchestra's maiden performance of the nearly 375-year-old work. On Sunday, March 30, at 5 p.m., the acclaimed ensemble will bring the masterwork to life in Finney Chapel, joining forces with a double chorus, children's chorus, and roster of soloists that includes Ian Honeyman as the Evangelist and Jeffrey Strauss as Jesus. Apollo's Fire is made up of a rotating roster of historical performance players, many of whom are Oberlin alumni. Conservatory students also make occasional appearances with the ensemble, and while there are no undergraduates represented in the orchestra for this performance, vocal performance students Tess Wakim '03, David Kurtenbach '02, and Samuel Sytsma '04 will sing with the choir. Apollo's Fire has previously presented the Bach St. John's Passion to critical and audience acclaim; the Akron-Beacon Journal called it "possibly the finest music-making ever heard from this ensemble." In light of such past triumphs, one wonders why an orchestra of such "persuasive intelligence and musicality" (American Record Guide) has waited until now to present the St. Matthew's Passion. "It's such a large-scale work-more expensive to produce, and longer than the St. John's-that we wanted to wait until we could really get it to present it," says Michael Lynn, Professor of Recorder and Baroque Flute at Oberlin and flutist with Apollo's Fire. "Now, I think that it's going to be one of the best things we've ever done." According to Lynn, who is also a member of the group's board, Apollo's Fire "tries very hard to always be raising its standard. On average, this is exactly what happens each time Apollo's Fire takes on a new piece," he says. Should it continue to play true to form, the ensemble will present Bach's musical interplay between story-telling and reflective commentary with both refinement and character. General admission tickets for this event are $20 for the public, $18 for faculty, educators, and seniors, and $8 for students. Tickets purchased at the door are an additional $2. Call Oberlin's Central Ticket Service at 440-775-8169 to purchase tickets prior to March 22; Oberlin College offices will be closed for spring break March 22 to 30. Advance tickets will be available after March 22 at Oberlin Music Café and Store, 15 South Main Street, Oberlin, OH 44074. Phone: 440-774-9139. The artistic director of Apollo's Fire is Jeannette Sorrell '91, who just completed a stint as director of Oberlin Conservatory of Music's spring opera Alcina. According to The Plain Dealer, her presence brought to the production "all of the propulsion, crispness, and flexibility" that she brings to her work with Apollo's Fire. "Jeannette manages to put tons of detail and nuance into a performance," says Lynn of her historical performance work. "She knows to a fine degree exactly how she wants a piece to sound, and is extremely good at communicating that to her players. All told, she just continues to just get better and better at what she does."
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