Apollo’s Fire to Release Handel’s Israel in Egypt October 6 on AVIE Records

Apollo’s Fire to Release Handel’s Israel in Egypt October 6 on AVIE Records
 
Apollo’s Fire adds to their distinguished discography with an adaptation of Handel’s dramatic oratorio by the Baroque orchestra’s founder and director Jeannette Sorrell

 Apollo’s Fire, Cleveland Baroque Orchestra 

Named for the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo’s Fire is a GRAMMY®- winning ensemble. Founded by award-winning harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell, the period band is dedicated to the baroque ideal that music should evoke the various Affekts or passions in the listeners. The Apollo’s Fire musicians are creative artists who share Sorrell’s passion for drama and rhetoric. 

Apollo’s Fire has performed six European tours, with sold-out concerts at the BBC Proms in London, Madrid’s Royal Theatre, Bordeaux’s Grand Théàtre de l’Opéra, the National Concert Hall of Ireland, and venues in France, Italy, Austria, and Portugal. 

Chosen by the DAILY TELEGRAPH as one of London’s “Best 5 Classical Concerts of the Year,” Apollo’s Fire’s 2014 London performance was praised for “superlative music-making... combining European stylishness with American entrepreneurialism.” 
 
North American tour engagements include Carnegie Hall (twice), the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals (3 times), the Boston Early Music Festival series, the Aspen Music Festival, Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and major venues in Toronto, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Most of these concerts have been sold out. In 2021, Apollo’s Singers made their debut with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Jeannette Sorrell, winning rave reviews. 
 
At home in Cleveland and Chicago, Apollo’s Fire enjoys sold-out performances at its series, which has drawn national attention for creative programming. 
 
With over 14 million views of its YouTube videos, Apollo’s Fire has released 30 commercial CDs and won a GRAMMY® award in 2019 for the album Songs of Orpheus with tenor Karim Sulayman. Eleven of the ensemble’s CD releases have become best-sellers on the classical Billboard chart, including Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Monteverdi Vespers, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, and Sorrell’s crossover programs including Sacrum Mysterium – A Celtic Christmas Vespers; Sugarloaf Mountain – An Appalachian Gathering; Sephardic Journey – Wanderings of the Spanish Jews; and Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain. 

Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor 
GRAMMY®-winning conductor Jeannette Sorrell is recognized internationally as one of today’s most compelling interpreters of Baroque and Classical repertoire, and a leader in creative programming exploring cultural roots. She is the subject of the documentary by Oscar-winning director Allan Miller, titled PLAYING WITH FIRE: Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting (commercially released in 2023). 

Sorrell studied conducting at the Aspen and the Tanglewood music festivals under Leonard Bernstein and Roger Norrington and harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam. She won First Prize in the Spivey International Harpsichord Competition, competing against over 70 harpsichordists from four continents. 
 
Sorrell made her New York Philharmonic debut in 2021 and Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2022, both to rave reviews. She has repeatedly conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, Florida Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco; and has also led the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (Bach’s St. John Passion), the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Opera St. Louis with the St. Louis Symphony, and Grand Rapids Symphony, among others. In 2023-24 she returns to the New York Philharmonic and debuts with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Indianapolis Symphony. 
 
As founder and conductor of APOLLO’S FIRE, she has led the renowned ensemble at London’s BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall, and many international venues. Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire have released 30 commercial CDs, including 11 bestsellers on the Billboard classical chart and a 2019 GRAMMY® winner. Her CD recordings of the Bach St. John Passion and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons have been chosen as best in the field by the Sunday Times of London (2020 and 2021). Her Monteverdi Vespers recording was chosen by BBC Music Magazine as one of “30 Must-Have Recordings for Our Lifetime” (September 2022). With over 14 million views of her YouTube videos, Sorrell has attracted national attention and awards for creative programming.

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