MUSIC

Cypress Creek FACE presents Mercury Baroque, who performs violin and gamba sonatas by the master, J.S. Bach, on period instruments.

Mercury Baroque has been a dynamic member of the Houston arts community since 2000.

Founded as a chamber ensemble, the group has grown into a full Baroque orchestra performing a full subscription season of concerts in downtown Houston and touring both domestically and internationally.

Thanks to the enthusiastic and generous support of the people of Houston, Mercury has enjoyed ever-increasing attendance at its performances, with many concerts sold out. Houston’s musicians have gained exciting new performance opportunities, and its audiences have gained a fresh voice in the city’s rich music scene.

The organization continues to pursue its goal of building a strong tradition of Baroque music performance in Houston, starting with its educational outreach programs designed to train the city’s future musicians and create the audience of the future.

The outreach programs include both individual instruction from Mercury musicians, such as Soprano Ana Treviño-Godfrey’s early-childhood teaching residency, and full-fledged concerts for students.

Mercury also plays a series of chamber music concerts at the Museum of Fine Arts, the perfect venue to share Baroque music with both children and adults.

Mercury has established collaborative partnerships with other local arts organizations, including Dominic Walsh Dance Theater and Several Dancers Core. These partnerships contribute to Mercury’s artistic growth and introduce Mercury’s sound to new audiences.

The ensemble has also established several promotional partnerships, regularly playing on KUHF 88.7 FM and participating in the Fresh Arts Coalition.

Over the years, Mercury has brought many talented soloists to Houston, such as acclaimed counter-tenor Matthew White of Montreal’s Les Voix Baroques and dancer Catherine Turocy of New York’s Baroque Dance Company.

Although Mercury is focused on bringing the best Baroque to Houston, the ensemble has toured to other countries as well, including two tours to Quito, Ecuador. Both at home and on tour, Mercury Baroque has experienced exciting growth over the last six seasons.

In April of 2007, Mercury Baroque was awarded the Stanford Financial Excellence in the Arts Award, an award that recognizes local arts organizations that demonstrate exemplary fiscal and management of their resources.

Pictured: musician Jonathan Caldwell.