About Santa Cruz Baroque Festival
Mission Statement
Our mission is to present an annual season of early music as it sounded in its own time. We aim for artistic excellence while transmitting the joy of Baroque music to the community and to future generations by engaging our audience in an expedition through musical time.
Vision Statement
Santa Cruz Baroque Festival envisions a community where all people have experienced the joy of music, and can understand the legacy and value of early chamber music in which a player traditionally creates a unique performance by structured improvisation.
Baroque Festival Core Values
- We present artistically excellent performances that are emotionally expressive, with chamber music performed in the improvisatory style in fashion when the music was new.
- We engage in education to audiences of all ages through our pre-concert talks, our concert notes, radio broadcasts, the ‘See Things in Context’ on our website, and in 2020, free weekly video live casts. Currently, we’re featured on KSQD’s Community Concert Hall.
- We engage in Youth Outreach and education through our Youth Chamber Music Competition, our Emerging Artist Showcase, our bilingual videos (in preparation), and our artists in classrooms.
Founder, Former Artistic Director
Linda Burman-Hall
The Santa Cruz Baroque Festival’s founding Artistic Director, Linda Burman-Hall, died suddenly on August 21, 2023 while attending a conference in Malaysia. It was her vision and boundless energy that has allowed SCBF to present excellent, historically informed performances of early music to the Santa Cruz community for over 50 years. It was Linda's desire in 2023 to bring Jörg Reddin, organist and bass-baritone of Bach's own church in Arnstadt Germany for our 2024 season, celebrating the legacy of J.S. Bach here in Santa Cruz. It is now our honor to continue her vision under the artistic leadership of Maestro Reddin. As Linda worked tirelessly for over 50 years to bring exceptional performances and creative concerts to our community, it is our hope you will share this expedition through musical time next Season, our 52nd, with our new Artistic Director: organist, bass-baritone & conductor Jörg Reddin.