Baroque Sessions
CALLING EARLY CAREER BAROQUE VIOLINISTS
WIN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM IN THE BENEDETTI BAROQUE ORCHESTRA'S DEBUT ASIA TOUR
As part of the Benedetti Foundation's upcoming Baroque Virtual Sessions, Nicola Benedetti, the Foundation and global music agency Askonas Holt are delighted to be offering the opportunity for an early career baroque violinist to win a place with the Benedetti Baroque Orchestra as a member of the orchestra on their inaugural tour of Asia in 2024.
The competition is open to early career baroque violinists currently based in the UK or Europe, age c.21-35.
You must be available for the full period 18 February to 2 March 2024 (inclusive) and have no current restrictions on travelling to Taiwan or South Korea.
The player selected will be paid a fee (in line with MU rates), full travel, accommodation and a per diem on the tour (contracting will be handled by Askonas Holt).
HOW TO AUDITION
Musicians can audition by completing this online application form and submitting a video of themselves playing:
any baroque violin concerto (complete)
AND 2 contrasting movements from any of Bach’s 6 Partitas and Sonatas.
To be considered, the performance should be on a minimum set-up of gut strings, baroque bow and recorded at A=415Hz.
Applicants must be early career professionals, of conservatoire level standard and not hold a contracted role in a professional ensemble.
Audition videos will be adjudicated by Nicola Benedetti and a panel of baroque specialists including members of the Benedetti Baroque Orchestra.
The deadline for applications is 20 September 2023, 5pm GMT.
ABOUT THE BENEDETTI BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
Formed in December 2020 for Nicola Benedetti’s first album recorded on gut strings, Baroque was released by Decca Classics on 16 July 2021 to critical acclaim. The newly formed ensemble “Benedetti Baroque Orchestra” gathers freelance period-instrument players who collectively join together to create the highest level of collaborative and energised music making, directed by violinist Nicola Benedetti
In July 2021, Nicola Benedetti and Askonas Holt organised a series of eight intimate concerts of music featured in Baroque, including three of Vivaldi’s Violin Concerti and Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso ‘La Folia’ with the Benedetti Baroque Orchestra, at the beautiful Grand Hall at Battersea Arts Centre.
These one-hour concerts were conversational, spontaneous and personal. Nicola and the Benedetti Baroque Orchestra built on Askonas Holt’s long-standing history of presenting, and these performances marked the first time that Askonas Holt co-presented Nicola in concert.
As part of Nicola’s Artist in Residence at the 2021 Edinburgh International Festival, BBO performed two concerts and in June 2022 the ensemble reunited for a performance at the Aldeburgh Festival. 2024 will see the ensemble’s debut tour of Asia visiting Taiwan and South Korea.