Tafelmusik Chamber Choir

Founded in Toronto, Canada in 1979, by Kenneth Solway (oboe) and Susan Graves (bassoon), the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra – commonly referred to as Tafelmusik – is a baroque orchestra that focuses on early music. Tafelmusik has 19 full-time members who specialize in historical performance and technique, often using period instruments and utilizing the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir (established 1981) and additional musicians if required. One of those additional musicians, acclaimed American violinist Jeanne Lamon, performed several times with the ensemble in the late 1970s. In 1981, she was offered the position of Music Director with the orchestra and relocated to Toronto, Canada. Under her leadership for the next 33 years, Tafelmusik became one of the most popular and best recognized early and baroque music ensembles in the world. The ensemble is known for their live performances, taking their unique sound across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, and many other countries. In 2014, Jeanne Lamon stepped down from full-time duties and took over as Chief Artistic Advisor until the arrival of Italian violinist and new Music Director Elisa Citterio in 2017. Jeanne Lamon continued to occasionally perform with Tafelmusik for the next several years. Tafelmusik released dozens of releases – including compilations – since their inception including The Complete Instrumental Music of Leonardo Leo (1988), Vivaldi: Concertos for Strings (1992), Biber: Harmonia Arificioso Ariosa (1994), Bach: Violin Concertos (1995), A Baroque Feast (2002), and the 47CD box set The Complete Sony Recordings (2015). They have won many awards and accolades throughout the years including nine JUNO Awards and remain one of the most in-demand early and baroque music orchestras in the world. Jeanne Lamon died of lung cancer on June 20, 2021. She was 71.