The European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO) is a training initiative of the European Union which allows young performers of baroque music from all over the EU to gain orchestral experience as part of their career development from conservatoire study into a professional career. The success of the project under the direction of the world’s most eminent baroque musicians can be measured in the number of ex-EUBO members who now play in Europe's leading baroque orchestras.
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EUBO was founded in 1985 as a major initiative of the European Music Year to celebrate the 300th anniversaries of three great baroque musicians: Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti and George Frideric Handel. Since then, more than 500 full-time members of EUBO have given over 600 performances in 51 countries worldwide.
The Ensemble performs at many of Europe’s finest music festivals and concert halls, including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Opéra-Comique in Paris, the festivals of Ansbach, Musikalischer Herbst, and the specialist early music festivals such as Utrecht, York, and Ambronay. Outside of Europe, as well as tours to Japan, USA and South Africa, EUBO has played in less favoured parts of the world as Ramallah and the Gaza Strip, Botswana, Soweto and others.
The European Union Baroque Orchestra is an educational charity registered in England & Wales and is headquartered in Wootton, West Oxfordshire.[1]
The orchestra is completely renewed every year. Auditions take place in spring, with usually around 100 young baroque musicians applying for the 20-25 places in the ensemble. The successful applicants then come together for four tours which take place between July and December, and which take them all across the EU and beyond. These tours are directed by leading baroque professionals: Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Enrico Onofri, Roy Goodman, Petra Müllejans, Christophe Coin, Margaret Faultless, Edward Higginbottom, Rachel Podger, Andrew Manze, Ton Koopman, Fabio Biondi and Christina Pluhar are amongst the artists who regularly work with EUBO.
EUBO is financially supported by the European Union, for which it acts as an official Cultural Ambassador, and by private sponsorship.
Since 2008, EUBO has been Orchestra-in-Residence in Echternach, Luxembourg, working together with the City of Echternach, Festival International Echternach and the new cultural centre Trifolion.