Newport Baroque

Dear Friends of Newport Baroque,

I am writing to let you know that the Board of Newport Baroque and I have agreed to discontinue operations. As artistic director, it has become increasingly difficult to fit Newport Baroque concerts into my performing schedule, and I have found that I was putting important performing opportunities on hold for the sake of Newport Baroque. Rather than find the organization in a situation where my own interest and time would be fading, the Board and I have agreed that it would be best to end Newport Baroque on the high note of eight successful seasons of historical music in Newport.

I am grateful to you as an audience member for making Newport Baroque important to Newport. And I am equally grateful to the hard-working Board of Directors for its exemplary leadership. Founded with a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Newport Baroque Orchestra (later Newport Baroque) had its first concert at Trinity Church in the spring of 2003. In its time, Newport Baroque performed works from Arne to Zelenka, including performances of Bach cantatas and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas and collaborations with the Providence Singers, the Tufts Chamber Choir and Providence College. With grants from Target, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, the Apple Pickers Foundation and private donors, Newport Baroque Orchestra gave eight successful concert seasons of baroque music on period instruments.

Once again, I thank you for your support of Newport Baroque over the years. It is now time for others to carry the torch for quality off-season classical music for Newport County and beyond. Please support those who carry on this mission!

Sincerely,

Paul Cienniwa, DMA
Artistic Director

P.S. For the latest information on what I'm doing these days, visit www.paulcienniwa.com.