30th Anniversary Celebrations - Arion Baroque Orchestra Unveils its 2010-2011
Season!

MONTREAL, Oct. 14 /CNW/ - Arion Baroque Orchestra, Québec's only early music orchestra playing on period instruments, is proudly gearing up for its 30^th season. This upcoming season is going to be fantastic: 35 concerts, a new chamber music series in Montréal, the release of the ensemble's 25^th album, C.P.E. Bach Symphonies & Concertos, the recording of two new albums, a new logo, and a completely revamped website. Add to that the election of a new President of the Board along with some new sponsors and you have all the ingredients to make our 30^th season a great event!

"I put this 30^th season together with the idea of transporting you to new universes, of letting you discover or rediscover musical works, composers, artists, and even musical instruments. My aim in choosing the works for each concert was to allow you to experience the music as it was created and imagined by its composers", adds Claire Guimond, Arion's Artistic Director.

New Disc Release and Two New Recordings
One year after the success of our album Haydn La Passione, Arion's first recording collaboration with British harpsichordist and conductor Gary Cooper, we are delighted to be able to follow up with a second recording with Gary: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Symphonies & Concerto. This CD is an electrifying and captivating release dedicated to two symphonies for strings and two concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach's second son. Available in stores October 26, C.P.E. Bach Symphonies & Concertos, Np. EMCCD 7771

Two new recordings are also scheduled to come out during our 30^th season, the 26 and 27^th recordings since our founding:

• End of November 2010: The Passion according to Saint John by J.S. Bach, for Atma classique with the Voix baroques. Recorded in the chapel of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal. Scheduled release date: March 2012.
• January 2011: works by Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Friedrich Fasch on the early-music.com label. Recorded in Saint-Augustin's Church Mirabel Church. Scheduled release date: October 2011.

We are proud to add that Arion's recordings are distributed in more than 20 countries and that they have been honoured with many prestigious prizes.

New: « Happy Hour Concerts at the Gallery »
New this year! The Orchestra invites its public to a séries of chamber music concerts in the relaxed atmosphère of the Gallery McClure The concerts will take place on Friday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 pm - a wonderful way to start off the weekend with music and a glass of wine Tickets $20.00 reserved in advance

• Friday November 19 : Bach Suites with cello soloist Jaap ter Linden
• Friday  February 11:  piano trios  with  musioans  Tom   Beghin  (piano  forte), Amanda Keesmaat (cello) et Ellie Nimeroski (violin)
• Friday March 4: The Intimate C.P.E. Bach with Claire Guimond (flûte) et Alex Weimann (harpsichord)

New: Croque-baroque Concert Séries

A musical interlude that gives you energy too! At lunchtime, Anon will perform an intimate concert séries with outstanding artists, accompanied by a light lunch. Tickets $20.00 reserved in advance. Venue: Salle Tudor Ogilvy (1307 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest).

• February 10, 2011 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm: piano trios with musioans Tom Beghin (piano forte), Amanda Keesmaat (cello) et Ellie Nimeroski (violin)
• March 3, 2011:    from 12:30 to 1:30 pm: The Intimate C.P.E. Bach with Claire Guimond (flûte) et Alex Weimann (harpsichord)

Montréal Tour

From October 13, 2010 through April 3, 2011, Arion will give ten concerts in various Montréal districts. "We are very happy to hâve the opportunity to go out to the public and meet them where they live, in their neighbourhoods. We thank the Conseil des arts de Montréal for its support which enables us to open up to a new public the vitality of baroque music played on penod instruments and, at the same time, lets us share our passion for baroque music", tells Mrs. Guimond. For ail détails conceming musical programmes and exact venues, go to www.arionbaroaue.com

Website & Logo

The Orchestra is also celebrating its 30^th anniversary with a completely new website: www.anonbaroaue.com. This new site, easier to use and more interactive, is the indispensable tool for music-lovers who dont want to miss out on any Anon news or activities. On-line visitors may chat with Musical Director Claire Guimond and various musioans who will be blogging.

Arion now présents its brand-new image:

www.arionbaroque.com/en.html

The Montréal agency Manifold created this new logo in the image of the musioans of Anon: up-to-the-minute, warm, and passionate!

Montréal Séries: 13 Concerts in the Heart of the Metropolis

The Passion accord in ci to Saint John bv J. S. Bach
November 26 & 27, 20i0, at 8:00 pm, Saint-Viateur Church
The season begins with a remarkable work by Johann Sebastian Bach: The Passion according to Saint John, the opening concert of the Festival Bach de Montréal. This concert will be recorded by Espace musique, Radio-Canada's music station and by CBC Radio Two. This concert will also be given on November 28, 2010 at 3:00 pm at the Dominion-Chalmers United Church of Ottawa, under the auspices of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society.

Alla Tedesca: Wind-borne Baroque
January 20 & 21, 2011 at 8:00 pm, January 23, 2011 at 2:00 pm, Salle Redpath
Under guest conductor and bassoonist Mathieu Lussier, the Arion Baroque Orchestra
will perform various works by Johann Friedrich Fasch and Georg Philipp Telemann.

Velvet
February 24 & 25, 2011 at 8: 00 pm, Saint-Viateur Church
This concert is also been selected to be included the Festival Montréal en lumières
Suzie LeBlanc, soprano / Eric Hoeprich, chalumeau
Works by Graupner, Vivaldi, Caldara, and Telemann

The Full-blooded and the Melancholic
March 11 & 12, 201 at 8:00 pm, Salle Redpath
The 30^th Anniversary will also be the occasion to discover the young Iranian
harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, in concert for the first time in Canada. The guest
conductor will replace harpsichordist Gary Cooper.

Grandiose & Majestic Mozart!
May 12 & 13m 2011, 8:00 pm, May 15, 2011 at 2:00 pm, Salle Redpath
Arion  completes its Montreal season up on a beautiful note with its concert
Grandiose & Majestic Mozart, under the direction of cellist Jaap ter Linden.    An
ending as dynamic as it is grandiose featuring, among others, Mozart's Jupiter
Symphony.

Bach and Vivaldi Tour
April 9, 10, 16 & 17, 2011
Ten Arion musicians will perform in Ville-Mont-Royal, Valleyfield, Oakville (Ontario) and Sainte-Thérèse to play works by Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach, notably the latter's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in B Major.

European Tour
Arion's 30^th anniversary celebrations will conclude with a tour in Belgium in November 2011. A dozen musicians will perform at Sint Truiden, Brugges, and Ancers.

A New President of the Board
The 30^th anniversary also marks a change on the organization's Executive Board. We welcome Mr. Pierre Matuszewski, president of Société Générale for Canada, as the new President of the Board. To find out more about Mt. Matuszewski, go to www.arionbaroque.com.

Société Générale, Financial Sponsor of Arion
Arion is very proud of its association with Société Générale in producing its new CD recording C.P.E. Bach: Symphonies & Concertos. "I would like to thank Société Générale most warmly for its confidence and support which have led to its sponsorship of this luminous disc", adds Mrs. Guimond.

Arion would like to thank its sponsors:
- Power Corporation du Canada
- Gaz Métro
- Transontinental
- Hydro-Québec
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
- La Presse
- Radio-Classique 99,5 CJPX
- CBC radio2 93.5 fm
- Espace Musique 100,7 fm
- Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
- Canada Counsil for the arts
- Conseil des arts de Montréal
- Canadian Heritage

For further information: