L'Académie Baroque Orchestra Programs Violin Concerto of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges for 2012-2013 Season

[Leslie Kwan]

This week we received a message from L'Académie, informing us of an 18th century Sicilian program. We asked if the ensemble had considered performing works of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799). We received an immediate reply from Leslie Kwan, harpsichordist and General Director of L'Académie. Here is an excerpt:

“Good morning Mr. Zick,

I hope this message finds you well. Our Marketing associate passed your question onto me and I'd thought I'd give you a little insight into our orchestra. L'Académie is a Baroque orchestra and the ensemble in residence at Marsh Chapel of Boston University. I am the harpsichordist and General Director. Our specialty is French baroque, but we also perform repertoire from Italy and Spain.

“Indeed, I am familiar with the music of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges! We are programming his big violin concerto for our 2012-2013 season. It's not a 'baroque' work, but we will perform it and have the perfect musicians to do it justice. His story resonates with me very much and I know how important it is to perform his work, especially in a city like Boston, where there is so much opportunity to present composers like Saint-Georges, especially in a period setting.”

“Warmest regards,”

Leslie Kwan [Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]