John Eliot Gardiner, who stepped down earlier this year from the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras he founded 60 years ago, announced the start of new ensembles called Constellation Choir & Orchestra.
The Constellation Choir & Orchestra are the flagship ensembles for Gardiner’s new interdisciplinary arts organization, Springhead Constellation. The group says its ensembles will focus on touring with projects that “examine the themes of transformation, regeneration, and intersections between music and environmental sciences.”
Gardiner’s departure from the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras (MCO) in July shocked the classical music world; he had built the ensembles over decades to be among the most highly respected in the world for their performances of Baroque music, especially JS Bach. Gardiner resigned after he and MCO management were unable to agree on a path forward following a highly publicized 2023 incident in which Gardiner physically assaulted a singer mid-concert.
In founding the Constellation Choir & Orchestra, Gardiner gives himself a fresh start, albeit at the age of 81. This begins with a European tour scheduled in December and continues in 2025 with the new annual Springhead Festival, offering seminars, smaller-scale events, and digital programming.
The first public performance of the Constellation Choir & Orchestra is scheduled for Dec. 7 at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany. The program will feature JS Bach’s cantatas “Schwingt freudig euch empor,” BWV 36, and “Unser Mund sei voll Lachens,” BWV 110, as well as Charpentier’s “Messe de minuit pour Noel.”
