Ravinia 2025 Issue 5

Alan Choo , violin , has been hailed as “a dy- namo, delivering lines with panache. He ex- emplified virtuosity” ( Cleveland Plain Deal- er ). The Concertmas- ter and Assistant Artistic Director of Apollo’s Fire, he made his solo debut with the ensemble at Tanglewood and Ravinia in 2017. His solo album of Biber’s Mystery Sonatas with Apollo’s Fire was released on Avie Records in 2024 and debuted at #2 on Billboard ’s Classical chart, earning a dou- ble five-star review from BBC Music Magazine , and receiving rave reviews from The Strad (UK) and Classica Magazine (France). Choo is also the founder and Artistic Director of Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s first professional baroque ensemble. As a soloist, he has appeared with the FVG Orchestra (Italy), St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Sin- gapore Chinese Orchestra, and more. He holds a doctorate in Historical Performance Practice from Case Western University. Susanna Perry Gil­ more , violin , enjoys a multifaceted career as orchestral concert- master, soloist, cham- ber musician and Celtic fiddler. She has performed with Apollo’s Fire since 2014 when she joined them for the Sugarloaf Mountain concerts and recordings as well as the Sephar- dic Journey album. She is concertmaster of the Omaha Symphony and co-creator of Celtic Journey , a touring orchestral pops production. She received her degrees from Oxford Univer- sity and New England Conservatory. Rebecca Landell , cello & viola da gamba , has been praised for her “luminous” ( Cleveland .com ) and “notable” ( New York Times ) sound that elicits a range of expression “from classically evocative to Hitchcock horrifying” ( Washingtonian ). Her solo appearances include performances with Apollo’s Fire, Les Delices, Atlanta Baroque, Co- lumbus Symphony, and Batzdorfer Hofkapelle. She pursues a variety of educational opportuni- ties, including working with the faculty at Ober- lin Conservatory, where she teaches baroque cello and viola da gamba. Daphna Mor , recorder , is praised for her “as- tonishing virtuosity” ( Chicago Tribune ). She has performed throughout Europe and the US, appear- ing as a soloist at Tanglewood, the Metropoli- tan Museum of Art, and St. Martin in the Fields with Apollo’s Fire, as well as with the New York Collegium and the New York Early Music En- semble, among others. She has been a guest ensemble musician with the New York Phil- harmonic and American Classical Orchestra. She won first prize in the Settimane Musicali di Lugano Solo Competition and has appeared in a duo with Joyce DiDonato on tour. She is also co-director of the ensemble East of the River with Nina Stern. Their latest album, IJA MIA: Music of the Sephardic Diaspora , was released in 2024 on Avie Records. She can be heard on Sting’s album If On a Winter’s Night for Deutsche Grammophon and on O Jerusalem! with Apol- lo’s Fire on Avie. René Schiffer , cello & viola da gamba , is praised for his “inter- pretive imagination and patrician com- mand of the cello” ( Cleveland Plain Deal- er ). A native of Holland, he toured internation- ally with Sigiswald Kuijken’s La Petite Bands for 16 years. He has also performed and recorded with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and on over 50 projects with Tafelmusik. As a concer- to soloist, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, the Royal Theatre of Madrid, and many international venues. He can be heard on over 50 CD recordings across six labels. Kathie Stewart , tra- verso & recorder , is Curator of Historical Keyboard Instruments and Teacher of Ba- roque Flute at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. She is a founding member and principal flutist of Apollo’s Fire, and has per- formed with ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Portland Baroque, Phil- harmonia Baroque, and the Washington Bach Consort. She is also Assistant Director of the Se- attle Baroque Flute Workshop. Stewart is an avid proponent of Celtic music, playing Irish flute and whistle on several Apollo’s Fire recordings. Emi Tanabe , violin , enjoys a multifaceted career as a baroque violinist and a solo crossover artist. In addition to being a core member of Apol- lo’s Fire, she performs with the Chicago-based period group Haymarket Opera. With Apol- lo’s Fire, she has performed on tour across the US and Europe. Her facility with world music styles and improvisation has led to many solo violin performances with tango, flamenco, Celt- ic, and jazz ensembles across the country. She has appeared with such groups as the renowned Surabhi Ensemble, the Grammy-nominated children’s music band Wendy&DB, and the din- ner theatre production Teatro ZinZanni . Tanabe is a native of Japan and holds degrees in violin performance from the University of North Texas and Roosevelt University. Apollo’s Fire CDs are available at intermission and after the concert at the merch stand in the Martin Theatre plaza. The artists will be signing CDs following the performance. Apollo’s Fire inGreater Chicago 2025–26Season Concerts in Downtown Chicago, Evanston, Winnetka, and Hyde Park October 4 & 5 Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas December 14 & 15 Praetorius’s Christmas Vespers February 3 & 4 Winter Sparks from Bach & Vivaldi April 11 & 12 O Jerusalem! Crossroad of Three Faiths Passion . Period. apollosfire.org  • 800-314-2535 “Brimming with energy and imagination” – BBCMusicMagazine RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 75 YONGJUNYI(CHOO)