Early Music in Columbus: Jupiter Ensemble

Jupiter Ensemble plays First Community Church North on Sunday, November 22, as part of the 47th Early Music in Columbus season. The group is led by Thomas Dunford, and they're joined by mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre. The program is called Amazone, and it centers on the Amazons—the noble female warriors of ancient legend who were a recurring subject in Baroque music.

Jupiter Ensemble was founded in 2018 as a collective of musicians from the new generation, and Dunford describes them as being as spontaneous as a jazz band. They've released five albums and played venues like Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall, and they made their BBC Proms debut this past summer. Lea Desandre is a regular collaborator with them and is one of today's most recognized voices in early music. She's a yearly presence at the Salzburg Festival, where she earned acclaim as Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, and she performed La Marseillaise at the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.

The concert is one of seven in the Early Music in Columbus series, which features artists specializing in music written before 1800, performed on reproductions of historical instruments. The music is played on instruments built to the specifications of the period, rather than modern versions.

The concert starts at 4 PM, with a pre-concert talk at 3:30 PM. Tickets are $35 for adults, $28 for seniors, and $15 for students, and subscriptions can save you up to 25% across the season. The venue is First Community Church North, 3777 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43221.