Philharmonia Baroque Unveils First Season Under New Music Director Peter Whelan

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale has announced its lineup for The Power of Music—its first season curated by newly appointed Music Director Peter Whelan. Highlights include a semi-staged production of Handel’s opera Tolomeo, re d’Egitto, starring renowned countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen.

The season also includes the U.S. premiere of the critically acclaimed 1742 Dublin version of Handel’s Alexander’s Feast (The Power of Music); Baroque Brilliance, a festive holiday showcase with works by Handel, Bach, and Vivaldi; Vivaldi and the Oud, featuring oud soloist Joseph Tawadros; and Baroque on Stage, a theatrical program led by violin virtuoso Rachell Ellen Wong, spotlighting music by Purcell, Rameau, and Geminiani. The season concludes with Haydn’s The Creation, featuring peerless soprano Lucy Crowe. Subscriptions ($96-$465, inclusive of all fees) are on sale now, and single tickets will be available beginning June 2. 

In chronological order, the 2026/27 season programming is as follows: 

Handel’s Tolomeo

July 23–24, 2026
San Francisco and Berkeley

Philharmonia launches with a special presentation: a semi-staged production of Handel’s opera Tolomeo, re d’Egitto, which follows the exiled Egyptian king Tolomeo. Combining historically informed performance with theatrical elements to heighten the drama, the opera delivers introspective arias that showcase Handel’s gift for dramatizing inner turmoil, placing character and storytelling at the forefront alongside the acclaimed orchestra. Music Director Peter Whelan conducts and leading Baroque interpreter James Darrah directs a cast led by countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen as Tolomeo, soprano Lauren Snouffer as Seleuce, soprano Nicole Heaston as Elisa, countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim as Alessandro, and bass-baritone Dashon Burton as Araspe.

Dates/Locations for Philharmonia’s Handel’s Tolomeo

Thursday, July 23 at 7:30pm | San Francisco: Herbst Theatre
Friday, July 24 at 7:30pm | Berkeley: First Congregational Church

Handel’s The Power of Music

November 11–14, 2026
Stanford, San Francisco, and Berkeley

Philharmonia’s five-concert subscription series opens in November with the U.S. premiere of the critically acclaimed 1742 Dublin version of Handel’s Alexander’s Feast (The Power of Music). Centered on a banquet honoring Alexander the Great, this piece journeys through joy, grief, and rage, as the poet Timotheus uses his song to guide the room from pride to tenderness. This expressive version gives every participant, from soloists to chorale and orchestra, their own dramatic moments as the story unfolds. Music Director Peter Whelan leads the performance, featuring soprano Sherezade Panthaki, mezzo-soprano Rachael Wilson, tenor James Way, and the Philharmonia Chorale under the direction of Valérie Sainte-Agathe.

Dates/Locations for Philharmonia’s The Power of Music

Wednesday, November 11 at 7:30pm | Stanford: Bing Concert Hall
Friday, November 13 at 7:30pm | San Francisco: Herbst Theatre
Saturday, November 14 at 2:30pm | Berkeley: First Congregational Church

Baroque Brilliance

December 3–5, 2026
Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Berkeley

HANDEL “Let the Bright Seraphim” from Samson
MARIANNA MARTINES O virgo, cui salute debet orbis
TELEMANN Burlesque de Quixotte, TWV 55:G10
C.P.E. BACH Concerto for violoncello in A major, Wq 172
J.S. BACH Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51

Philharmonia ushers in the holiday season with Baroque Brilliance, a December program showcasing the works of Handel, Martines, Telemann, C.P.E. Bach, and J.S. Bach. The concert opens with Handel’s “Let the Bright Seraphim” from Samson, a jubilant and heroic piece featuring virtuosic soprano and blazing trumpet. Next, audiences will hear the West Coast premiere of a newly rediscovered work by Viennese composer Marianna Martines, O virgo, cui salute debet orbis.

The program continues with Telemann’s Burlesque de Quixotte, a playful and vivid orchestral portrait of Cervantes’s Don Quixote of La Mancha. The evening concludes with two spirited works by father-son duo C.P.E. Bach and J.S. Bach: Concerto for violoncello in A major and Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, each capturing the expressive mastery of 18th-century music. Together, these pieces celebrate the distinct styles of each composer, offering a dazzling display of Baroque artistry.

Grammy-nominated conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley leads the orchestra, with soprano Kathryn Mueller, cellist William Skeen, oboist Gonzalo X. Ruiz, and trumpeter Kathryn Adduci as featured soloists.

Dates/Locations for Philharmonia’s Baroque Brilliance

Thursday, December 3 at 7:30pm | Palo Alto: First United Methodist Church
Friday, December 4 at 7:30pm | San Francisco: Herbst Theatre
Saturday, December 5 at 2:30pm | Berkeley: First Congregational Church

Philharmonia SESSIONS: The Art of the Oud

January 30, 2027
Berkeley
A Special Co-Presentation with The Freight

Kicking off the new year, Philharmonia will present the first of its two SESSIONS concerts—an intimate series spotlighting individual artists and distinctive musical voices in relaxed, informal settings designed for close listening.

The Art of the Oud features Cairo-born, eight-time ARIA Award winner Joseph Tawadros, one of the world’s leading masters of the oud—the Arabic fretless lute and ancestor of the theorbo and the modern guitar. In a rare U.S. solo appearance, Tawadros will perform a curated program of original works inspired by the Arabic modal system (maqam), seamlessly blending Baroque, jazz, and folk influences.

Dates/Locations for Philharmonia’s SESSIONS: The Art of the Oud

Saturday, January 30 at 8:00pm | Berkeley: The Freight

Vivaldi and the Oud

February 5–7, 2027
San Francisco, Berkeley, and Stanford

VIVALDI Overture to L’Olimpiade
TARIK O’REGAN Concerto for Oud, Strings & Percussion
VIVALDI Concerti for multiple violins from L’Estro armonico

Next, Philharmonia will present Vivaldi and the Oud, featuring special guest Joseph Tawadros on the oud, under the baton of Music Director Peter Whelan. The program opens with the Overture to L’Olimpiade by Vivaldi, a vibrant and theatrical curtain-raiser full of the composer’s signature color.

Next is the world premiere of an oud concerto by Philharmonia Baroque Composer-in-Residence Tarik O’Regan that spotlights the ancient, plucked instrument in a striking solo role against the string orchestra. The program concludes with a selection of concerti from Vivaldi’s L’Estro armonico, a landmark work that transformed instrumental music in the early 18th century.

Dates/Locations for Philharmonia’s Vivaldi and the Oud

Friday, February 5 at 7:30pm | San Francisco: Herbst Theatre
Saturday, February 6 at 2:30pm | Berkeley: First Congregational Church
Sunday, February 7 at 2:30pm | Stanford: Bing Concert Hall

Baroque on Stage

March 4–6, 2027
Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Berkeley

PURCELL Music for the Theatre from Timon of Athens, The Virtuous Wife, The Gordian Knot Untied, The Indian Queen, and The Fairy Queen
RAMEAU Orchestral Suite from Les fêtes d’Hébé, Dardanus, Les surprises de l’Amour, Les Indes galantes, and Les Boréades
C.P.E. BACH Symphony in B minor, H. 661, Wq 182/5
VIVALDI Violin Concerto in E minor, RV 273/278
GEMINIANI La Follia Variations (arr. Michi Wiancko)

In the spring, Philharmonia presents Baroque on Stage, a dramatic program featuring works by Purcell, Rameau, C.P.E. Bach, Vivaldi, and Geminiani. Curated and led by internationally acclaimed violinist Rachell Ellen Wong, who will also be featured as a soloist, the program highlights music originally written for the stage.

The concert opens with Purcell’s Music for the Theatre, a work full of elegance, wit, and playful charm, before moving to selections by Rameau that shimmer with the grandeur and color of French Baroque. The program intensifies with C.P.E. Bach’s stormy Symphony in B minor, leading into the dramatic sweep of Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in E minor.

The performance concludes with Geminiani’s La Follia Variations, arranged by Michi Wiancko, leaving audiences with a thrilling finale.

Dates/Locations for Philharmonia’s Baroque on Stage

Thursday, March 4 at 7:30pm | Palo Alto: First United Methodist Church
Friday, March 5 at 7:30pm | San Francisco: Herbst Theatre
Saturday, March 6 at 2:30pm | Berkeley: First Congregational Church

The Creation

April 9–11, 2027
San Francisco, Berkeley, and Stanford

Peter Whelan concludes his inaugural season by conducting Haydn’s The Creation. Soloists include one of Britain’s greatest lyric sopranos, Lucy Crowe, internationally renowned tenor Nicholas Phan, and commanding bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca, accompanied by the Philharmonia Chorale under the direction of Valérie Sainte-Agathe.

Considered one of the monuments of Western music, The Creation overflows with Enlightenment optimism, offering an awe-filled celebration of nature and humanity’s place within it. Drawing inspiration from the Genesis story of the Christian Bible and texts from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the work unfolds in three parts, tracing the formation of the world and the emergence of life through rich musical expression.

Dates/Locations for Philharmonia’s The Creation

Friday, April 9 at 7:30pm | San Francisco: Herbst Theatre
Saturday, April 10 at 2:30pm | Berkeley: First Congregational Church
Sunday, April 11 at 2:30pm | Stanford: Bing Concert Hall

Philharmonia SESSIONS: Alexi Kenney with Philharmonia Baroque

May 6, 2027
Palo Alto

J.S. BACH “Erkenne mich, mein Hüter” from St. Matthew Passion
FANNY MENDELSSOHN String Quartet in E-flat major, H277
Felix Mendelssohn String Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20

Rounding out the season, Philharmonia will present the second of its two SESSIONS concerts: Alexi Kenney with Philharmonia Baroque. The program features violinist Alexi Kenney alongside Scholar-in-Residence Francesco Spagnolo and Philharmonia Chamber Players.