Genesis Baroque has announced an expansive and stylistically wide-ranging 2026 season, highlighting the versatility that has defined the Melbourne-based period chamber orchestra since its 2018 debut.

The ensemble, acclaimed for its energetic and intimate approach to historically informed performance, will present programs stretching from early Baroque experimentation to high Romantic lyricism.

The season opens with the second instalment of the group’s three-year collaboration with the Australian Boys Choir, centred on the Passion settings of JS Bach. For 2026, the partnership brings a new staging of the composer’s dramatically charged St John Passion, supported by a guest cast of Australian and international soloists.

Genesis Baroque. Photo supplied

In May, the ensemble turns to the string sextet repertoire with Take Six, pairing Mozart and Brahms. Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante K.364 – heard in its 1808 posthumous arrangement for string sextet as the Grande Sestetto Concertante – sits alongside Brahms’ expansive and deeply Romantic First String Sextet.

June sees the return of the Directors’ Cut chamber series, curated by Artistic Director Jennifer Kirsner and Principal Music Director Donald Nicolson. The program offers an eclectic journey across Europe, travelling from Bohemia through Italy, Spain and France to England, with works chosen from the directors’ personal favourites.

In September, the full ensemble reunites for Bourgeois Baroque, joined by the 2026 Emerging Artists cohort. The program features German and French Baroque showpieces, including Telemann’s suite for horns, oboes, strings and continuo, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and excerpts from Lully’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme.

Genesis Baroque closes its 2026 season with a festive yet intimate program led by acclaimed French soprano Myriam Arbouz. Cantatas for Christmas features vocal and instrumental works by Graupner, Bach and Corrette, offering a reflective conclusion to a season designed to showcase the ensemble’s breadth and artistic ambition.

For more information on Genesis Baroque in 2026, visit genesisbaroque.com.au