Historically informed - Creatively delivered
New England Baroque was formed in 2025 by top-tier professional musicians from the Northeast with a common love and passion for Early Music played on period instruments.
At New England Baroque, historically informed performance isn’t just a principle - it’s a passion. Our musicians perform on period instruments, using historical tunings and techniques that transport audiences into the vibrant sound world of the 17th and 18th centuries.
But for the musicians of New England Baroque, historical accuracy is only the starting point. We wear scholarship lightly, using it as a springboard for collective imagination and expression.
We invite you into this world. Whether it’s your first encounter with Baroque music on period instruments or you’re a longtime enthusiast, our goal is to create experiences that are illuminating, moving, and alive. This music still has so much to say—and New England Baroque is here to help it speak.
OUR MUSICIANS
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Ian Watson
KEYBOARDS
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Guy Fishman
CELLO
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Susanna Ogata
VIOLIN
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Teresa Wakim
SOPRANO
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Héloïse Degrugillier
RECORDER
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Renée Hemsing
VIOLIN / VIOLA
OUR CONCERTS
copy here for hancock tickets and buy all three and get $ off
Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 3:00pm
Hancock Church / 1912 Massachusetts Ave / Lexington, MA
Vivaldi ~ The Four Seasons
Ian Watson director/ harpsichord
Susanna Ogata solo baroque violin
Jesse Irons violin
Renée Hemsing violin
Jenny Stirling viola
Guy Fishman cello
Peter Walsh violone
Vivaldi ~ Four Seasons & Other Baroque Masterpieces!
Experience Vivaldi’s Four Seasons—and other Baroque delights—performed the way they were meant to be heard.
Experience the brilliance of the Four Seasons brought to life on period instruments: gut strings and Baroque bows, that reveal unexpected textures and colors! Every concerto movement speaks with clarity and energy—the freshness of Spring, the storm-driven fury of a sultry Summer, the rustic dances of Autumn and the crystalline poise of Winter.
Friday, October 9, 2026 at 3:00pm
The Cambridge Homes / 360 Mount Auburn Street Cambridge, MA
Susanna Ogata violin
Renée Hemsing violin
Guy Fishman cello
Ian Watson harpsichord
Works by Vivaldi, Handel, Telemann and more
Dueling Harpsichords
Ian Watson director/ harpsichord
John McKean harpsichord
Ian Watson harpsichord
Saturday, November 8, 2026 at 3:00pm
Hancock Church / 1912 Massachusetts Ave / Lexington, MA
The sound of two harpsichords together is rarely heard in today’s concert halls, yet during the Baroque period it represented one of the most engaging forms of musical conversation. Unlike the modern piano, whose strings are struck by hammers, the harpsichord produces sound by plucking its strings with quills, creating a brilliant, transparent tone that allows every musical line to emerge with remarkable clarity. When two instruments perform together, listeners are invited into a world of dialogue, imitation, contrast, and collaboration, where each performer in turn leads, accompanies, and responds to the other.
This program spans much of the European Baroque, revealing both the shared language and distinctive national styles of the period.
Saturday, November 9, 2026 at 3:00pm
English Baroque Music
Program tba
Héloïse Degrugillier recorder
Guy Fishman cello
Ian Watson harpsichord
Wellesley Hills Congregational Church / 207 Washington St. Wellesley MA
Saturday, December 19, 2026 at 3:00pm
Hancock Church / 1912 Massachusetts Ave / Lexington, MA
Handel ~ Messiah
Handel’s Masterpiece, Heard as He Intended
Period Instruments
New England Baroque
period-instrument Orchestra and Chorus
Ian Watson director/harpsichord
OUR APPROACH
Historically informed - We aim to be true to the spirit of the music, and to share the white-hot moment of its creation with our audiences.
Collaborative spirit - From chamber-music workshops to multimedia collaborations with visual artists, we seek partnerships that enrich our performances and expand our reach.
Educational outreach - We are committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians and listeners through masterclasses, lecture-recitals, and interactive family concerts that de-mystify Baroque techniques and engage curious minds.
MISSION STATEMENT
We believe that Baroque music is a living, relevant form. We strive to bridge the centuries by applying rigorous musicological research, and using period instruments and historical performance practice.
We prioritize clear, meaningful communication, with our audiences.
ABOUT
In May 2025, Artistic Director Ian Watson invited principal players from Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, to form a dynamic period-instrument ensemble embracing the musical aesthetics of the 17th and 18th centuries. United by passion for historically informed performance practice and driven by a desire to connect deeply with contemporary audiences, New England Baroque brings Early Music, both masterpieces and lesser-known gems, vividly to life with a fresh, communicative, and modern sensibility.
WHAT SETS US APART
Virtuoso Expertise
Our players are seasoned professionals from the finest ensembles on the East Coast
IAN WATSON
Artistic Director
Multi-talented IAN WATSON has been described by The Times in London as a “world-class soloist” and a keyboard performer of “virtuosic panache” and by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “a conductor of formidable ability.” He is currently Artistic Director of New England Baroque, Artistic Director of the Connecticut Early Music Festival, Associate Conductor of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, alongside positions as Music Director at the Plymouth Church, Framingham and St. Ann’s Kennebunkport
Born in England in the Buckinghamshire village of Wooburn Common, IAN won a scholarship at age 14 to the Junior School of the Royal Academy of Music in London, later winning all the prizes for organ performance, including the coveted Recital Diploma. He completed his studies with Flor Peeters in Belgium. In recognition of his services to music, he was honored with an Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music. Ian’s first major appointment was as Organist at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey, at the age of 19, a position he held for ten years. He also served as Music Director of the historic Christopher Wren church, St. James's Piccadilly.
IAN has appeared as soloist or conductor with the London Symphony, London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, the Scottish, English, Polish, Irish and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestras, Bremen Philharmonisches Gesellschaft, Rhein-Main Symphony, Colorado Symphony, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Handel and Haydn Society, English Baroque Soloists, and The Sixteen, among many others. He has also been featured on many recordings and film soundtracks including Amadeus, Roman Polanski’s Death and the Maiden, Restoration, Cry the Beloved Country, Voices from A Locked Room, and the BBC‘s production of David Copperfield.
He completed a major project with violinist Susanna Ogata, recording the ten Beethoven Violin Sonatas on the CORO label, using period-instruments. The set has received extraordinary praise in Gramophone, The Strad, The New York Times BBC Music Magazine, Fanfare Magazine and countless others. describing it as “revelatory” and “groundbreaking”. His fortepiano recital in the Boston Early Music Festival was included in the top picks of the year by the Boston Musical intelligencer.
In honor of the Handel and Haydn Society’s 200th Anniversary, Ian conducted an outdoor performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Boston’s Copley Square to an estimated audience of 6,000 people.