Academy of Ancient Music announces 2024-25 season highlights

London-based baroque and classical orchestra Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) has this week announced highlights for its upcoming 2024-25 season. Centred around the theme of ‘transformation’, the season celebrates the transformative power of music with performances in London and Cambridge.

With further performances set to be announced in October 2024 AAM’s season highlights so far include a double bill of Charpentier’s Actéon and Rameau’s Pygmalion spanning West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge and London’s Milton Court Concert Hall. The performances will star soloists Anna Dennis and Rachel Redmond, Katie Bray and Thomas Walker alongside AAM and director Laurence Cummings.

Cummings said: ‘Over the last 50 years, AAM has led the way in historically informed performance, fundamentally changing the classical music landscape. Yet, there is still much to explore. Throughout the year, we’ll honour the established masters and their lesser-known contemporaries. I look forward to sharing these transformative experiences with you.’

The season will also include a celebration of Viennese composers with symphonies by Mozart, Haydn and their contemporaries as well as a seasonal performance of Handel’s Messiah featuring soprano Louise Alder, countertenor Tim Mead, tenor Nick Pritchard and bass Cody Quattlebaum alongside AAM’s chorus and orchestra.

Next year, February 2025 brings an exploration of Italian legacies in Georgian England with soprano Anna Devin and violinist Bojan Čičić, then in March AAM rediscovers the music of Jose Mauricio Nunes Garcia and the impact of his music on 18th-century Brazilian and Portuguese music. The season closes in May with a performance of Bach’s Art of Fugue with a cast of four actors and four musicians directed by producer Bill Barclay.

AAM chief executive John McMunn said: ‘Music can touch the soul and elevate us above the ordinary through the shared experience of live performance. In these uncertain times, the communal experience of music has never been more crucial. We warmly invite you to join us for our 24/25 season, which celebrates music’s ability to create something magical and change our world.’