Acclaimed British conductor Jane Glover has had a storied career in classical music, conducting major opera productions and all the major symphonic and chamber orchestras in Britain, as well as orchestras in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Australia.
“The fact that, at my age, I am living such an enviable lifestyle, traveling the world to play great music with wonderful people in a variety of interesting places, is something very much to be cherished,” Jane said. “Tennyson said, ‘All experience is an arch, wherethrough gleams that untraveled world, whose margins fade for ever and
Opera, Mozart, and Handel
Jane Glover studied at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, where after graduation she did her Doctorate of Philosophy on 17th-century Venetian opera. She made her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975, conducting her own edition of Cavalli’s LʼEritrea.
In addition to opera, Jane is known as a Mozart specialist and has conducted all the Mozart operas all over the world regularly since she first performed them at Glyndebourne in the 1980s. The Chicago Classical Review called her “one of the finest Mozartians of our day”.
Her core operatic repertoire also includes Monteverdi, Handel, and Britten. When she was just 16, she met Benjamin Britten as he came
For her interpretation of Handel: “Thank heavens for Jane Glover. Just when Handel’s ‘Messiah’ was starting to gather dust, the acclaimed conductor brushed it off and polished it until it shone again with new magnificence,” according to cleveland.com.
A supporter of a number of charities, her favorite is the children’s charity Coram, which started out as the Foundling Hospital in the 18th century, in which Handel was one of its first and most generous supporters.
“I like to feel I am continuing his allegiance,” she said.
Despite her highly focused career, Jane has one wish: to have played a string instrument.
“Not only because it would have given me greater insight into repertoire when I was starting out, but because I would love to have played string quartets,” she added.
Baroque Music and Period-Instrument Orchestras
One of Jane’s passions is working with period-instrument orchestras—Philharmonia Baroque, and the Handel and Haydn Society. She’s even held the position of Music Director of the Chicago ensemble, Music of the Baroque, since 2002.
In 2020-2021, Music of the Baroque will celebrate its 50th anniversary, “so we are planning that season with great enthusiasm,” she said.
Right around the corner, she will be conducting two performances at the Oregon Bach Festival: the opening concert, Mozart Requiem, on Friday, June 28; and Bach in Motion with DanceAbility International on Friday, July 5. She also will give a free, informal pre-concert chat with OBF Executive Director Janelle McCoy on June 28.
Learn more about Jane Glover.
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