Newly minted and comprised of musicians from across Canada, the ensemble had its debut in November 2016 with two greatly acclaimed performances of Purcell’s “Hail! Bright Cecilia” in Calgary and Red Deer under their Artistic Director Claude Lapalme. Since then, Rosa has performed more than a dozen concerts in collaboration with with VoiceScapes, Luminous Voices and Spiritus Chamber Choir as well a concerts presented by Early Music Voices and the Red Deer Symphony; and with celebrated artists such as Benjamin Butterfield, Andrew Mahon, Lawrence Wiliford and Elinor Frey. In April 2022, Rosa Barocca released its first CD – Early Italian Cello Concertos – with soloist Elinor Frey on the Analekta label. The CD was nominated for Best Classical Album of the Year for the ADISQ, and won the Best Classical Album of the Year – Small Ensemble – at the 2023 Juno awards.
“The presence of Rosa Barocca gave the entire performance a sense of the Baroque historical period from which the music stems … with this performance of this great work, the promise of the past was realized in the finest performance of this work to be given in the city.” - Kenneth DeLong, Calgary Herald
