is a unique and much loved part of the British Early Music movement.

Formed in 1982 by a group of early music enthusiasts in the front room of a house in Linden Gardens, Chiswick, (London) it combined the talents of a band of music students, young professionals and talented amateurs. Many of the original members now have prominent careers in the early music field and some are still playing with the band.

It was certainly the only 'original instrument' orchestra at that time in Europe to offer the opportunity of amateurs and professionals playing together; the newly emerging Early Music field had few boundaries and rules and everybody learned together how to tame their instruments and develop the performance styles.

Linden Baroque has kept true to its roots and to this day provides a very useful experience for many types of player; the advanced baroque instrument student from the colleges or from private teachers - we usually have at least one student from abroad (Israel, USA, Croatia, Spain, Argentina, Italy etc) playing with us -, the 'modern instrument' professional player making the transition to the baroque playing style, young professionals gaining experience 'between jobs' and talented dilettantes. We always play under an established leader and continuo player and many well-known professionals happily give up their time to play with Linden Baroque either as soloist or within the orchestra. The mixture of personnel within the band ensures that its spirited performances are always of high quality.

From its early days the director was Paul Goodwin, the famous baroque oboist and conductor. In 1996 as his international conducting career intensified, Paul became President and Walter Reiter, the well-known baroque violinist became musical director.

In 2004 Steven Devine took over as Musical Director. Steven is widely known as one of our finest harpsichordists and increasingly as a director of great energy and style. Since winning the 1993 Broadwood Harpsichord Competition his career has burgeoned. In 2007 Steven became the harpsichordist with London Baroque in addition to his position as Co-Principal keyboard player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He is also the principal keyboard player for The Gonzaga Band, Apollo and Pan, The Classical Opera Company, I Fagiolini and performs regularly with many other groups around Europe.

He has recorded over thirty discs with other artists and ensembles and made three solo recordings. His next major recording project will be Bach's Goldberg Variations for Chandos.

He made his London conducting debut in 2002 at the Royal Albert Hall and is now a regular performer there - including making his Proms directing debut in August 2007 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has conducted the Mozart Festival Orchestra in every major concert hall in the UK and also across Switzerland. In opera, Steven has worked at the Comische Oper in Berlin and alongside Paul Mcreesh throughout France. With Opera Restor’d, he has conducted at Wigmore Hall in London, at the Warwick, Lake District, Stour, Norwich and English Haydn Festivals. Steven is a Music Director for New Chamber Opera in Oxford and with them has conducted performances of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Mozart’s La Finta Semplice, Stradella’s Il Trespolo Tutore, Rossini's Il Comte Ory, Handel's Xerxes, Arne's Artaxerxes, Galuppi's Il Mondo Reverso. Steven is conducting the first performance of the newly-acquired score of Cavalli's Erismena this Summer. For the Dartington Festival Opera he has conducted Handel’s Orlando.

Passionate about the role of music in education, Steven is a regular member of the OAE education team, Professor of Fortepiano at Trinity College of Music and a visiting teacher, adjudicator and examiner for many other institutions.

Linden Baroque has played at venues stretching from Norfolk to Rome (where it gave the first performances there of Purcell's King Arthur) and has a wide-ranging repertoire ranging from the familiar to the unheard. Together with the Linden Baroque Choir (founded in 1993) they gave first complete performances in this country of music by Jean Gilles and several first modern performances of music by J.F. Fasch.

Linden Baroque issued a CD on the Meridian label of music by Fasch, which was well received and has been played on Radio 3 and Classic FM and has sold around the world.
The instruments used are either 18th century originals or modern copies - some made by the players themselves and we play at “baroque pitch” of 415Hz. The instruments are at a lower tension than modern concert pitch and their design and set-up means they sound much softer and more subtle than today’s steel-strung and multiple-keyed successors, allowing the music to be heard closer to the way it was when it was composed.

Linden Baroque promotes several of its 'own' concerts each year and at other times is hired to play for choral societies to give them the chance to perform 18th Century music with a 'period instrument' orchestra. We also play at music festivals. In 1998/9 Linden Baroque was in receipt of a National Lottery Grant.

Linden Baroque is a registered Charity (No 1014921) and is self-supporting.

We are always looking for sponsorship for individual events or series. Please contact Alan Selwyn 0207 586 0553 or via