About
The Olivier Award-winning Irish Baroque Orchestra is celebrated as Ireland's flagship period instrument orchestra and delivers world-class historically-informed performances across Ireland and abroad. Under the artistic direction of Peter Whelan, scholarship and musical excellence converge in a unique way through the IBO’s work, creating an original offering like no other organisation on the Irish classical music scene. Through this integration of research and practice the very idea of an orchestra is defined afresh, providing an unusual and enriching experience for today’s audiences.
As an ambassador for the stories of Ireland’s musical past, the IBO uses its unique perspective to develop the growing store of knowledge surrounding the very early days of Baroque and Classical music in Ireland. The IBO's research, recordings and performances offer audiences across Ireland a new opportunity to reevaluate and reclaim their cultural heritage, while also engaging the Irish diaspora through the increasing global reach of this work. Even Handel's Messiah - an annual touring highlight in the IBO calendar - is a rekindled link to Dublin's cultural life in 1742.
The Irish Baroque Orchestra is generously funded by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon. It also receives financial support from Culture Ireland to support an expanding international profile, and Dublin City Council for Dublin HandelFest. The orchestra has its own collection of period instruments, purchased with the assistance of an Arts Council capital grant and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The IBO is resident at the National Concert Hall, Dublin and as of 2021 is an ensemble and Board member of the Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne (European Early Music Network).
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Images courtesy of Orla Keeshan, from Dublin HandelFest 2023 at Dublin Castle.
Our Mission
Our mission is to bring centuries-old traditions of historical performance to audiences in Ireland and abroad, inspiring deeper interest in both Irish and European cultural heritage and developing connections across a range of excellent artistic and educational experiences.
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With the arts holding a central place in a vibrant society, the IBO curates an offering for audiences that speaks to Ireland's own heritage as a country where art, language and music deeply define its national sense of self.
Our Vision
Our vision for the Irish Baroque Orchestra is to curate and deliver a vibrant and excellent year-round programme reaching the diversity of our society, offering experiences to prompt reflection, inspiration, and deeper connections with Ireland's cultural identity today.
Our Lived Values
As a thriving organisation, the values that we hold close are foundational to our creative development.
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EXCELLENCE We commit to excellence in how we create, communicate and operate.
RESPECT Our commitment to excellence is emblematic of the respect that we hold for our music, our environment, our audiences, our artists, our children and young people, and each other.
TRANSPARENCY We communicate with transparency, as part of an open, joyful, inclusive and respectful culture.
INCLUSION We recognise that to meaningfully engage with our community requires an inclusive approach which meets people where they are, be they school children, emerging artists, audience members or artists operating at the highest level.
INTEGRITY Our commitment to integrity encompasses our behaviours as an organisation, including our approach to creating historically-informed work.
CURIOSITY Our organisation holds space for curiosity, in how we work and reflect on our practice.
EQUALITY We value equality of opportunity and seek to remove barriers facing those who wish to engage with our work.