SPCO's newest partner
Richard Egarr is one of the world's leading performers of baroque music, equally at home as a harpsichordist or conductor. His tenure as artistic partner at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra begins in a program bookended with works by J.S. Bach, an Egarr specialty. He leads from the keyboard in the elegant dance inflections of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 1, and plays the solo in the First Harpsichord Concerto. In between, Bach's contemporary Georg Philipp Telemann is represented by movements from his Tafelmusik and a chamber music quartet. (11 a.m. & 8 p.m. Fri., Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul; 8 p.m. Sat., St. Paul's United Church of Christ, St. Paul; 3 p.m. Sun., St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Mahtomedi; $11-$50, 651-291-1144 or thespco.org)
A bold beginning
Florestan Chamber Music is a new ensemble founded by cellist Ruth Marshall and pianist Garret Ross. Its debut season comprises six concerts in total, three of them in a mini-Beethoven Festival in January. The opening recital is strikingly imaginative, and features Alan Dunbar singing American composer John Musto's "Shadow of the Blues" and his "River Songs" for baritone, cello and piano. Dunbar also performs Benjamin Britten's cycle "Songs and Proverbs of William Blake." Cello sonatas by Britten and his teacher Frank Bridge are also included. (2 p.m. Sun., Baroque Room: St. Paul, $10, FlorestanChamberMusic.org)
Latino sacred music
Twin Cities choir Border Cros-Sing is on a mission "to integrate historically segregated audiences and musicians through the performance of choral music." It played a crucial role in this summer's Minnesota Orchestra performance of Osvaldo Golijov's "La Pasión según San Marcos." Now, in a program called "Black Christ of the Andes," it explores sacred music from Latin America, including Ariel Ramírez's Misa Criolla and pieces by Golijov and jazz composer Mary Lou Williams. (7 p.m. Fri., Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, St. Paul; 7 p.m. Sat., Church of the Ascension, Mpls.; $10-$20, bordercrossingMN.org)
Accordo returns
The chamber group Accordo, formed of players from the Minnesota Orchestra and SPCO, opens its new season with a fascinating program combining works by Bach, Gubaidulina and Shostakovich with Mendelssohn's Quintet in A Major. Minnesota Orchestra concertmaster Erin Keefe and principal viola Rebecca Albers are among the players. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Westminster Presbyterian Church, Mpls.; $28-$38, 651-292-3268 or schubert.org)
Cantus' 'Giant Leap'
Male vocal ensemble Cantus launches its 25th season with "One Giant Leap," a concert inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. New works by Grace Brigham, Catherine Dalton and Cantus bass Chris Foss join pieces by Esenvalds, Grieg and David Bowie in a typically inventive program. (11 a.m. Thu., Colonial Church of Edina, Edina; 7:30 p.m. Sat., Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul; 3 p.m. Sun., Wayzata Community Church, Wayzata; $10-$43, 612-435-0055 or cantussings.org)
TERRY BLAIN
