Maurice Steger, the “Paganini of the Recorder,” returns to Fort Collins for a thrilling recital of Baroque music. His sold-out performances in prior Organ Weeks have astonished and captivated audiences with a mixture of dazzling virtuosity and creative musicality. With chamber organ and harpsichord by Jason Moy and Joel Bacon, this trio is sure to provide an evening of inspiring and joyful music making!
Note: The UCA Box Office will be on restricted summer hours, open only one hour prior to the in-building show. The best way to purchase tickets is through the website.
With concerts held all over the world and numerous CD recordings, namely the Albums “Venezia 1625“, “Konzerte” and “Flute Quartets” by Telemann with Musica Antiqua Köln, “Vivaldi Concerti” or “Una Follia di Napoli“, many of which have been awarded the highest accolades, Maurice Steger has established himself as one of the most popular soloists in the field of early music. With his vibrant manner and his personal, spontaneous and technically brilliant style, Maurice Steger has enhanced the standing of the recorder as an instrument and positioned it in a completely new way.
Maurice Steger dedicated his album “Mr Corelli in London” to the composer Arcangelo Corelli and this recording features Corelli’s Opus 5 collection, reworked by the composer’s English adherents. Steger followed this up with “Souvenirs d’Italie”, an interesting presentation of works collected by the Austrian Count Aloys von Harrach during his travels in Italy. The artist’s most recent release is a CD featuring an imaginary music-filled operatic interlude in London as conducted by Handel himself: “Mr Handel’s Dinner” (all published by harmonia mundi).
With a repertoire focusing on Baroque music, Steger is a soloist much in demand among the major period orchestras and ensembles: Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the English Concert, La Cetra Baroque Orchestra Basel, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Venice Baroque Orchestra and I Barocchisti. Yet his numerous performances also see him regularly appearing with modern orchestras such as the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin Baroque Soloists, Les Violons du Roy, the NDR and Frankfurt Radio Symphony orchestras and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. Maurice Steger has also often performed together with famous artists such as Hilary Hahn, Cecilia Bartoli, Igor Oistrakh, Fabio Biondi, Howard Griffiths, Nuria Rial, Isabelle Faust, Sandrine Piau, Andrew Manze, Diego Fasolis, Sol Gabetta and Laurence Cummings.
Maurice Steger is a resident artist at festivals, orchestras and concert venues including the Musikverein Wien, Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy, Les Violons du Roy (Montreal and Québec), RSI Lugano, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, the Braunschweig State Orchestra, the Hsinchu Recorder Festival in Taiwan, the broadcaster NDR and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg in many different formats, International Recorder Festival Stockstadt, Klosters Music, the Bilkent University Ankara and the Vienna Konzerthaus.
Harpsichordist Jason J. Moy is the Artistic Director of Ars Musica Chicago, and one of the most sought-after early keyboard specialists in the Midwest. He serves on the faculties of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, and at DePaul University, where he holds the School of Music’s first-ever endowed chair as the Monsignor Kenneth J. Velo Distinguished Professor of Music. He received his harpsichord and Early Music training at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and counts Hank Knox, Ketil Haugsand, Andrew Lawrence-King, and the late Bruce Haynes among his most influential mentors and teachers.
Jason is a founding member of the award-winning period instrument ensemble Trio Speranza, and principal keyboardist of the Bach Week Festival Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist and continuo player throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, with notable appearances at the Boston Early Music Festival, the York Early Music Festival (UK), and on the International Music Foundation’s Dame Myra Hess and Rush Hour Concert Series in Chicago. He is a frequent guest artist with such esteemed ensembles as the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Haymarket Opera Company, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Bella Voce, and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.
Joel Bacon is the Stewart and Sheron Golden Chair of Organ and Liturgical Studies and the Fr. Don Willette Chair of Catholic Studies at Colorado State University. In 2026 he was named a University Distinguished Professor.
As a concert organist, his recent performances have focused on music by W. A. Mozart, Herman Berlinski, and Petr Eben, as well as works for organ and orchestra. His teaching and research are centered on topics related to Catholicism and the creative arts, especially Gregorian chant. He has performed throughout Europe and North America, and his performances have been broadcast on Austrian Radio and Public Radio International. He has played with numerous orchestras and chamber groups, including the Borromeo String Quartet and the Canadian Brass.
From 2008 to 2020 he conducted the St. John XXIII Schola Cantorum, a choir specializing in Gregorian chant. He is currently organist and artist in residence at First United Methodist Church, Fort Collins.
