Founded in 2014 by Thomas Chigioni, Ensemble Locatelli is an Italian baroque orchestra on historical instruments based in Bergamo.
Ensemble Locatelli stands in countertendency to the period of crisis of culture in Italy: at a time when orchestras are closing and it is increasingly difficult to carry on activities, Ensemble Locatelli has managed to consistently propose high quality products over the years in a completely autonomous way, increasing the level of cultural proposals and the number of performances from year to year. In a context in which the so-called ‘brain drain’ from Italy is increasingly frequent, Ensemble Locatelli has managed to become a pole of attraction in which some of the best Baroque musicians of the new generation collaborate.
From 2015 onward, the ensemble has been invited to perform at major festivals in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria; debuting in important venues such as the Wiener Konzerthaus, Teatro Grande di Brescia, Teatro Galli di Rimini, and Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo, with concerts regularly recorded and broadcast also on national radio.
Strongly believing in the need to radicalize its activity in the territory, since 2019 it has organized its own annual concert season in Bergamo, boasting important collaborations with guests of international calibre. At the same time, it has become the protagonist of pedagogical events to bring new generations closer to baroque music.
Also active at the recording level, the ensemble has already released four CDs containing world premieres, and a fifth dedicated to the first world recording of Lodovico Ferronati’s unreleased concertos and motets is scheduled for release in 2025.
In 2024, to seal the first 10 years of activity, Ensemble Vocale Locatelli was founded, a parallel formation with which to explore the very rich and endless vocal repertoire, both independently and in symbiosis with Ensemble Locatelli.
Also in the same year, the annual Concert Season is realized in collaboration with Fondazione Teatro Donizetti, which brought Ensemble Locatelli in multiple concerts in Bergamo’s two city theatres. In the same year, Ensemble Locatelli begins a new chapter with a second musical season in Cantù, becoming so one of the few Italian ensembles to organize two stable musical seasons.