From the intricate harmonies of Italian composer Isabella Leonarda to the works of Prussian princess Wilhelmine von Bayreuth, the music of the Baroque period included many prominent female composers.

Highlighting the often-overlooked or underrepresented musical works of those women, the Jefferson Baroque Orchestra’s upcoming spring concert series will bring notable works of 17th and 18th centuries to Rogue Valley audiences.

“The music on this program is incredibly beautiful and well-crafted,” said Abigail Mace, pianist and harpsichordist for the orchestra, adding, “I believe our audiences will be delighted by the chance to hear wonderful music that is not often performed.”

Titled “Donne Barocche: Women of the Baroque” the concert series will include sinfonia, sonatas and a concerto from a selection of composers including Leonora Duarte, Isabella Leonarda, Wilhelmine von Bayreuth, Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre and Anna Bon.

Musicians Nancie Shaw (violin), Melissa Orr (violin), Barb Barasa (viola), Manon Robertshaw (cello), Luna Blitzer (transverse flute) and Mace (harpsichord) will join forces for the performances.

The series of concerts will be held Friday through Sunday, March 15-17, in Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass.

The orchestra will play at 7 p.m. Friday, March 15, at Medford’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Church; at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at the Newman Methodist Church in Grants Pass; and at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 17, at the First Congregational Church in Ashland.

Tickets are $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors and $5 for students or Oregon Trail Card holders.

To purchase tickets, visit jeffersonbaroque.org/tickets.

Orr, violist for the group, planned the musical program and selected the individual pieces following lengthy research into the women composers of the Baroque period.

“Ultimately, all the leads I found were online; I did a series of searches, with one thing leading to another,” Orr said of the research process.

“It was gratifying to me to think about how pleased these women would have been to know that people wanted to play their music so far into the future,” she added.

Orr’s selections include: “Sinfonia No. 1” and “Sinfonia No. 2” by Duarte; “Sonata Duodecima No. 12 in D minor” by Leonarda; “Flute Sonata in A minor” and “Harpsichord Concerto in G minor” by von Bayreuth; “Trio Sonata No. 2 in B flat” by Jacquet de La Guerre; and “Flute Sonata Opus 1, No. 6” by Bon.

“When Melissa Orr asked me to pay this concert, I didn’t hesitate,” said Shaw, a violinist and violist for the orchestra.

“There’s a huge amount variety,” Shaw added.

Key factors in the musical selection process were choosing pieces that appeal to the orchestra’s audience, instrumentation that worked for the small set of five to six players, ease of creating parts for certain works and variety, Orr said.

The concerts will feature multiple Baroque-era instruments along with other features to provide an authentic concert reminiscent of the performances of the 17th and 18th centuries.

“Audiences at our upcoming concerts will get to hear instruments that aren’t heard in most modern performances, including the traverso (Baroque flute) and harpsichord,” Mace said. “Our string players will use special Baroque bows that help create historically accurate articulation, and the entire orchestra will be using a tuning system that reflects performance practice of the time.”

The Jefferson Baroque Orchestra was founded in 1994 by the late Jim Rich with the objective of bringing high-quality, Baroque-era music to the region through historically accurate instrumentation and works from the musical period from popular and obscure composers alike.

To learn more about the orchestra, visit jeffersonbaroque.org.