Ames will get a taste of the best Venice has to offer in pure Baroque music this weekend, as the Venice Baroque Orchestra performs on Sunday.

The Venice Baroque Orchestra, “Season at Stephens” second act of the year, is an ensemble of classical musicians who have been together for the past five years. The orchestra specializes in playing a Baroque style of classical music from a period in art and music popular during the 17th and 18th centuries. The music is lively, but expresses the order and fundamentals of the universe. Many of the greatest composers of all time were Baroque composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Pietro Locatelli and Giovanni Batista Bononcini.

Ames is the third city on the Venice Baroque Orchestra’s U.S. tour. The orchestra is brought with the help of the Ames International Orchestra Festival Association (AIOFA).

Sara Barr, director of marketing for the Iowa State Center, is ecstatic about the show.

“We are excited to be bringing this high quality of talent, music and culture to the Ames Community,” Barr says. “Baroque is a tradition in music all people should be acquainted with because it is a lost classical art form.”

She says having a chance to experience world-class music without leaving Ames is an opportunity not to be missed.

“Since this is their first United States tour, I would encourage anyone to attend the concert. It is something many people never get a chance to see since they don’t make it to the United States, much less Ames,” Barr said.

The orchestra is unique in that it performs with the original antique instruments that Baroque musicians used during the period.

Andrea Marcon, founder and director of the Venice Baroque orchestra, is an internationally known professor who has taught at many prestigious institutions.

The Venice Baroque Orchestra also features Giuliano Carmignola, one of the best Baroque violinists in the world. Carmignola’s solos will be played through a 1733 Pietro Guarneri violin.

The group’s tentative schedule includes pieces by Vivaldi, Locatelli and Alessandro Marcello, among others.

Kevin Schilling, associate professor of music, will have a special pre-show performance at 7 p.m. in Stephens Auditorium’s Celebrity Caf‚ .

“I just heard their CD about six months ago and fell in love with their harmonic and pure sound of the Baroque period,” Schilling says. “It is the best thing for people to see now because it is the best one can get in the function of hearing and feeling the sound of the period.”