Music director and founder Anna Pearlman plays first violin in North Star Baroque at a rehearsal at Woodfords Congregational Church on Friday. The musicians play compositions of the 1600s and 1700s on the instruments that were around at that time or made in that style. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

PORTLAND — Strictly speaking, Anna Pearlman’s violin doesn’t count as Baroque.

The instrument dates to 1776. But the Baroque period in music is generally defined as roughly 1600 to 1750, when composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi were on the scene.

“It’s still really, really old,” she said with a laugh.

Pearlman herself is just 38. But she has a lifelong interest in music, and she grew up listening to her dad rehearsing the harpsichord as she fell asleep. When Martin Pearlman founded Boston Baroque in 1973, it was the first such orchestra in North America. Today, many cities have ensembles or orchestras dedicated to the music and instruments of that era.

And now, Portland does too. Anna Pearlman started North Star Baroque last year and it will launch its second season with a concert at Woodfords Congregational Church on Sunday.

“There’s no sound quite like it,” she said.

A GRAND ENTRANCE

On Thursday, the sound of a concerto by George Frideric Handel filled the waiting pews of the Woodfords Congregational Church. The notes were bright and outgoing, calling to mind colorful ribbons fluttering in the air or energetic pairs dancing at a festival. The musicians paused periodically to write in the margins of their sheet music.

“Can we go back to the beginning?” Pearlman asked.

“The first movement?” violist Emily Rideout said, nodding as she found the place.

“The beginning is this grand entrance,” Pearlman said. “Walking down the red carpet.”

Martin Pearlman described the Baroque period as “the beginning of modern music in the emotional sense.” The musicians who gathered Thursday for rehearsal compared it to today’s folk or jazz, with opportunities for improvisation.

Bassist Nathan Varga makes notes on his music while rehearsing with North Star Baroque at Woodfords Congregational Church on Friday. Musicians said they drive across the region to play Baroque music on period instruments. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

North Star Baroque plays on period instruments, meaning they generally date to that time or are made in that style. To the untrained eye, they seem similar to their modern counterparts, but a closer look reveals the differences.

The violin bows had a different shape than modern ones, and the strings were made of animal gut rather than synthetic materials. Flutes were made out of wood, not metal. Oboes didn’t have some of the keys we know today. The harpsichord stood in place of the piano.

“The sound itself is a more transparent sound, but it also doesn’t fill up a whole symphony hall,” Anna Pearlman said. “That’s why we perform in a smaller space. A lot of these pieces were written for the kings and royalty and to be performed in their spaces for them.”

AN INTIMATE EXPERIENCE

David Rubin plays second violin with North Star Baroque, Portland’s first period-instrument orchestra, during a rehearsal at Woodfords Congregational Church on Friday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

It’s hard to count the number of Baroque orchestras and ensembles today, but they exist across the country. Still, the musicians in North Star Baroque said they often have to travel to play this style of music.

Bassist Nathan Varga, 36, of Massachusetts, also plays with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, which has a concert on Tuesday, so he’s driving around this weekend with two large instruments in his car — a period one and a modern one. Sylvia Schwartz, a violinist who lives in Yarmouth, sometimes plays with the Baroque Orchestra of Maine, which is based Down East. Those concerts are a little smaller, she said, usually two or three musicians.

This Sunday’s concert will feature 11 musicians and three singers. The artists said they like playing in a group this size because it feels both robust and flexible. This medium can also feel more approachable to audience members who might be intimidated by a big hall. They described the music as warm, human and accessible.

“It belongs in a living room,” Schwartz, 38, said.

North Star Baroque, Portland’s first period-instrument orchestra, rehearses at Woodfords Congregational Church on Friday. The first concert of its second season is Sunday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

‘MUSIC FOR OUR TIME’

Martin Pearlman, 80, sat in the pews Thursday and quietly tapped the rhythm of the concerto as he listened. Occasionally, his daughter turned to him for notes.

“Is that a good tempo?” she asked.

“Seems a little fast,” he answered.

Martin Pearlman, who retired earlier this year, said there are many musicians playing in Boston Baroque now who weren’t born yet when he founded the group 50-plus years ago. He’s excited to see a new generation continue this tradition that has been alive for hundreds of years.

“It’s early music on early instruments, but I think it’s music for our time,” he said. “People who practice this music aren’t antiquarians. They’re doing something very much of our time.”

He’s planning to move to Maine to live closer to his daughter and her 4-year-old daughter in Gorham. Noa is already playing the piano (in addition to the xylophone, of course, her mom said with a laugh). Maybe the harpsichord will be next.

Martin Pearlman listens during a rehearsal of North Star Baroque. He founded Boston Baroque, the first orchestra of its kind in North America, more than 50 years ago. His daughter, Anna Pearlman, started this orchestra in Portland last year. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

IF YOU GO

WHAT: North Star Baroque
WHERE: Woodfords Congregational Church, 202 Woodford St., Portland
WHEN: 3 p.m. Oct. 26
HOW MUCH: $18 to $41
INFO: For more details, including future concert dates, visit northstarbaroque.org.