Formed in 1996 in Linz by Austrian violinist and conductor Michi Gaigg, L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the world's leading period ensembles. The group has been regularly featured at music festivals in Europe, including the Salzburg Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, and the Lucerne Festival, and has toured Vatican City, France, Spain, Namibia, and South Africa. The orchestra has established itself in Baroque and early Classical opera, with performances of rarely heard works by Rameau, Telemann, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, and Rossini. Associated with L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra is the Euridice Baroque Orchestra of the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz, which was founded in 2013 as a student orchestra working with professionals. L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra has received many awards for its recordings from BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, Gramophone, and the German Echo Klassik.