Orpheus' Fall 2022 Concerts

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Fall 2022 Concerts

For immediate release

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s 50th season begins with world premieres, treasured favorites, and dynamic soloists

• Orpheus Chamber Orchestra opens its 2022/23 season on October 6 and October 8 at Lafayette College (Easton, PA) and Carnegie Hall respectively, with the world premiere of Fanfare for the Promise of America by Jeff Scott, commissioned by the Orchestra to celebrate its 50th anniversary

• The opening night concert also features luminous works by Mozart, Haydn, and the brilliant Norwegian trumpeter, Tine Thing Helseth

• The young Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki joins Orpheus in Toronto at The Royal Conservatory on October 15 in a program comprising Mozart and Haydn

• Bach keyboard authority Angela Hewitt and Orpheus come together for three engagements, at the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ (November 16), New York’s 92nd Street Y (November 17) and the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA (November 19)

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is nothing short of a cultural icon in New York City’s vibrant classical music scene. Famously conductor-less since its inception, Orpheus is built upon a democratic model of operations in which all musicians are equal, all decisions are shared, and all artistic leadership is appointed from within. This season marks a major milestone in the Orchestra’s history, as it reaches its 50th anniversary in 2022/23.

For Orpheus, whose credo was and continues to be based on a uniquely-egalitarian operations model, this achievement is one that is especially meaningful to the musicians, staff, and board, as its original mission in the 1970s to become a truly democratic space for music-making has only strengthened over the decades.

“The New Fifty” program opens the season with the Norwegian trumpet player, Tine Thing Helseth, who has been praised by Gramophone as “...blessed with a combination of great wind-playing attributes: a soulful – dare one say brooding, Nordic – approach to phrasing, quite astonishingly outstanding intonation and a sound which is open and honest, even and focused in all registers.” The program begins with the world premiere/Orpheus commission of Fanfare by composer and horn virtuoso Jeff Scott, Helseth also plays the splendid Hummel Trumpet Concerto in E Major, S. 49; the elegantly-curated program continues with works by Haydn and Mozart.

Not yet 30, Jan Lisiecki has a discography of no fewer than ten studio recordings, including a release on Deutsche Grammophon in 2019 with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra of all-Mendelssohn; he speaks to the record label about the unique experience of working with Orpheus in THIS VIDEO. The Mozart and Haydn program on October 15 highlights Lisiecki’s vibrant tone, unified by Orpheus’ timeless energy.

Pianist Angela Hewitt’s Bach interpretations have been praised by The New York Times as “an instant link from head and heart to fingertips.” With a program of keyboard concertos over three dates, Hewitt and Orpheus bring uncanny nuance, depth, and precision to these performances.

The New Fifty!

Orpheus & Tine Thing Helseth

Lafayette College (Easton, PA) - October 6, 2022
Carnegie Hall - Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage - October 8, 2022

Jeff Scott: Fanfare for the Promise of America (World Premiere, commissioned by Orpheus for its 50th Anniversary)
Haydn: Symphony No. 77 in B-flat Major
Hummel: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major, S. 49 - Tine Thing Helseth, trumpet
Mozart: Symphony No. 33 in B-flat Major, K. 319

Orpheus & Jan Lisiecki

Koerner Hall, The Royal Conservatory (Toronto, ON) - October 15, 2022 at 8PM

Haydn: Symphony No. 77 in B-flat Major
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat major, K. 271 - Jan Lisiecki, piano
Mozart: Symphony No. 33 in B-flat Major, K. 319

Orpheus & Angela Hewitt

Morris Museum (Morristown, NJ) - November 16, 2022 at 8PM
92nd Street Y (New York City) - November 17, 2022 at 7:30PM
Shalin Liu Performance Center (Rockport, MA) - November 19, 2022 at 3PM

Bach: Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A major, BWV 1055
Bach: Keyboard Concerto, No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1053
Bach: Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056
Bach: Concerto for Flute, Violin, Keyboard in A minor (“Triple”), BWV 1044
Bach: Keyboard Concerto No. 7 in G minor, BWV 1058

ABOUT ORPHEUS:

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a radical experiment in musical democracy, proving for fifty years what happens when exceptional artists gather with total trust in each other and faith in the creative process. Orpheus began in 1972 when cellist Julian Fifer assembled a group of New York freelancers in their early twenties to play orchestral repertoire as if it were chamber music. In that age of co-ops and communes, the idealistic Orpheans snubbed the “corporate” path of symphony orchestras and learned how to play, plan and promote concerts as a true collective, with leadership roles rotating from the very first performance.

It’s one thing for the four players of a string quartet to lean into the group sound and react spontaneously, but with 20 or 30 musicians together, the complexities and payoffs get magnified exponentially. Within its first decade, Orpheus made Carnegie Hall its home and became a global sensation through its tours Europe and Asia. Its catalogue of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Nonesuch and other labels grew to include more than 70 albums that still stand as benchmarks of the chamber orchestra repertoire, including Haydn symphonies, Mozart concertos, and twentieth-century gems by Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Ravel and Bartók.

The sound of Orpheus is defined by its relationships, and guest artists have always been crucial partners in the process. Orpheus brings the best out of its collaborators, and those bonds deepen over time, as heard in the long arc of music-making with soloists such as Richard Goode and Branford Marsalis, and in the commitment to welcoming next-generation artists including Nobyuki Tsujii and Tine Thing Helseth. Breaking down the barriers of classical repertoire, partnerships with Brad Mehldau, Wayne Shorter, Ravi Shankar and many others from the sphere of jazz and beyond have redefined what a chamber orchestra can do. Relationships with composers and dozens of commissions have been another crucial way that Orpheus stretches itself, including a role for Jessie Montgomery as the orchestra’s first ever Artistic Partner. Having proven the power of direct communication and open-mindedness within the ensemble, the only relationship Orpheus has never had any use for is one with a conductor.

At home in New York and in the many concert halls it visits in the U.S. and beyond, Orpheus begins its next fifty years with a renewed commitment to enriching and reflecting the surrounding community. It will continue its groundbreaking work with those living with Alzheimer’s Disease through Orpheus Reflections, and the Orpheus Academy as well as the Orpheus Leadership Institute spread the positive lessons of trust and democracy to young musicians and those in positions of power. Each year, Access Orpheus reaches nearly 2000 public school students in all five boroughs of New York City, bringing music into their communities and welcoming them to Carnegie Hall. Always evolving as artists and leaders, the Orpheus musicians carry their legacy forward, counting on their shared artistry and mutual respect to make music and effect change.

Hannah Goldshlack-Wolf
hannah@wildkatpr.com
+1 917 330 2046