Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Announces its 2021/2022 Season at Carnegie Hall

Photo of Orpheus at Carnegie Hall by Fadi Kheir

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 3, 2021

• Orpheus Chamber Orchestra proudly shares the details of its 2021/2022 Carnegie Hall season, an annual series and highlight of the Orchestra’s programming
• Consistent with the Orchestra’s global reputation as a true 21st century artistic organization championing new music by many of today’s most exciting composers, each of the three performances will feature a world premiere performance, commissioned by Orpheus
• Opening on Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 8pm (Coming Home), Orpheus is joined by the legendary violinist and veteran Orpheus collaborator, Pinchas Zukerman, in a program comprising the world premiere of Tuxedo: Plaid x Plaid by rising star composer Hannah Kendall; Mozart “Turkish” Violin Concerto No. 5; and Chamber Symphony in B-flat Major (after Piano Sonata D. 960) by Schubert and arranged by Heribert Breuer
• The program on Saturday, February 19, 2022 (Cuban Rhythms) at 7pm features the celebrated trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval, who will perform in his own Concerto No. 2 for Trumpet and Orchestra, and songs To Diz With Love, A Time for Love, and Everyday I Think of You, arranged by Orpheus Associate Member Gregg August. Additional concert selections include Gershwin’s lively Cuban Overture (arr. Javier Diaz), Andalucía Suite by Lecuona (arr. Jannina Norpoth), and the world premiere of a new work for trumpet and chamber orchestra by Aldo López-Gavilán
• The final concert in the series on Friday, April 29, 2022 at 8pm, Perfect Partners, is a collaboration with Nobuyuki Tsujii, a longtime friend of the Orchestra’s. Tsujii joins the Orchestra in a world premiere arrangement by Shuying Li of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11; and the beloved Serenade for Strings Op. 48 by Tchaikovsky
• In addition to Orpheus’s live concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Orchestra is streaming exciting new collaborations online this fall through its Orpheus On Demand series. These concerts include: Orpheus with Special Guests Caleb Teicher & Company and Britton-René Collins on marimba (Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 7pm); Poulenc & Martinů with Nia Imani Franklin, vocalist (Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 7pm); and A Fiddler’s Tale by Wynton Marsalis (Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7pm)
• It is with gratitude and excitement that Orpheus Chamber Orchestra announces that it has received a $100,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, to be allocated over approximately two years to support its outstanding outreach program for New Yorkers living with dementia and their caregivers, Orpheus Reflections™
• Through Orpheus Reflections™, members of the Orchestra present intimate performances for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and their caregivers in venues where attendees are comfortable, such as in private care facilities or designated spaces in public venues. Throughout the past year, Orpheus has been able to continue these concerts over Zoom in order to remain engaged with the Reflections audiences, though its return to an in-person format is eagerly anticipated for later this year. Over the grant period, Orpheus Reflections will reach approximately 1,050 individuals with dementia and caregivers through 42 iterations of the Reflections programs – 24 in the first year and 18 in the second year
• Orpheus partners with a number of organizations and institutions to bring Reflections to the individuals that they support and serve, including CaringKind, NYU Langone, Riverside Church, and The Unforgettable Chorus
• On Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 2pm, Orpheus Reflections™ will resume live performances in the stunning setting of Queens Botanical Gardens in a concert which is also open to the general public. The program will feature a string trio performing classical works and arrangements of beloved popular tunes, and this performance marks the first Orpheus Reflections™ event in Queens, having previously held concerts in Manhattan, Bronx, and Brooklyn
• Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a self-governing body and notably conductor-less. Their organization functions democratically, with instrumentalists rotating leadership positions and electing musicians to Artistic Director and Board of Trustees roles. Through this model, which formed nearly 50 years ago, the Grammy Award-winning Orchestra has made over 70 recordings, toured in 46 countries on four continents, and collaborated with hundreds of world class soloists.

Key dates

Orpheus Reflections™ at Queens Botanical Gardens

Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 2pm

Performing classical string trios and arrangements of popular tunes

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Orpheus On Demand

Orpheus with Special Guests Caleb Teicher & Company and Britton-René Collins, marimba 

Premieres on Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 7pm

Streaming at OrpheusNYC.org 

BACH (arr. Sitkovetsky): Selections from the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

VILLA-LOBOS (arr. Krance): Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5

NEY ROSAURO: Concerto No. 1 for Marimba and String Orchestra

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Orpheus On Demand

Poulenc & Martinů with Nia Imani Franklin, vocalist

Premieres on Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 7pm

Streaming at OrpheusNYC.org 

POULENC: Léocadia (featuring Les Chemins de l’amour)

MARTINŮ: Suite from La revue de cuisine, H. 161

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Orpheus On Demand

A Fiddler’s Tale by Wynton Marsalis

Premieres on Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7pm

Streaming at OrpheusNYC.org 

WYNTON MARSALIS: A Fiddler’s Tale

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“Coming Home” at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage)

Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 8PM

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Pinchas Zukerman, violin

HANNAH KENDALL: Tuxedo: Plaid x Plaid (World Premiere, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Commission)

MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219 “Turkish”

SCHUBERT (arr. Heribert Breuer): Chamber Symphony in B-flat Major (after Piano Sonata D. 960)

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“Cuban Rhythms” at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage)

Saturday, February 19, 2022 at 7PM

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Arturo Sandoval, trumpet

GERSHWIN (arr. Javier Diaz): Cuban Overture

ARTURO SANDOVAL (arr. Gregg August): Concerto No. 2 for Trumpet and Orchestra

LECUONA (arr. Jannina Norpoth): Andalucía Suite

ARTURO SANDOVAL (arr. Gregg August): To Diz With Love; A Time for Love; Every Day I Think of You

ALDO LÓPEZ-GALIVÁN: New Work for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra (World Premiere, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Commission)

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“Perfect Partners” at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage)

Friday, April 29, 2022 at 8pm

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano

CHOPIN (arr. Shuying Li): Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (World Premiere Arrangement, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Commission)

TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade for Strings, Op. 48

For high-resolution images, contact Hannah Goldshlack-Wolf at hannah@wildkatpr.com

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