On October 25th, 2025, the New York City-based Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will pilot its newest engagement initiative, Orpheus for All, by opening its 2025-26 season at Carnegie Hall with a mainstage concert featuring violinist James Ehnes, completely free of charge to the public.

By offering its season opener at no cost, Orpheus seeks to create a unique opportunity for all New Yorkers to experience full scale performances of the highest caliber in one of the world’s most prestigious venues.

Orpheus Artistic Director Abi Fayette says, “Whether you are a lifelong classical music aficionado or someone attending their first concert ever, Orpheus invites all New Yorkers to be part of our musical family. Our vision for Orpheus for All is to create a more inclusive and vibrant cultural landscape where music truly belongs to all.”

Executive Director Alexander Scheirle adds: “Orpheus undertook an experiment in collaboration fifty years ago as an orchestra without a conductor, pioneering a model of inclusion that has since influenced the entire industry. In many ways, Orpheus for All is the inevitable next step in our mission. As we raise our own standards of accessibility, we strive to redefine what inclusion in the arts truly means. We know the appetite for classical music is as strong as ever as evidenced by our sold-out concerts here in New York and internationally. Thanks to generous donors, this pilot makes it possible to welcome new audiences and share Orpheus with more New Yorkers than ever before.

“While free concerts are not a novel concept, a fully subsidized live performance in a renowned New York performance space is unusual. Orpheus for All is a full-scale production in Carnegie Hall’s iconic Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage and reflects our commitment to collaboration with world-renowned soloists, the highest standards of musicianship, and our dynamic programming,” says Scheirle. The program features violinist James Ehnes, widely regarded as one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage, masterworks by Saint-Saëns, Chausson, and Ravel, and a world premiere by New York composer Jessica Meyer.

To ensure opportunity of attendance from diverse communities across New York, Orpheus is collaborating with the not-for-profit organization TDF (formerly Theatre Development Fund) among others to distribute tickets to their community partners. Additionally, Access Orpheus will offer tickets to its current New York City Public School partners across all five boroughs. Ticketing opens to the general public this summer.

After evaluating the pilot program, Orpheus aspires to establish Orpheus for All as a regular offering, supported by dedicated partners and ongoing sponsorship, setting a new standard for accessibility in the arts.

ORPHEUS FOR ALL
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra & James Ehnes
Carnegie Hall - Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage Saturday, October 25, 2025 at 4pm

THE PROGRAM | POSTCARDS FROM PARIS

Jessica MEYER: Cartes Postales (World Premiere, Commissioned by Orpheus)
SAINT-SAËNS: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28
CHAUSSON: Poème, Op. 25
RAVEL: Chamber Symphony after the Piano Trio in A Minor, M. 67a
Orchestrated by Zachary Wadsworth, commissioned by Orpheus

---

ABOUT ORPHEUS

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a radical experiment in musical democracy, proving for over 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 to 30 musicians together, the complexities and payoffs are magnified exponentially. Within its first decade, Orpheus made Carnegie Hall their home and became a global sensation through tours of Europe and Asia. Their catalog 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 relationships, and guest artists have always been crucial partners in the process. Orpheus brings out the best in their collaborators, with bonds that deepen over time, as heard in the long arc of music-making with soloists such as Richard Goode, Vadim Gluzman, Anne Akiko Meyers, and Branford Marsalis, and in the commitment to welcoming next-generation artists including Nobuyuki Tsujii, Tine Thing Helseth, and Caleb Teicher. By partnering with jazz legends Brad Mehldau, Wayne Shorter, and Vijay Iyer, as well as actors Christine Baranski and Liev Schreiber, Orpheus expands the boundaries of what a chamber orchestra can achieve. Collaborating with composers like Jessie Montgomery, Billy Childs, and Fazil Say has been another crucial way Orpheus evolves, commissioning numerous world-premieres every year. 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 their next fifty years with a renewed commitment to enriching and reflecting the surrounding community. Orpheus Reflections™ brings the healing power of music to those living with dementia and their caregivers. Celebrating more than twenty years, Access Orpheus shares the orchestra's collaborative process with 1,500 New York City Public School students annually through coachings, school visits, and unparalleled access to their rehearsals and performances at Carnegie Hall. And through the Orpheus Leadership Institute, the musicians impart positive lessons of leadership and democracy to global organizations and businesses. 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.