Orpheus

Orpheus continues to expand the scope of the chamber orchestra and excavate new meanings in cherished scores like Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. A new violin showpiece that Anne Akiko Meyers commissioned from choral superstar Eric Whitacre promises to be an unforgettable addition to the repertoire, taking its place alongside that apex of awe and wonder, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Works by Joseph Haydn and Caroline Shaw offer fresh perspectives on taking flight and seeking refuge.

The Morris Museum thanks Will and Mary Leland, and F. Gary Knapp for their leadership support of this season’s presentations of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

About Anne Akiko Meyers

Anne Akiko Meyers, one of the world’s most esteemed violinists, has been called “the Wonder Woman of commissioning” by The Strad. A trailblazer in her field, Anne has collaborated with today’s most important composers, conductors, orchestras, and presenters, creating a remarkable collection of new violin repertoire for future generations. Since her teens, Anne has performed around the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and in recital.

Anne received a GRAMMY® Award nomination for her live recording with Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic of Arturo Márquez’s Fandango, a concerto for violin and orchestra written for her in 2021, which has already been performed more than 25 times. The recording is the latest of more than 40 releases, which have become staples of classical music radio and streaming platforms.

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 in to 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 of Europe and Asia. Its catalog of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Nonesuch and other labels grew to include more that 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.

Ticket & Visitor Information

For assistance and to make purchases by phone, call the box office at 973-971-3706. The ticket price includes a non-refundable $3.00 service fee. Programs are subject to change.

Image caption: Photo by Dina Douglass.