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Press Releases
April 24 & 25: The Violin Channel Presents the VC Orpheus Festival, Featuring Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katy Salomon | Morahan Arts and Media
katy@morahanartsandmedia.com | 863.660.2214
The Violin Channel Presents The VC Orpheus Festival
April 24 & 25, 2020
Live on The Violin Channel’s Facebook and Instagram
Featuring Full-Length Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Concert Recordings,
Live Living Room Concerts, Cooking Classes, Live Q&As, Giveaways, and More
NEW YORK, NY (April 22, 2020) — On Friday, April 24, 2020 and Saturday, April 25, 2020 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra takes over The Violin Channel’s social media channels for the VC Orpheus Festival, sponsored by Rare Violins of New York. The two day online festival will feature Orpheus musicians in living room concerts, fun videos from home while observing social distancing measures, informative Q&As and full broadcasts of Orpheus concerts. The festival can be viewed on The Violin Channel’s Facebook and Instagram pages and the Orpheus Facebook page.
The VC Orpheus Festival has a two-day fundraising goal of $25,000. Donations made during the festival will support the Orpheus Emergency Fund to bolster the orchestra’s commitment to continue paying musicians and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations can be made at www.orpheusnyc.org/donate.
At 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25, The Violin Channel will broadcast headlining concerts from the orchestra’s archives. Highlights include Orpheus’s August 2019 sold out performance presented by Naumburg Orchestral Concerts featuring works by Turina, Rodrigo, Piazzolla, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Manuel Ponce, plus bandoneon virtuoso JP Jofre in his own composition Tangodromo 1 for Bandoneon and Strings (2016) and Piazzolla’s Adiós Nonino; Orpheus’s October 2017 concert at 92Y featuring cellist Mischa Maisky in the US premiere of Dobrinka Tabakova’s arrangement of Schubert’s “Arpeggione” Sonata in A minor paired with Arensky’s Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, Op. 48; and Orpheus’s January 2016 performance at the outdoor Cartageña International Music Festival, which featured Carlos Chavez’s Sarabande for Strings, a movement from Gnattali’s Concerto for Harp and Strings featuring harpist Emmanuel Ceysson, Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in F Major with cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia, and Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Watch Orpheus’s Cartageña Promotional Video Here.
Preceding each evening concert will be a 6:00 p.m. ET live-from-home 30-minute Cooking Show with an Orpheus musician discussing what they are preparing for cocktails/drinks and dinner as well as the program of the upcoming concert and their experience performing with Orpheus.
During the day, the VC Orpheus Festival also features four “Living Room Live” concerts. Performers include violinist and Artistic Director Miho Saegusa, cellist Eric Bartlett, and violists Dana Kelley and Dov Scheindlin, who will also discuss Orpheus initiatives such as Access Orpheus, Orpheus Reflections, and the Orpheus Leadership Institute. Additional content includes a live “Ask Me Anything” Q&A conversation about the renowned Orpheus Process® with cellist Jonathan Spitz; a “Heroes” discussion with recently elected Orpheus member musician, violinist Abigail Fayette, and Orpheus violinists Laura Frautschi and Richard Rood about acting as a concertmaster of a diplomatic, conductorless orchestra, mentorship within Orpheus, and how participation is encouraged from member musicians; a round table discussion with four Orpheus cellists, Eric Bartlett, Jonathan Spitz, James Wilson, and Melissa Meell; plus Violin Channel blog posts such as a “Desert Island Discs” feature with Orpheus and Orion String Quartet violinist Todd Phillips and a conversation with Orpheus Artistic Director and cellist James Wilson, quarantine photos from the musicians, giveaways, and more! Watch the Orpheus cellists’ video thanking healthcare workers.
Orpheus has recently elected a new member, violinist Abigail Fayette, who has played with the orchestra since 2017, and associate member, bassist Gregg August.
About Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
In 1972, a group of young artists made history by creating an orchestra without a conductor in which musicians led themselves democratically. Since then, the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has recorded over 70 albums on all major classical labels, toured to 46 countries across four continents, and collaborated with hundreds of world-class soloists.
Orpheus’ 34 member musicians work together as a collective and rotate leadership roles for all works performed, giving flight to unconventional interpretations. This democratic structure also extends to organizational functions including programming and governance: the orchestra elects three members to Artistic Director positions and three to the Board of Trustees.
Orpheus’ 2020-21 season features collaborations with soprano Karen Slack; guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas; saxophonist Branford Marsalis; pianists Fazil Say, Alessio Bax, and Angela Hewitt; and violinist Christian Tetzlaff.
An essential part of New York City’s cultural landscape, Orpheus presents annual series at Carnegie Hall and 92nd Street Y. Orpheus tours to major international venues and has appeared regularly in Japan for 30 years; recent engagements include the Prague Spring and Dresden Music Festivals and a 12-concert tour of Asia. The orchestra’s extensive discography includes a February 2019 release on Deutsche Grammophon of Mendelssohn concertos with pianist Jan Lisiecki. Champions of chamber orchestra repertoire, Orpheus has commissioned and premiered over 50 new works.
Orpheus shares its collaborative model through education and community engagement initiatives that promote equity and access to the arts for listeners of all ages around the world. These include programs for K-12 students, opportunities for emerging professional musicians, and a music and wellness program for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
For more information about Orpheus please visit www.OrpheusNYC.org or call 212-896-1700.
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Photo Credit: Zach Alan and Molina Visuals
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