Following the tremendous success of its opening gala, Orchestra Lumos begins 2022/23 with  reinvigorated momentum 

The start of the 2022/23 season is especially significant for Orchestra Lumos, which rebranded itself (from Stamford Symphony) from the inside-out in May of this year. On the heels of its annual gala, which this year featured a special cabaret concert with Maria Friedman and grossed over $300,000, Orchestra Lumos’ inaugural season under the new brand identity is also the first full season for its music director, Michael Stern, whose 2020 appointment was greatly curtailed by the pandemic; and, revitalized operations and broader fundraising efforts  are the impetus behind Orchestra Lumos’ extensive education and community engagement activities, which places Orchestra Lumos musicians throughout Fairfield County, from Greenwich to Bridgeport. On the concert stages, Orchestra Lumos’ body of musicians now includes two exciting recent appointments in Concertmaster Deborah Buck and Principal Double Bass Peter Weitzner, and pianist Awadagin Pratt joins the orchestra for its opening night program, “New Worlds,” featuring the Orchestra Lumos-commissioned world premiere of Lumos Fanfare by Welsh composer Gareth Wood.  Orchestra Lumos celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month with a free Music & Storytelling program, offered in both English and Spanish, to children from pre-K to 3rd grade at Ferguson Library in Stamford.

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost - October 8, 11AM (English) & 11:30AM (Español), Ferguson Library (Stamford, CT)

Fairfield County is home to one of the most significant Latine populations in the nation, and Orchestra Lumos is committed to, and enthusiastic about finding new ways to connect with its families in new, lasting ways. The story was read aloud by one of the students at Project Music, one of the Orchestra’s partner organizations,  with Orchestra Lumos Violin Amy Wright performing alongside the reader. Supplemental arts and crafts activities related to Hispanic Heritage Month were led by Education and Community Engagement Manager Nicolas Gonzalez.

Pictured, from left: Nicolas Gonzalez, Amy Wright (Violin), Ricky Arango (Project Music student/narrator), Angelica Gorrio (Project Music Board Member and Ricky’s mother), and Gabrielle Molina (Executive Director of Project Music)

“New Worlds” - October 15 & 16, The Palace Theatre (Stamford, CT)

The first notes of Orchestra Lumos’ 2022/23 season come from the world premiere of Lumos Fanfare by Gareth Wood, commissioned by the orchestra to celebrate this momentous chapter in institutional history. The program continues with Luminis, originally commissioned by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra by Puerto Rican-born Iván Enrique Rodriguez, which he describes as “a set of fantasy variations on original musical motifs, which remain essentially unchanged through six variations, while the surrounding sound environment in which the motifs are embedded, changes with the variations.” Rodriguez will attend the concerts and will take part in pre and post concert conversations. The concerts’  concerto offering is Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra with celebrated musical polymath Awadagin Pratt, for whom the piece was originally commissioned by Art of the Piano Foundation, as the soloist.  The concerts conclude with Dvorák’s bold Symphony “From the New World” No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95.

New Worlds

Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 7:30PM

Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 3:00PM

The Palace Theatre - Stamford, CT

Orchestra Lumos

Awadagin Pratt, piano

Michael Stern, music director

Gareth Wood: Lumos Fanfare

Iván Enrique Rodriguez: Luminis

Jessie Montgomery: Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra

Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 From the New World

“Autumnal Brass Meets Thundering Organ” - October 23, First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan

The imposing Orchestra Lumos Brass Quintet perform in the glorious acoustics of First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan, with resident organist Terrence Flanagan. The program comprises works by early and contemporary composers, juxtaposing the versatility of these sonorous instruments, but unified by the ubiquity of their sheer power. 

Autumnal Brass Meets Thundering Organ

Sunday, October 23, 2022 - 3:00pm

First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan

Don Batchelder, trumpet

John Dent, trumpet

Lawrence DiBello, horn

Richard Clark, trombone

Brian Brown, tuba

Terence Flanagan, organ

David Sampson: Fanfare for Canterbury Cathedral

Gabrieli: Canzona per sonare No. 1

Purcell: Sonata for trumpet and organ

Max Peters: Elegie

Molter: Concerto for two trumpets and organ

Gigout: Grand Chœur Dialogué

Peeters: Entrata Festiva

Hovhaness: Prayer of Saint Gregory

Sigfrid Karg-Elert: Wunderbarer König (Wondrous King Almighty)

New Appointments

Orchestra Lumos confirms two long-standing members of the Orchestra to permanent positions  in the coming season. Concertmaster Deborah Buck, formerly of the Lark Quartet, has been praised by The Strad for her “surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” and about her recent appointment Buck shares, “I am incredibly thrilled and honored to become Concertmaster of Orchestra Lumos after several seasons in an acting position.  I am grateful for the chance to officially join this impressive team led by Music Director, Michael Stern and CEO, Russell Jones. I look forward to each and every one of our future collaborations as we create wonderfully exciting and gratifying concerts, together.”

Similarly  the Double Bass section welcomes the confirmation of Peter Weitzner as Principal Bass. His prolific career as an instrumentalist and classical record producer has associated him with many of the highest-caliber classical musicians, ensembles, and festivals today, including Solisti New York, the Jupiter Symphony, EOS Ensemble, SONYC, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Musicians Accord, the New Jersey Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony, as well as Mostly Mozart, OK Mozart, Cape May, Seal Bay Festival, Festival of the Hamptons, White Mountains Music Festival, Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, Bratislava Music Festival, and the Bruckner Festival in Linz, Austria.

“I am happy to announce the appointments of our new concertmaster, Deborah Buck, and Principal Double Bass, Peter Weitzner. Both of these marvelous musicians, already long in our orchestral family, exemplify the tenets of Orchestra Lumos’ revitalized commitment to the community, in their versatility, leadership, and musical artistry, and I am thrilled to welcome them to as permanent orchestra members,” says Music Director, Michael Stern.

About Deborah Buck:

Deborah Buck has built a rich and varied musical career as a chamber musician, concertmaster, soloist, professor, and artistic leader. Ms. Buck made her Lincoln Center concerto debut in 1997 with the Little Orchestra Society. For seventeen years, Ms. Buck was a member of the Lark Quartet where she concertized, commissioned, and recorded works by many of America’s most celebrated composers. An active recitalist, in 2020 Ms. Buck received two commissions: one for solo violin by John Harbison entitled DeBut, and another for violin and piano entitled Fantasia on Beethoven’s Spring Sonata by Bruce Adolphe.  Ms. Buck recently recorded the Suite for Solo Violin by John Harbison. Most recent performances have been with pianist Orli Shaham for the Kauffman Music Center’s Musical Storefront series (NYC), and at Off the Hook Arts and Telluride MusicFest in CO. In 2022, Ms. Buck was appointed Concertmaster of Orchestra Lumos (formerly Stamford Symphony). She was the tenured Concertmaster of the Brooklyn Philharmonic from 2008-2013. Ms. Buck is currently Assistant Professor of Violin and Head of Strings and Chamber Music at SUNY Purchase, and Co-Executive Director and curator of the Faculty Concert Series at the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School and University of Southern California where she studied with Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, and Robert Lipsett. 

About Peter Weitzner:
Peter Weitzner, a graduate of The Juilliard School, has performed with Solisti New York, the Jupiter Symphony, EOS Ensemble, SONYC, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Stamford Symphony, Musicians Accord, and the New Jersey Symphony. As soloist, he has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony and performed the New York premiere of Sheila Silver’s Chant for bass and piano. Mr. Weitzner has been a frequent participant at international music festivals including Mostly Mozart, OK Mozart, Cape May, Seal Bay Festival, Festival of the Hamptons, White Mountains Music Festival, Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, Bratislava Music Festival, and the Bruckner Festival in Linz, Austria.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Weitzner is currently the curator and host of the BPL Chamber Players in residence at the Central branch (Grand Army Plaza) of the Brooklyn Public Library. He has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orion, Enso, Daedalus, Formosa and Cassatt Quartets, Trio Solisti, New York Chamber Ensemble, Yale at Norfolk, Kingston (RI) and Cooperstown Chamber Music Festivals, New York Philomusica, Garden City Chamber Music Society, Sherman Chamber Ensemble, North Country Chamber Players and the Berkshire Bach Society.