In the winter of 2003, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra members began working with Manhattan School of Music instrumental students to hone their interpretive, leadership and communication skills by preparing these aspiring young artists to present an orchestral performance in which the musicians themselves fulfilled all of the roles and responsibilities of a music director. Although only five MSM students participated in the program in its inaugural year, participation has expanded exponentially so that the students were able to present musician-led performances of Bruce Broughton’s Tuba Concerto, Darius Mihaud’s La Création du Monde, Charles Ives The Unanswered Question and Copland’s Appalachian Spring in a concert at The Kaufman Center’s Merkin Hall in April 2005.
For the 2006-07 academic year, participation grew to involve a large rotating roster which performed the Mendelssohn “Italian” Symphony No. 4, Respighi’s Gli Uccelli, and the Bennett Concerto for Ten Brass Players in February. The program was performed at Merkin Hall on February 1 at 8 PM and repeated on February 8 as part of the “Concerts at One” series at Trinity Church on Wall Street.
Under the guidance of Orpheus coaches, students in the MSM Chamber Sinfonia are directly responsible for selecting their own concert program, choosing their own leaders, creating their own interpretation, running their own rehearsals performances.
RESPIGHI: Gli Uccelli
MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
BENNETT: Concerto for Ten Brass Players