New Conductors Orchestra

Have you bought your tickets yet for NCO’s first performance this weekend? Make sure you’re there to share in this experience with all the musicians. Buy your tickets now, or at the door to immerse yourself in some Bernstein, some Augusta Read Thomas, and some Dvorak! #nycorchestra #datenight #womencomposers #livingcomposers #communityorchestra

Less than one week left until the NCO’s inaugural concert. See your peers, and friends, and listen to this performance which promises to deliver a lot of great music!

Conductor Spotlight: Audrey J. Edelstein I was raised in Manhasset, New York. My first musical loves were broadway shows and the music of classical ballet-- I was always moving between the worlds of Bernstein and Tchaikovsky. As a young child, I would dance around my living room during my sister’s piano lessons! I studied piano and bassoon, and at Swarthmore College I pursued conducting and religion. I earned my masters in conducting from the Aaron Copland School of Music and... now work with various civic ensembles in the NY area. I can’t point to a specific moment when I caught the conducting bug. From my youth as a dancer, it’s impossible for me to separate music and movement. Intellectually, I love seeing the whole picture and making sense of whizzing parts, and shaping the piece’s sound and emotional profile so it can speak cohesively. It’s a paradox- while I conduct, my mind is completely focused; I feel my freest when I’m conducting, much more so than when I play. I love the moment of mind-melding with my fellow musicians. This is my first time conducting Jubilee, and definitely the first time the members of this orchestra have encountered it! I enjoy conducting music by living composers because often the orchestra and I are on the journey of understanding the piece together. Read Thomas uses the whole palette of the orchestra, assigning musical lines to ever-different combinations of instruments that weave in and out of the texture. One of my favorite moments is at the end of the third movement. Strings, clarinets, and flutes create a serene cushion of sound. Suddenly, it’s interrupted by bongos. It’s as if the music says, Don’t go to sleep yet! The party’s just begun! Conducting the NCO is a great joy and privilege! Everyone is extremely responsive and puts in the hours outside of rehearsal to make our time together productive and electric. The entire group sees the vision at the end of the line and is excited about getting there, which is every conductor’s dream. And did I mention-- they’re amazing musicians too! Please join us for NCO’s inaugural concerts October 26 and 27! It’s rare to go to a concert and hear one orchestra led by multiple conductors. You might be surprised by how different the group can sound. Beautiful music, talented people, a striking space-- what’s not to love?

Looking for something to do October 26 or 27? Come check out NCO’s inaugural performance! But your tickets now. #orchestra #youngconductors #livingcomposers #womencomposers

Conductor Spotlight: Maurice Cohn I was raised in Galesburg, Illinois, studied cello at Oberlin Conservatory, and am now a masters student in conducting at the Eastman School of Music. I became fascinated with how an orchestra works. There are so many moving parts and every individual has a complex and demanding role, but from the audience perspective it comes across as a single entity. In my view, the conductor’s job is to facilitate that transformation, to connect each pla...yer in the orchestra to every other player and allow the ensemble to speak with one voice. This will be my first time conducting Dvoák 9, and in fact will be my first time conducting any #Dvoák symphony. I love his symphonies because it’s so clear just how much fun he was having. Dvoák was of course a huge musical mind and a sophisticated stylist, but to me his writing emphasizes the joy of music, the same kind of joy you have making music with friends on a Saturday afternoon. Working with the NCO is a pleasure, an honor, and a tremendous amount of fun! What stands out the most to me is how much everyone is listening to each other. This is not an orchestra where you just come in, play your part, and go home. Everyone is reacting to what their colleagues are doing across the room, and creating an identity for a brand new ensemble. It has been such a great time putting this program together fantastic people, a beautiful space to play in, and tremendous music! Come hear us on October 26th and 27th!

Augusta Read Thomas asks a lot of the orchestra in her Jubilee. Tonight the orchestra breaks it down so we can create a fluid four movement work that engages and excites both the audience and the orchestra. Make sure to come to the NCO performance on either October 26 or 27 to experience it. #womencomposers #orchestra #livingcomposers #newyorkcityorchestra #cityconcerts