Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Joins Violinist Jennifer Koh at Carnegie Hall Tonight

Tonight, December 6 at 7 p.m., Orpheus Chamber Orchestra continues its 2014-15 concert series at Carnegie Hall with a program featuring works by Bach, Grieg, Mozart, and the London-born, Chicago-based composer Anna Clyne. Violinist Jennifer Koh, who makes her Orpheus debut this season, joins the orchestra as soloist in Bach's Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor and Rest These Hands, the Orpheus-commissioned concerto by Ms. Clyne for solo violin and string orchestra. The conductorless ensemble, whose structure is based on artistic collaboration, a democratic process, and rotating leadership, also plays Grieg's Holberg Suite, a signature work from its catalog of Deutsche Grammophon recordings. The program closes with Mozart's Symphony No. 34 in C major. Tickets priced from $14.50 to $110 are available from Carnegie Hall by phone at (212) 247-7800, online at www.carnegiehall.org, or in person at the box office.

Rest These Hands, which takes inspiration from Bach and includes quotations of his music, is an arrangement of three movements from The Violin, Ms. Clyne's 2009 work for recorded layers of solo violin. The concerto is the first of three new works that Orpheus has commissioned to be premiered this season as part of American Notes, its new commissioning initiative of works from composers who contribute diverse perspectives on American identity within a globalized world. Orpheus has also commissioned orchestral works from Brooklyn-based composer-pianist Timo Andres and Turkish composer-pianist Faz?l Say. "Our American Notes initiative this season uses these three composers' perspectives on America and American music as it reflects back to them," says Orpheus Executive Director Krishna Thiagarajan. "It relates to Orpheus' position as a US ambassador while on tour abroad, and as a representative of international perspectives while performing within the States."

Ms. Koh, known for her intense, commanding performances, has interpreted Bach's works for solo violin in marathon recitals and in juxtaposition with contemporary pieces as part of her Bach & Beyond project. Commenting on Ms. Koh's career, Mr. Thiagarajan says, "She clearly thinks about music the same way we do: being collaborative, pushing the envelope, and marrying the old composers with young emerging composers."

Ms. Koh and Ms. Clyne have been frequent collaborators since 2009, when Esa-Pekka Salonen suggested that Ms. Koh listen to the composer's music. Last season, she premiered and recorded Ms. Clyne's double violin concerto Prince of Clouds with violinist Jaime Laredo, her former mentor at the Curtis Institute of Music. In May 2015, Ms. Koh premieres Ms. Clyne's violin concerto The Seamstress with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Ludovic Morlot.

Orpheus also performs the Carnegie program with Ms. Koh on tour at California Polytechnic State University on November 1, Stanford University on November 2, and Purchase College on November 30. The concerts presented by Cal Poly Arts and Stanford Live mark Orpheus' first return to perform in California since 2007.