The All-Star Orchestra Reveals Season Six

 The nine-time Emmy Award-winning All-Star Orchestra announced the multifaceted programming for its sixth season, following its 10th-anniversary season last year. The four-part series will be previewed on Sunday, June 16, at 2:30 p.m., with a special broadcast on WNET - the New York PBS affiliate (channel 13) - that features Camille Saint-Saëns' thrilling "Organ Symphony" and Carlos Chávez's Sinfonía india, which employs indigenous Native American melodies and authentic Aztec percussion.

Now in its second decade, the All-Star Orchestra comprises top musicians from across the country, who perform under Music Director Gerard Schwarz, also the music director of the Eastern Music Festival, Mozart Orchestra of New York, Palm Beach Symphony, and Frost Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Schwarz has now created 29 All-Star Orchestra programs, including three that feature the U.S. Marine Band - America's oldest continually performing musical ensemble. All programs feature excellent musical performances and long-lasting educational content that promotes the enjoyment and appreciation of orchestral music.

"What started as a passion project to put together some of the best musicians in the country is now a first-rank orchestra entering its second decade," said Maestro Schwarz. "The repertoire is great, and each player's performance is first-class, but what matters the most is the inspiration that we can provide to viewers across the country through public TV. We hope to show you, no matter your background, age, career, or where you are in your life, something interesting about this music that perhaps you didn't know - something that will grab your attention and inspire you to dig deeper into each piece, or each composer."

"We created the All-Star Orchestra with the finest musicians from America's greatest orchestras to expand the audience for orchestral music through performance, exposure, and education," said Maestro Schwarz. "These remarkable musicians inspire each other and their audiences around the world with great performances and with an expanding library to document them - from Baroque classics to today's living American composers.

"The spectacular members of the orchestra bring their vast knowledge of the repertoire to make performances of the highest level available for free through public broadcasting, online, and through the Khan Academy, reaching millions," he added. "As we launch season six, nothing inspires me more than making music with these wonderfully dedicated musicians, and our joint commitment to sharing this passionate art form."

The ensemble consists of principal players from several of the greatest orchestras in the United States, including leading ensembles in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Houston, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville, New Jersey, New York (the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, and Washington D.C.

The All-Star Orchestra presents a front-row seat to the world's greatest music, performing popular symphonic scores, as well as new works by today's leading American composers, while sharing insights on the music. Through interviews and commentary, Schwarz, the All-Star musicians and special guests introduce viewers to the music, including essential details about the context of each piece, and an overview of the living tradition of the score. This allows viewers to have a deeper appreciation of the music and provides the groundwork for each listener's personal journey.

All-Star Orchestra: Season Six

The new season consists of four hour-long episodes broadcast nationwide on American Public Television, starting in October 2024. The All-Star Orchestra series is distributed in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting. For updates on broadcast dates, please visit allstarorchestra.org.

Episode one - "A Symphonic Organ Spectacular": The season begins with the ultimate Romantic pairing: a full symphony orchestra with a magnificent organ. French composer Camille Saint-Saëns created his "Organ Symphony" in 1886, and it has thrilled audiences worldwide ever since. The program opens with Mexican composer Carlos Chávez' Sinfonía india, from 1931, featuring authentic melodies of indigenous peoples and native percussion instruments of Aztec heritage.

Episode two - "Symphonic Metamorphosis": The splashy, colorful Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber was composed for American audiences by the great Paul Hindemith after he fled Nazi Germany in 1940. With its catchy themes that are transformed by the orchestra into constantly changing shapes and colors, it has also become a concert favorite. Also featured are the Romantic masterpiece Les Preludes, by Franz Liszt, and the exquisite Slow Movement, composed by a young Anton Webern as a gift to his future wife.

Episode three - "Concerto for Orchestra": Hungary's greatest composer, Béla Bartók, moved to New York during World War II and overcame serious health problems to create a musical masterpiece that shows off all the instruments of the orchestra in a unique and unforgettable style. The Concerto for Orchestra is truly one of the peaks of the 20th-century repertoire. Opening the program is Bach's magnificent Prelude and Fugue in D Major in Ottorino Respighi's spectacular large-scale orchestration.

Episode four - "Schubert's Immortal Unfinished Symphony": When Franz Schubert died in 1828, at age 31, he left behind an unfinished symphony that wasn't discovered until years later. Musicians and the public were stunned by the beauty and profundity of this mysterious work, whose magic continues to enthrall concertgoers and music fans of all kinds. The folkloric Rounds, by David Diamond, and Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, by Joan Tower - one of America's great living composers - are also featured in the final episode of season six.

• For more information, visit allstarorchestra.org.
• For a shareable 30-second preview of the All-Star Orchestra's 2024 season, click HERE.
• To watch the first episode on June 16, at 2:30 p.m., click HERE.
• All-Star Orchestra 2024 photos are available HERE (Photo credit: "All-Star Orchestra")

More about the All-Star Orchestra

The All-Star Orchestra, now in its second decade, gives you a front row seat to the world's greatest music and the map to an unforgettable musical journey. It began with a commitment to classical music education and contemporary American composers. The series features classical masterpieces and new works from leading contemporary American composers, aiming to expose a broad audience to classical music while keeping the listening experience informative and accessible. In addition to performances of classical and contemporary works, the programs also feature musical excerpts, images, interviews and educational commentary by Maestro Schwarz, the All-Star Orchestra musicians, and special guests.

In 2021, the All-Star Orchestra received its eighth and ninth Emmy awards at the 64th Annual New York Emmy Awards Ceremony of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. "From Italy and Hungary with Love," a program featuring Mendelssohn's beloved "Italian" Symphony No. 4, and Kodaly's orchestral showpiece, Dances of Galanta, was awarded in the category Special Event - Edited, with Gerard Schwarz as Music Director, Habib Azar as Director, Alexander Lipay as Audio Producer, Dmitriy Lipay as Recording Engineer, and Andrew Mayatskiy as Video Editor. Co-Producers are Gerard Schwarz and Paul Schwendener. "From Italy and Hungary with Love" also received an Emmy in the category Audio Post-production, with Dmitriy Lipay and Alexander Lipay as Audio Editing and Mastering Engineers.

The series has been broadcast nationwide on public television since September 2013, and previously won Emmy awards in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.

The All-Star Orchestra's Music Education Academy - in partnership with the Khan Academy - was founded in 2014 to bring great classical music to millions of students. Online features and lessons present unique content, including award-winning HD video, and enable self-learning via the Khan Academy - the world's leading free education website.

The All-Star Orchestra is made possible by generous contributions from the Estate of David Endicott Gannett, Peter Gottsegen, the Park Foundation, the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, Rebecca Benaroya, Agnes Gund, Jerald E. Farley, Marlys and Ralph Palumbo, Susan Hutchison, Alan Benaroya, Bernice and Sanford Grossman, Betty Lou Treiger, Joan S. Watjen, Susan and Elihu Rose, the Milken Family Foundation, Benita and Charles Staadecker, Vivian Serota, Dr. Kennan H. Hollingsworth, and Judi Flom, among others.

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