The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts to Present ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA in its Annual Summer Concert Series Through 2016

The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts will present Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in its summer concert series in Central Park for three more seasons, beginning in 2014. Orpheus recently concluded its second consecutive season with Naumburg, having opened the classical music series in 2012, and will continue to perform at the historic Naumburg Bandshell through summer 2016. For previous Naumburg concerts, Orpheus has presented programs of popular and lesser-known works from the 18th and 19th centuries. In their most recent concert for the series in July 2013, Orpheus performed works by Beethoven, Haydn, Rossini, and Tchaikovsky. For more information, visit www.naumburgconcerts.org.

Orpheus' Executive Director, Krishna Thiagarajan, said "It is very important to me that Orpheus has a presence in the New York summer scene, with an outlet that is free and accessible for everyone where they can enjoy music under New York's green canopy. Naumburg has a wonderful history and Orpheus is proud to be a part of this extraordinary series."

Naumburg's President, Christopher W. London, said, "We are delighted to present Orpheus for the next three years and to continue to bring the exceptional art of this premier ensemble to tens of thousands of New Yorkers."

Orpheus' 2013-14 season includes its annual concert series at Carnegie Hall along with domestic and international tours. The Carnegie Hall concert series will trace the evolution of the concerto over the past four centuries, featuring soloists such as pianist Brad Mehldau(performing the New York premiere of his work Variations for Piano and Orchestra on a Melancholy Theme), clarinetist Martin Fröst, pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, and violinist Christian Tetzlaff. The season's programming includes both classical works by Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Bartók and rarely performed pieces by Zoltán Kodály, Irving Fine (to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth), and Joseph Joachim. In January, Orpheus will take up residency at theCartagena Festival Internacional de Música in Colombia. The ensemble will also travel with Mr. Tsujii, winner of the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, for a tour to Florida followed by a ten-city concert tour to Japan. And during a five-concert domestic tour, Orpheus will perform with Japanese-American violinist Ryu Goto.

About Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has over its 41-year history revolutionized how audiences think about classical music and orchestral leadership. By abandoning traditional hierarchies, Orpheus conforms to a democratic model holding rehearsals that encourage artistic discussion, rotating seating assignments for each piece, and performing works from the classical to contemporary without a conductor. The orchestra has recorded over 70 albums including the Grammy Award-winning Shadow Dances: Stravinsky Miniatures, and to date has commissioned and premiered more than 40 original works. In addition to its annual concert series at Carnegie Hall, Orpheus has established an international reputation with tours to Europe, Asia, and South America. The ensemble has trademarked its signature mode of operation with the Orpheus Institute, founded in 2003 to educate the next generation of musical entrepreneurs with residencies at the University of Maryland, University of Connecticut, Dartmouth College, and the Interlochen Arts Academy.

Orpheus' educational outreach Access Orpheus program provides free learning opportunities for thousands of New York City public school students each year. Schools in each of the five boroughs receive free classroom visits from Orpheus musicians, as well as free tickets and educational material for each of Orpheus' concerts. Students are also invited to attend Orpheus' open forum rehearsals. For more information, visit www.orpheusnyc.com.

About the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts
For 109 years, the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts has continuously presented free, outdoor, summer classical music concerts to New Yorkers and it is the oldest such concert series in the United States. Named after and inspired by founder and philanthropist Elkan Naumburg, who donated the Naumburg Bandshell to New York City in 1923, the series seeks to stimulate and encourage new and expanded audiences for classical music in the informal and beautiful setting of Central Park. Mr. Naumburg was the first, and for many years the only, patron of music to give free concerts in the Parks to the people of New York, defraying all the expense and supervising all the details, including the selection of programs and soloists. His son, Walter, further reinforced the family tradition of supporting classical music when he established the Walter W. Naumburg Prize in 1926, as did his grand-niece, Eleanor Naumburg Sanger, who co-founded WQXR, New York's classical music radio station. After Elkan Naumburg's death in 1924, his sons, Walter W. Naumburg and George W. Naumburg, continued the park concerts. When Walter W. Naumburg died in 1959, his will provided for the perpetuation of these concerts. Today, the concerts feature promising new talent and promote the professional development of young composers and conductors. The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts is a non-profit organization managed by a volunteer board of trustees; contributions towards its programs are fully tax-deductible.

The free Naumburg Orchestral Concerts have twelve-hundred seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. Live recordings of the concerts are broadcast on WQXR. For more information, visit www.naumburgconcerts.org.

Photo by CW London [CWL] & Marilyn Shapiro [MS]

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