NEW YORK, NY (November 4, 2014)—On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will celebrate its Annual Gala at the Metropolitan Club, honoring Masaaki Tanaka, the Deputy President of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG). This black-tie evening will include a private Orpheus performance with cocktails and seated dinner, and benefit the orchestra’s ongoing commitment to provide performances and educational activities of the highest caliber to new communities worldwide.

Orpheus honors Mr. Tanaka for his significant contributions and advocacy of the orchestra on three continents. One year after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Mr. Tanaka and MUFG sponsored Orpheus’ travel to Japan, where the orchestra presented a series of concerts and worked with students in the critical area of Sendai. Since then, the partnership has included support for the orchestra’s appearance at the 8th Annual International Music Festival in Cartagena, Colombia; performances with pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, whose collaboration with Orpheus sold out Carnegie Hall; and Orpheus’ most recent Japan Tour in February 2014 where the musicians once again engaged students in Sendai.

The Gala Chairs are Thierry Porté, who is Managing Director of J.C. Flowers & Co. and former CEO of Shinsei Bank, and his wife Yasko Tashiro Porté. Mr. Porté was at Morgan Stanley in Japan as Managing Director when Orpheus first began that partnership in 2002 and it was his recommendation to Mr. Tanaka that initiated MUFG’s relationship with the orchestra. Among other measures of support, he was instrumental in realizing Orpheus’ 2014 Japan Tour by underwriting the orchestra’s reception at Ambassador Caroline Kennedy’s home in Tokyo as well as advising the orchestra towards new sources of institutional funding.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
42nd Season Gala
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
The Metropolitan Club
One East Sixtieth Street
New York, NY 10022

The 2014-15 season marks Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s 42nd year of making internationally acclaimed music, from classical to contemporary, while reinventing the way individuals and organizations across the world think about collaboration, outreach, and democratic leadership. Performing without a conductor, Orpheus integrates musicians into virtually every facet of the organization, including artistic and administrative decisions, by rotating musical leadership roles for each piece and running open forum rehearsals. With over 70 albums, collaborations with leading contemporary soloists, and more than 40 commissioned works as part of its history, Orpheus strives to expand the repertoire for chamber orchestra and continues to develop its international reputation through innovative projects and tours to Europe, Asia, and South America.

Orpheus’ four-concert season at Carnegie Hall in 2014-15 includes performances with Jonathan Biss, Jennifer Koh, Augustin Dumay, and Fazil Say and new commissions from Anna Clyne, Timo Andres, and Mr. Say. In his review of Orpheus’ opening night concert, James Oestreich of The New York Times said, “What is truly remarkable … is the degree of nuance these players achieve in their interpretations. … Sure, Orpheus members can all play together, but how do they shape a crescendo or taper a decrescendo so exquisitely, achieve such subtleties of phrasing, speak so eloquently with a single voice?” Orpheus also travels to Italy, Germany, Austria, and Hungary on an eight-city Europe tour with Mr. Say this season. Domestic tours include performances in Indiana, California, Pennsylvania, and New York.

The Orpheus Process™, an original method that places democracy at the center of artistic execution, has been the focus of studies at Harvard and Stanford, and of leadership seminars at Morgan Stanley and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, among others. This approach is the basis of two education and engagement programs: Access Orpheus, which provides free learning opportunities, including in-class visits, tickets, and educational material, for over 1,500 New York City public school students each year; and the Orpheus Institute, which teaches experiential training in collective leadership to the next generation of musicians, university students, musical entrepreneurs, and business leaders, through residencies at select universities and conservatories that have included Dartmouth College, the Interlochen Arts Academy, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Maryland.

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