(September 21, 2015)— Orpheus Chamber Orchestra opens its 2015-16 Signature Series at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, October 15, at 8:00 p.m. with a program that pays tribute to Germany’s extraordinary ongoing contributions toward orchestral music. The concert features works by three German composers with vastly different backgrounds, including Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, and the premiere of a new work by contemporary composer Wolfgang Rihm titled Duo Concerto.

Prior to the concert, Orpheus hosts its Opening Night Celebration, a fundraiser honoring Orpheus Trustee Rick Lannamann and his wife Kate for fifteen years of extraordinary leadership and service to the orchestra. Information on the Opening Night Celebration, which includes cocktails, dinner, and private receptions, is available here. Subscriptions for two or more concerts offering discounts and benefits for the 2015-16 Signature Series at Carnegie Hall are available through Orpheus at (212) 896-1704 or www.OrpheusNYC.org. Single tickets priced from $14.50 to $110 are available through Carnegie Hall’s CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800, www.carnegiehall.org, or at the box office located at 57th Street and 7th Avenue.

A highlight of the opening night concert is the New York premiere of a new double concerto for violin and cello by Grawemeyer Award-winning composer Wolfgang Rihm, performed by the husband-and-wife duo Jan Vogler and Mira Wang.  Rihm’s new work, titled Duo Concerto, was commissioned by the Friends of Dresden Music Foundation for Orpheus to mark the 10th anniversary of the reconsecration of the Dresden Frauenkirche, an 18th century church destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in the Second World War. A central part of the city, the Dresden Frauenkirche restoration began after the unification of Germany in 1994 and the church now stands as a symbol of peace and reconciliation. Rihm’s commission is the result of the composer’s longstanding friendship with Mr. Vogler and Ms. Wang and promotes a transatlantic message of unification. Orpheus will perform the world premiere of Rihm’s Duo Concerto at Purchase College’s Performing Arts Center on Sunday, October 11 at 3:00 p.m., and the European premiere in Dresden’s Frauenkirche presented by the Dresden Music Festival on Saturday, October 24, at 8:00 p.m.

Orpheus Artistic Director and violist Dov Scheindlin notes, “This concert celebrates the rebirth of Germany as a modern beacon of prosperity and freedom, while reflecting on its profound musical heritage by focusing on three very distinct composers who form an important link in the history of German orchestral music. Orpheus is thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Jan and Mira, not only for the premiere of Rihm’s double concerto, but also for the chance to present the concert in the venue [Dresden Frauenkirche] that is the symbol of rebirth.”

Mr. Vogler and Ms. Wang have each developed international solo careers performing with major orchestras around the world and regularly play together in recitals, chamber music performances, and double concertos.  Currently the Artistic and General Director of the Dresden Musikfestspiele and founding Artistic Director of the Moritzburg Chamber Music Festival, Mr. Vogler became the youngest Principal Cellist of the Staatskapelle Dresden in its history at the age of twenty and won his third Echo Klassik award in 2014. Ms. Wang is Artistic Director of the Model Room Concerts, a chamber music series that hosts world-class artists and is presented in the model room of the New York Yacht Club.
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The 2015-16 Signature Series at Carnegie Hall features Orpheus’ distinctive curation of world-renowned soloists, new commissions, iconic pieces and rarely heard works – all presented with the orchestra’s richly textured, collaborative interpretations. Upcoming programs feature violinist Augustin Hadelich and a new arrangement for violin of the Divertimento from Stravinsky’s ballet Le baiser de la fée by Dmitry Sitkovetsky on December 5; pianist Khatia Buniatishvili and a new arrangement of Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos by Paul Chihara on January 30, and the long-awaited debut of violinist Pinchas Zukerman with an Orpheus-commissioned work Vision Machine by Harold Meltzer as part of the orchestra’s American Notes program, on March 19.  In addition to performing at Carnegie Hall this season, Orpheus tours Germany, Colombia and Japan. Further North American tour dates include concerts in Davis, Santa Barbara and Sonoma, CA; Palm Beach and Sarasota, FL; East Lansing, MI; Kansas City, MO; and Toronto, ON; among other cities.

Jan Vogler’s distinguished career has seen him perform with renowned conductors and internationally acclaimed orchestras around the world.  He regularly premieres new works, most recently compositions by celebrated composers John Harbison, Tigran Mansurian, Wolfgang Rihm and Udo Zimmermann. A prolific and multi-award-winning recording artist, Mr. Vogler records exclusively for SONY Classical. His latest release features Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, Serenade melancholique and Meditation with the HR-Sinfonieorchester conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Other recordings include Concerti a Venezia with La Folia Baroque Orchestra, the Schumann album “Dichterliebe” with pianist Hélène Grimaud, and a critically acclaimed recording of Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello for which he received the 2014 ECHO Klassik award in the category “Instrumentalist of the Year.” Highlights of his 2015-2016 season include appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Festival Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Leipzig Radio Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and the Singapore Symphony. Mr. Vogler has been Artistic Director of the Moritzburg Festival near Dresden since 2001 and Intendant of the Dresden Music Festival since October 2008. In 2006, he received the European Award for Culture and in 2011 the Erich-Kästner Award for tolerance, humanity and international understanding. Mr. Vogler plays the Stradivari ‘Ex Castelbarco/Fau’ 1707 cello.

Mira Wang has appeared as a soloist with prestigious orchestras all over the world including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Saarbrücken Radio Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic and NDR Philharmonic Hannover.  An enthusiastic interpreter of contemporary music, Ms. Wang premiered the violin concerto Spring in Dresden by Chinese-American composer Chen Yi with the Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted by Ivan Fischer and John Harbison’s Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by of Carlos Kalmar.  Ms. Wang has been Artistic Director of the Model Room Musicales concert series in New York City since 2005 and in 2013, she became Director of the Moritzburg Festival Academy in Germany. She has recorded extensively for numerous labels including Sony Classical and Edel Classics.  Her discography includes Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony, Saint-Saens’ Violin Concerto No. 3 with NDR Philharmonic Hannover, a duo album with Jan Vogler and several chamber music recordings with Artists of the Moritzburg Festival.  Born in China, Ms. Wang studied at Central Conservatory in Beijing and Boston University where she received the prestigious Kahn Award. She has won several international violin competitions including First Prize at the Geneva Competition.

The 2015-16 season marks Orpheus Chamber Orchestra‘s 43rd year of creating 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, more than 40 commissioned works as part of its history, and its ongoing American Notes commissioning initiative, 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.

The Orpheus Process™, an original method that places democracy at the center of artistic execution, has been the focus of studies at Harvard, and of leadership seminars at Morgan Stanley and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, among others. The collaborative process is also shared with grade-school and university-level students through two Orpheus programs. Access Orpheus engages close to 2,500 New York City public school students from all five boroughs through in-class visits, invitations to orchestra rehearsals, free tickets to Carnegie Hall, and supplementary curricula material. Orpheus Institute 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; Orpheus has visited these campuses to facilitate coaching sessions, business leadership training, and musical master classes, as well as to perform in concert.

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Thursday, October 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
New York, NY

ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Jan Vogler, cello
Mira Wang, violin

MENDELSSOHN   Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Wolfgang RIHM     Duo Concerto for Violin and Cello (New York premiere)
SCHUMANN          Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 6
Tickets for the Opening Night Celebration are available for purchase via phone at 212.896.1713 or online at http://orpheusnyc.org/support/opening-night-celebration.

Single tickets are available for purchase through Carnegie Hall’s
CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800, www.carnegiehall.org, or at the box office located at
57th Street and 7th Avenue.