December 2018
Curtis Chamber Orchestra w/ Andrew Grams, conductor
For over two decades, the Curtis Chamber Orchestra has been appearing with PCMS, spotlighting this esteemed conservatory’s best and brightest talent in large-ensemble repertoire. A program of classical and romantic works offers Mendelssohn’s Midsummer’s Night Dream Overture, Haydn’s singular Drumroll Symphony, and a late, unfinished masterpiece by Schubert.
Find out more »A French Noel
Experience a pastoral Christmas in 16th c. France – actors from the Helen Hayes Award-winning Happenstance Theater help us bring charming tableaus from a precious noël manuscript to life.
Find out more »January 2019
Xavier Foley, double bass, and Sejoon Park, piano
“The double-bass world could use Xavier Foley. He is not only a standout player but also has the bright spark of a composer” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Foley’s PCMS recital debut offers a wide-ranging program of well-known works alongside his own arrangements and compositions, augmented by the “gorgeously clear but rounded sound” (Philadelphia Inquirer) of fellow Astral artist Sejoon Park.
Find out more »Ricardo Morales, clarinet, and Natalie Zhu, piano
Ricardo Morales and Natalie Zhu never fail to delight us with their incredible virtuosity and deeply-felt musicianship. The principal clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra displays “utterly natural musical grace, and the lyricism and breath control of a fine opera singer” (New York Times) while Zhu—making her 20th appearance with the Society—is a sensitive pianist with an incredible command of her sound.
Find out more »February 2019
Broken Consort
A flute, violin, viol, lute and the wire-strung cittern and bandora make up the Elizabethan “broken” or mixed consort. Guests Julianne Baird, soprano, Christopher Morongiello, lute, and Mark Cudek, cittern join Tempesta for late renaissance music by Dowland and Morley, and early baroque consorts by Locke and Lawes.
Find out more »Rediscoveries: Festival of American Chamber Music I
A project which seeks to illuminate an important but largely neglected body of 20th- and 21st-century chamber music by American composers, with a special focus on composers with ties to Philadelphia.
Find out more »March 2019
A Song Everyone Can Sing: A Community Sing featuring VOCES8
In celebration of LiveConnections’ 10th anniversary season, we’re dreaming big about accessibility and inclusion in our city. We’re creating a multi-media music extravaganza where EVERYONE can participate in making music together. Young and old. People of diverse abilities and backgrounds. People who love to sing and people who don’t think they can sing at all.
Find out more »Portrait of Augusta Read Thomas
Curtis 20/21 performs a selection of works by Curtis’s 2018–19 composer in residence, Augusta Read Thomas.
Find out more »The Americas
Astral Spotlight Artist Jordan Dodson makes his Chamber Orchestra debut displaying the beauty of acoustic and electric guitar. Joining him is COP/ACF’s Steven R. Gerber Composer-in-Residence and Philadelphia Composer Andrea Clearfield as she premieres her new work for electric guitar.
Find out more »Rediscoveries: Festival of American Chamber Music II
A project which seeks to illuminate an important but largely neglected body of 20th- and 21st-century chamber music by American composers, with a special focus on composers with ties to Philadelphia.
Find out more »