New York Chamber Symphony
Encyclopedia
The New York Chamber Symphony (NYCS) was an American
chamber orchestra
based in New York City
. It was active from 1977 to 2002.
It was founded in 1977 by its founding music director Gerard Schwarz
, and Omus Hirshbein. Its original name was the Y Chamber Symphony, and it was the resident ensemble at the 92nd Street Y
, where Hirshbein was director of music programming. The orchestra changed its name to the New York Chamber Symphony in 1986 and in 1996 moved to Lincoln Center
's Alice Tully Hall
. It also presented, each season, free concerts in Central Park under the sponsorship of the Naumburg Foundation, and conducted several tours.
The orchestra's membership included many of New York City's finest classical musicians, a number of whom teach at the Juilliard School
, the Peabody Conservatory
, Yale University
, and the Eastman School of Music
.
Guest artists who have performed with the New York Chamber Symphony early in their careers include Itzhak Perlman
, Yo-Yo Ma
, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
, Dawn Upshaw
, Emanuel Ax
, Gil Shaham
, Yefim Bronfman
, Joshua Bell
, Hélène Grimaud
, Horacio Gutiérrez
, and Hilary Hahn
.
It was also known for its performances of contemporary music
, commissioning works from composers such as David Diamond
, Bright Sheng
, Richard Danielpour
, and Aaron Jay Kernis
. Each year, it presented and recorded concerts of world premieres by American composers, under the sponsorship of the Master Musicians Collective. In 1993, the it won an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for its commitment to new music programs. In June 2000, the orchestra received a $100,000 challenge grant from the Knight Foundation to begin work on a new music/audience development project designed to accomplish the selection of new music by the orchestra musicians and their audiences.
The orchestra has released more than 20 recordings. It has recorded works by such American composers as Paul Creston
, David Diamond
, Howard Hanson
, and Walter Piston
, as part of Delos Records' American Masters Series. It has also recorded for the Angel/EMI, Nonesuch, Pro Arte, and RCA Red Seal labels. The orchestra has received three Grammy Award
nominations for its recordings of works by Aaron Copland
and Howard Hanson
.
In 2000, the Symphony was engaged to play for Brazil's 500th Anniversary celebration at Lincoln Center.
In 2002 the New York Chamber Symphony cancelled its upcoming (2002-2003) season after Schwarz announced his decision to resign his post as music director after the 2001-2002 season (the Symphony's 25th), in order to focus on his new position as director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
and his ongoing commitment to the Seattle Symphony
. A successor could not be found, nor funding secured to continue the Symphony's activities.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chamber orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It was active from 1977 to 2002.
It was founded in 1977 by its founding music director Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
, and Omus Hirshbein. Its original name was the Y Chamber Symphony, and it was the resident ensemble at the 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a multifaceted cultural institution and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, at the corner of E. 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Its full name is 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association...
, where Hirshbein was director of music programming. The orchestra changed its name to the New York Chamber Symphony in 1986 and in 1996 moved to Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
's Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
. It also presented, each season, free concerts in Central Park under the sponsorship of the Naumburg Foundation, and conducted several tours.
The orchestra's membership included many of New York City's finest classical musicians, a number of whom teach at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, the Peabody Conservatory
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, and the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
.
Guest artists who have performed with the New York Chamber Symphony early in their careers include Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
, Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Nadja Rose Catherine Salerno-Sonnenberg is an Italian-born classical violinist, author, and teacher. She is a United States citizen.-Career:...
, Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
, Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.-Early life:...
, Gil Shaham
Gil Shaham
-Biography:Gil Shaham was born in Urbana, Illinois, while his parents, Israeli scientists, were on an academic fellowship at the University of Illinois. His father Jacob was an astrophysicist, and his mother, Meira Diskin, was a cytogeneticist. His sister is the pianist Orli Shaham. He is a...
, Yefim Bronfman
Yefim Bronfman
Yefim "Fima" Naumovich Bronfman is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist.-Biography:He was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and emigrated to Israel at the age of 15...
, Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell
Joshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
, Hélène Grimaud
Hélène Grimaud
Hélène Grimaud is a French pianist.-Biography:Grimaud was born in Aix-en-Provence, France. Although her autobiography Variations Sauvages suggests a...
, Horacio Gutiérrez
Horacio Gutiérrez
Horacio Gutiérrez is a Cuban-American virtuoso classical pianist.-Early life and education:Gutiérrez was born in Havana, Cuba, the eldest of four children, to Tomás V. Gutiérrez and Josefina Fernandez Gutiérrez. His mother was his first piano teacher, and was herself, an accomplished pianist. His...
, and Hilary Hahn
Hilary Hahn
Hilary Hahn is an American violinist.Hahn was born in Lexington, Virginia. Beginning her studies when she was three years old at Baltimore's Peabody Institute, she was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age ten, and in 1991, made her major orchestral debut with the...
.
It was also known for its performances of contemporary music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
, commissioning works from composers such as David Diamond
David Diamond (composer)
David Leo Diamond was an American composer of classical music.-Life and career:He was born in Rochester, New York and studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music under Bernard Rogers, also receiving lessons from Roger Sessions in New York City and Nadia Boulanger in...
, Bright Sheng
Bright Sheng
Bright Sheng is a Chinese-American composer, conductor, and pianist. He has lived in the United States since 1982 and is on faculty at the University of Michigan. In 1999, the White House commissioned Sheng to compose a piece to honor the Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji at a state dinner hosted by...
, Richard Danielpour
Richard Danielpour
Richard Danielpour is an American composer.-Biography:Danielpour is born of Persian/Jewish descent. He studied at Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory of Music, and later at the Juilliard School of Music, where he received a DMA in composition in 1986...
, and Aaron Jay Kernis
Aaron Jay Kernis
Aaron Jay Kernis is an American composer and professor at the Yale School of Music.-Biography:Aaron Jay Kernis is Jewish, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory, and Yale University .,Notable works include the...
. Each year, it presented and recorded concerts of world premieres by American composers, under the sponsorship of the Master Musicians Collective. In 1993, the it won an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for its commitment to new music programs. In June 2000, the orchestra received a $100,000 challenge grant from the Knight Foundation to begin work on a new music/audience development project designed to accomplish the selection of new music by the orchestra musicians and their audiences.
The orchestra has released more than 20 recordings. It has recorded works by such American composers as Paul Creston
Paul Creston
Paul Creston was an Italian American composer of classical music.Born in New York City to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self‐taught as a composer. He was an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, initiated into the national honorary Alpha Alpha chapter...
, David Diamond
David Diamond (composer)
David Leo Diamond was an American composer of classical music.-Life and career:He was born in Rochester, New York and studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music under Bernard Rogers, also receiving lessons from Roger Sessions in New York City and Nadia Boulanger in...
, Howard Hanson
Howard Hanson
Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music...
, and Walter Piston
Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston Jr., , was an American composer of classical music, music theorist and professor of music at Harvard University whose students included Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, and Elliott Carter....
, as part of Delos Records' American Masters Series. It has also recorded for the Angel/EMI, Nonesuch, Pro Arte, and RCA Red Seal labels. The orchestra has received three Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations for its recordings of works by Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and Howard Hanson
Howard Hanson
Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music...
.
In 2000, the Symphony was engaged to play for Brazil's 500th Anniversary celebration at Lincoln Center.
In 2002 the New York Chamber Symphony cancelled its upcoming (2002-2003) season after Schwarz announced his decision to resign his post as music director after the 2001-2002 season (the Symphony's 25th), in order to focus on his new position as director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society is a society based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, that organises concerts and other events mainly in the field of classical music. The society is the second oldest of its type in the United Kingdom and its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic...
and his ongoing commitment to the Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
. A successor could not be found, nor funding secured to continue the Symphony's activities.
External links
- New York Chamber Symphony page
- Article about shutting down of New York Chamber Symphony
- American and Israeli Jews Performing Together in a conference entitled Counter-Harmonies: Jewish Experience in 20th-Century Music. In this conference Varda KotlerVarda KotlerVarda Kotler is an Israeli soprano singer, who in recent years has been performing and recording mainly in France.-Career:...
sang the piece: "Letters of Creation" with The New York Chamber Symphony conducted by Hugo WeisgallHugo WeisgallHugo David Weisgall was an American composer and conductor, known chiefly for his opera and vocal music compositions...
.