ABOUT THE CONCERT
After an absence of more than two decades, the renowned Orpheus Chamber Orchestra returns to Seligman – a stage they inaugurated in 1999 – with a program featuring pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and works by ___________.
“Playing with perfect unanimity, [Orpheus] performances have polish and spirit, and display an infectious love for making music.”
SNEAK PEEK
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a radical experiment in musical democracy, proving for fifty years what happens when exceptional artists gather with total trust in each other and faith in the creative process. In that age of co-ops and communes, the idealistic Orpheans snubbed the “corporate” path of symphony orchestras and learned how to play, plan and promote concerts as a true collective, with leadership roles rotating from the very first performance.
The sound of Orpheus is defined by its relationships, and guest artists have always been crucial partners in the process. Orpheus brings the best out of its collaborators, and those bonds deepen over time, as heard in the long arc of music-making with soloists such as Richard Goode and Branford Marsalis, and in the commitment to welcoming next-generation artists including Nobuyuki Tsujii and Tine Thing Helseth. Breaking down the barriers of classical repertoire, partnerships with Brad Mehldau, Wayne Shorter, Ravi Shankar, and many others from the sphere of jazz and beyond have redefined what a chamber orchestra can do.
At home in New York and in the many concert halls it visits in the U.S. and beyond, Orpheus begins its next fifty years with a renewed commitment to enriching and reflecting the surrounding community. It will continue its groundbreaking work with those living with Alzheimer’s Disease through Orpheus Reflections, and the Orpheus Academy as well as the Orpheus Leadership Institute spread the positive lessons of trust and democracy to young musicians and those in positions of power.
ISATA KANNEH-MASON, PIANO
Pianist Isata Kanneh–Mason, still in her twenties, is the eldest of the seven renowned Kanneh-Mason siblings, and is a celebrated recitalist, chamber musician and concerto artist in demand at concert halls and with orchestras worldwide.
In July 2024, she received stellar reviews for her opening night performance of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony. Isata went on to appear as concerto soloist with the European Union Youth Orchestra and Iván Fischer at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Highlights of her 2025/26 season include Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the City of Birmingham Symphony, the BBC Scottish Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. She also continues her collaboration with her brother, Sheku, across Europe as well as across the Americas, including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Montevideo, Boston, Washington D.C., Cleveland, and New York’s Lincoln Center.
Isata is a Decca Classics artist and has recorded four solo albums for the label. Among her awards are the coveted Leonard Bernstein Award from the Schleswig–Holstein Festival and an Opus Klassik award for best young artist.