Annandale-on Hudson, New York, January 10, 2017 - The Orchestra Now (TŌN) will offer a busy schedule of five concerts over the 2017 winter season, including Brahms, Menzel & Klinger: The Canvas of Sound, the second installment of its Sight & Sound series at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (January 29); and a FREE Around Town concert at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts featuring Blue Hill Troupe music director Zachary Schwartzman on the podium with works by Glinka, Messiaen, and Tchaikovsky (March 5). In a special off-series event, a semi-staged production of Leonard Bernstein’s beloved opera Candide, led by TŌN associate conductor James Bagwell, will be given two performances at the Fisher Center at Bard College (February 25-26). Also at the Fisher Center, guest conductor Federico Cortese, music director of Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, will lead a program of Debussy, Barber, and Franck (February 4-5); and Zachary Schwartzman will conduct the Orchestra in another FREE concert at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Mass. (March 3).
 
Sight & Sound at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Sunday, Jan 29, 2017 at 2 PM
Brahms, Menzel & Klinger: The Canvas of Sound
Critic Eduard Hanslick called Brahms’ Third symphony “artistically the most nearly perfect” of his works. The composer was profoundly interested in painting and held two particular contemporaries in high regard:  Adolph Menzel and Max Klinger. The Third Symphony invites an exploration of the connection between the visual and the musical in Brahms’ world.  All events in this three-concert series include a discussion illustrated with on-screen artworks and orchestral excerpts, a full performance of the selected music, and an audience Q&A.
The Orchestra Now
Leon Botstein, conductor
Brahms: Symphony No. 3
The artwork of Adolph Menzel and Max Klinger
 
Tickets, starting at $30, may be purchased by calling the box office at 212.570.3949, in person at The Great Hall Box Office, or by visiting the website at metmuseum.org/sightandsound.
 
TŌN at The Fisher Center
Federico Cortese Conducts Debussy
Saturday, Feb 4, 2017 at 8 PM
Sunday, Feb 5, 2017 at 2 PM
The Orchestra Now performs an orchestral elegy, three symphonic sketches on the sea, and a symphony led by guest conductor Federico Cortese, also music director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra at Harvard University and Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras.
The Orchestra Now
Federico Cortese, conductor
Barber: Adagio for Strings
Debussy: La mer
Franck: Symphony in D minor
 
Tickets, starting at $25, may be purchased by calling the box office at 845.758.7900, in person at the Fisher Center box office, or by visiting the website at fishercenter.bard.edu.
 
A Fisher Center Special Event: Candide
Saturday, Feb 25, 2017 at 8 PM
Sunday, Feb 26, 2017 at 2 PM
TŌN associate conductor and academic director James Bagwell will lead two performances of this semi-staged concert performance of Leonard Bernstein’s acclaimed opera Candide, a special off-series event of The Orchestra Now at Bard College. 
The Orchestra Now
James Bagwell, conductor
Bard’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program, soloists
Bernstein: Candide
 
Tickets, starting at $25, may be purchased by calling the box office at 845.758.7900, in person at the Fisher Center box office, or by visiting the website at fishercenter.bard.edu.
 
TŌN at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, MA - FREE Performance
Daniel Arts Center – McConnell Theater
Friday, Mar 3, 2017 at 7:30 PM
Guest conductor Zachary Schwartzman, assistant conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra, leads  
TŌN in an overture, a symphony, and "four meditations for orchestra."
The Orchestra Now
Zachary Schwartzman, conductor
Glinka: Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila
Messiaen: L’Ascension
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4


Tickets: FREE reserved seat tickets available beginning Feb 3, 2017 at theorchestranow.org.
 
Around Town: Brooklyn - FREE Performance
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Sunday, Mar 5, 2017 at 3 PM
The Orchestra Now
Zachary Schwartzman, conductor
Glinka: Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila
Messiaen: L’Ascension
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
 
Tickets: All Around Town concerts are FREE.  No tickets are necessary for this performance. RSVP to express interest beginning Feb 3, 2017 at theorchestranow.org.

The Orchestra Now
Founded in 2015, The Orchestra Now (TŌN) is an innovative pre-professional orchestra and master’s degree program at Bard College that is preparing a new generation of musicians to break down barriers between modern audiences and great orchestral music of the past and present. Under the leadership of conductor, educator, and music historian Leon Botstein, TŌN mines the wealth of underperformed repertoire, reimagines traditional concert formats, and strives to make the experience of the performers a part of the listeners' experience. At a TŌN concert, musicians and audience inspire one another, each following their curiosity with a shared sense of adventure.
 
The musicians of TŌN hail from across the U.S. and eleven other countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Spain, Taiwan and Venezuela. In addition to a concert series at their home base—the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College—they perform multiple concerts each season at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and offer complimentary concerts at venues across the boroughs of New York City in the Around Town series. At The Metropolitan Museum of Art they join Leon Botstein in the series Sight & Sound as he explores the places where musical and visual expression meet, pairing orchestral works with masterpieces from the museum’s collection.
 
In addition to Mr. Botstein and TŌN’s associate conductor and academic director, James Bagwell, guest conductors in the first two seasons include Jindong Cai, Federico Cortese, JoAnn Falletta, Fabio Luisi, Gerard Schwarz, and Zachary Schwartzman.
 
For more information, visit theorchestranow.org.
 
Leon Botstein
Leon Botstein brings a renowned career as both a conductor and educator to his role as music director of The Orchestra Now, the pre-professional orchestra and master’s degree program founded by Bard College. He has been music director of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992, artistic co-director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival since their creation, and president of Bard College since 1975. He was the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra from 2003–2011, and is now conductor laureate. He will assume the artistic directorship of Grafenegg, Austria in 2018. Mr. Botstein is also a frequent guest conductor with orchestras around the globe, has made numerous recordings, and is a prolific author and music historian. He is the editor of the prestigious The Musical Quarterly, and has received many honors for his contributions to music.
 
More info online at LeonBotsteinMusicRoom.com.
 
Press Contact:
Pascal Nadon
Pascal Nadon Communications
Phone: 646.234.7088
Email: [email protected]