Annandale-on-Hudson, New York— The Orchestra Now (TŌN) continues its season at Bard Fisher Center on April 6 and 7 with Verdi’s celebrated Requiem led by TON’s music director, Leon Botstein. The immense work is set for double choir and orchestra, and will feature soprano Margaret Tigue, mezzo-soprano Chloë Schaaf, and bass Wei Wu.

The work was written in memory of the Italian writer Verdi greatly admired who had a great influence on Italian Romanticism, Alessandro Manzoni. It received its premiere on the first anniversary of Manzoni’s death at the San Marco Church in Milan, conducted by Verdi himself. The powerful "Libera me" movement which draws the work to a close was originally composed by Verdi as part of an unsuccessful project he led to write Massa Per of Rossini with 12 other composers, in memory of Rossini shortly after his passing. After its premiere, the Requiem was quickly noticed and performed in concert halls around the world, which was generally unusual for religious music.

Tickets: $25–$35, available online fishercenter.bard.edu, by calling the box office at 845.758.7900, or in person at the Fisher Center box office.

Details of the Orchestra’s full season are available here.

Saturday April 6, 2019 at 8 pm
Sunday April 7, 2019 at 2 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Margaret Tigue, soprano, VAP ’20
Chloë Schaaf, mezzo-soprano, VAP ’19
Wei Wu, bass
Members of Bard Conservatory Orchestra, Bard College Chamber Singers, and Bard Festival Chorale
James Bagwell, choral director
Verdi: Requiem

TŌN’s next concerts on the Fisher Center Series with music director Leon Botstein are on April 27 and 28, with De Profundis: Out of the Depths.

The Orchestra Now
The Orchestra Now (TŌN) is a group of over 60 vibrant young musicians from 14 different countries around the globe: the United States, Bulgaria, China, France, Hungary, Malaysia, Mongolia, Peru, Poland, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Venezuela. All share a mission to make orchestral music relevant to 21st-century audiences. Hand-picked from hundreds of applicants from the world’s leading conservatories—including The Juilliard School, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Royal Conservatory of Brussels, and the Curtis Institute of Music—the members of TŌN are not only rousing audiences with their critically acclaimed performances, but also enlightening curious minds by presenting on-stage introductions and demonstrations at concerts, offering program notes written from the musicians’ perspective, and connecting with patrons through one-on-one discussions during intermissions. To date, members of TŌN have earned positions with orchestras across the United States and in Europe. Some play regularly with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony.

Conductor, educator, and music historian Leon Botstein founded TŌN in 2015 as a master’s degree program at Bard College, where he also serves as president. The Orchestra is in residence at Bard’s Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, offering multiple concerts there each season as well as participating in the annual Bard Music Festival. The Orchestra also performs numerous concert series at major venues in New York, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as a schedule of free performances across New York City boroughs. TŌN has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, including Fabio Luisi, Neeme Järvi, Gerard Schwarz, and JoAnn Falletta.

For upcoming activities and more detailed information about the musicians, 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. 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. In 2018, he has assumed artistic directorship of Campus Grafenegg and Grafenegg Academy in Austria. 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 LeonBotstein.com.

Eleanor Davis
Director of Public Relations
Bard College
Phone: 845.758.7512
Email: [email protected]

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