Nov 14: Celebrating 50th anniversary, Orchestra of St. Luke’s opens Carnegie mainstage season with conductor Louis Langrée in house debut and cellist Sterling Elliott
(October 2024) – Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) – lauded for its “exceptionally fine and committed music-making” (The New York Times) and celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024-25 – gives its first performance of the season in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage led by conductor Louis Langrée in his Carnegie Hall debut, with cellist Sterling Elliott as guest soloist. One of 13 performances in Carnegie Hall’s three venues this season, the concert also features the Carnegie Hall debut of Valerie Coleman’s Fanfare for Uncommon Times, an OSL commission (Nov 14).
See Louis Langrée discussing OSL
OSL’s President and Executive Director James Roe comments:
“For two decades, French conductor Louis Langrée has created a deep and abiding relationship with New York audiences as Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival, in guest appearances with The Met Opera and New York Philharmonic, and on tour with the Cincinnati Symphony at Lincoln Center. Orchestra of St. Luke’s – New York’s hometown band – is thrilled to present Langrée in his Carnegie Hall debut, opening our 50th anniversary season. Since our first performance there in 1983, Orchestra of St. Luke’s has performed at Carnegie Hall more than any other orchestra and we look forward to sharing this significant debut with Louis’s many fans in New York City.
“Our concert opens with Valerie Coleman’s Fanfare for Uncommon Times, which Orchestra of St. Luke’s commissioned and premiered as the first music we played for a live audience following the pandemic lockdown. Louis has championed this work as well, and it makes for a celebratory start to this milestone season for St. Luke’s and important debut for Louis Langrée.”
OSL’s 2024-25 season in Carnegie Hall will feature four other stellar performances on the mainstage: the New York debut of conductor Raphaël Pichon, who leads the U.S. premiere of his evening-length concert of Schubert and his contemporaries, Mein Traum(Jan 23); two programs that mark Bernard Labadie’s final season as OSL Principal Conductor, first featuring pianist Marc-André Hamelin in Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, alongside works by Mozart and Haydn (Feb 13) and then Bach’s St. John Passion with Labadie’s own La Chapelle de Québec (April 10); and a special performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Kaddish” Symphony conducted by James Conlonto mark 80 years since the Holocaust ended with the liberation of Auschwitz, featuring soprano Diana Newman, the Bard Festival Chorale, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Bernstein’s choral symphony sets the text “A Dialogue with God” by the late Samuel Pisar – himself a survivor of Auschwitz – and this performance is narrated by his wife, Judith Pisar, and daughter, Leah Pisar (Jan 29).
During its 50th anniversary season, OSL also gives numerous performances on Carnegie Hall’s other two stages. In Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, three programs remain in OSL’sChamber Music Series: celebrated bandoneon player Julien Labro plays music by Piazzolla and others (Dec 11); guest pianist Zhu Wang joins in Beethoven’s B-flat Piano Trio, on a program that features evergreen music for winds by Barber, Mozart, and Strauss (March 5); and superstar mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and pianist Michael Boriskin are featured in the New York premiere of Richard Danielpour and Rita Dove’s A Standing Witness (April 16). Meanwhile, the annual OSL Bach Festival in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall juxtaposes the Baroque master with three other composers: Vivaldi (June 3), French Baroque violinist and composer Jean-Marie Leclair (June 10), and Mozart (June 17), with featured guest artists conductor Lionel Meunier, countertenor Reginald Mobley, soprano Gemma Nha, violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte, and pianist Angela Hewitt. The fourth and final performance of the festival will feature OSL performing all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (June 24).
Louis Langrée leads OSL on Carnegie’s mainstage
Orchestra of St. Luke’s opens its 50th Anniversary Season with the long-awaited Carnegie Hall debut of Louis Langrée. Having recently concluded a “transformative” (The New York Times) decade as Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony, Langrée is also beloved by New York City audiences for his artistic leadership as Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival from 2003 to 2023. This tenure was, as The New York Times declared, “by any measure a triumph of ensemble-building and musical curiosity,” capping a “quietly remarkable” career that has been “a steady climb of prestige and quality.” Langrée leads OSL in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, along with Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in D with soloist Sterling Elliott, who performed as a member of OSL’s cello section as a Juilliard student.
See Sterling Elliott sharing his thoughts on the upcoming performance
Opening the program is Fanfare for Uncommon Times by frequent OSL collaborator Valerie Coleman, which was commissioned by the orchestra in 2021 (Nov 14).
About Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Celebrating 50 years during the 2024-2025 season, New York City’s Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) and its acclaimed concert musicians make their artistic home in Carnegie Hall, where OSL has performed more than any other orchestra since its premiere there in 1983. Bernard Labadie, an internationally renowned specialist in 18th-century music, was named OSL’s Principal Conductor in 2018 and will step down in 2025, concluding an expansive and critically commended tenure. OSL’s annual season features a concert series in each of Carnegie Hall’s three venues as well as the Visionary Sounds and DeGaetano Composition Institute programs focused on contemporary composers at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, the rehearsal, recording, and performance facility OSL built in 2011 in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood. OSL proudly collaborates with Paul Taylor Dance Company in its Lincoln Center season each year and performs with a variety of artistic partners at venues throughout the city and beyond. Founded in 1974 when a group of virtuoso chamber musicians began performing together in Greenwich Village at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, the ensemble later expanded into an orchestra before catching fire in New York’s classical music scene. OSL has participated in 120 recordings, four of which have won Grammy Awards, has commissioned more than 75 new works, and has given more than 200 world, U.S., and New York City premieres. OSL champions composers from groups historically underrepresented in classical music. In recent seasons, it has presented works by Kinan Azmeh, Margaret Bonds, Valerie Coleman, Julius Eastman, Wynton Marsalis, Florence Price, Rita Dove, and Chen Yi, among others. Central to OSL’s mission, the Education and Community Engagement program presents free concerts to thousands of New York City public school students each year; offers the 120-student-strong Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s (YOSL), the city’s only youth orchestra under the umbrella of a professional group; provides a mentorship program for pre-professional musicians; and brings accessible concerts to all five boroughs. To learn more, visit OSLmusic.org and follow @OSLmusic on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, TiKTok, and YouTube.
Orchestra of St. Luke’s: 2024-25 Season
Nov 5–24
New York, NY
Paul Taylor Dance Company Season
Lincoln Center (David H. Koch Theater)
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Schedule subject to change:
Nov 5
Aureole, music by George Frideric Handel
Dust, music by Francis Poulenc
Echo, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by Kevin Puts with special guests Time For Three
Nov 6 (Gala)
Chaconne in Winter, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by J.S. Bach and Justin Vernon
with special guests Time For Three
Dedicated to You, choreo. by Robert Battle, music by J.S. Bach and Sarah Vaughan
Promethean Fire, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 7
Arden Court, music by William Boyce
Lost, Found and Lost, “Elevator music” re-orchestrated by Donald York
Syzygy, music by Donald York
Nov 8
Aureole, music by George Frideric Handel
Vive La Loïe!, choreo. by Jody Sperling, in homage to Loïe Fuller, music by Max Richter
Recess, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by Errollyn Wallen
Funny Papers, music of Novelty Tunes
Nov 9m
Dust, music by Francis Poulenc
Funny Papers, music of Novelty Tunes
Syzygy, music by Donald York
Nov 9
Arden Court, music by William Boyce
Dust, music by Francis Poulenc
Promethean Fire, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 10m
Aureole, music by George Frideric Handel
Vive La Loïe!, choreo. by Jody Sperling, in homage to Loie Fuller, music by Max Richter
Lost, Found and Lost, “Elevator music” re-orchestrated by Donald York
Syzygy, music by Donald York
Nov 12
Aureole, music by George Frideric Handel
Chaconne in Winter, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by J.S. Bach and Justin Vernon
with special guests Time For Three
Lost, Found and Lost, “Elevator music” re-orchestrated by Donald York
Rush Hour, choreo. by Larry Keigwin, music by Adam Crystal
Nov 13
Echo, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by Kevin Puts with special guests Time For Three
The Word, music by David Israel
Promethean Fire, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 14
Images, music by Claude Debussy
Chaconne in Winter, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by J.S. Bach and Justin Vernon
with special guests Time For Three
Vespers, choreo. by Ulysses Dove, music by Mikel Rouse
Funny Papers, music of Novelty Tunes
Nov 15
Echo, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by Kevin Puts with special guests Time For Three
The Word, music by David Israel
Rush Hour, choreo. by Larry Keigwin, music by Adam Crystal
Nov 16m
Arden Court, music by William Boyce
Vive La Loïe!, choreo. by Jody Sperling, in homage to Loïe Fuller, music by Max Richter
Syzygy, music by Donald York
Nov 16
Aureole, music by George Frideric Handel
Clair de Lune, choreo. by Jody Sperling in homage to Loïe Fuller, music by Claude Debussy
Vespers, choreo. by Ulysses Dove, music by Mikel Rouse
Esplanade, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 17m
Images, music by Claude Debussy
The Word, music by David Israel
Promethean Fire, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 19
Arden Court, music by William Boyce
Clair de Lune, choreo. by Jody Sperling in homage to Loïe Fuller, music by Claude Debussy
Recess, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by Errollyn Wallen
Esplanade, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 20
Images, music by Claude Debussy
Dust, music by Francis Poulenc
Promethean Fire, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 21
Arden Court, music by William Boyce
The Word, music by David Israel
Syzygy, music by Donald York
Nov 22
Aureole, music by George Frideric Handel
Vive La Loïe!, choreo. by Jody Sperling, in homage to Loïe Fuller, music by Max Richter
Recess, choreo. by Lauren Lovette, music by Errollyn Wallen
Esplanade, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 23m
Dust, music by Francis Poulenc
Clair de Lune, choreo. by Jody Sperling in homage to Loie Fuller, music by Claude Debussy
Vespers, choreo. by Ulysses Dove, music by Mikel Rouse
Funny Papers, music of Novelty Tunes
Nov 23
Images, music by Claude Debussy
Lost, Found and Lost, “Elevator music” re-orchestrated by Donald York
Rush Hour, choreo. by Larry Keigwin, music by Adam Crystal
Nov 24m
Arden Court, music by William Boyce
The Word, music by David Israel
Esplanade, music by J.S. Bach
Nov 14
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage)
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
“Louis Langrée Conducts Beethoven”
Louis Langrée, conductor
Sterling Elliott, cello
Valerie COLEMAN: Fanfare for Uncommon Times (2021 OSL Commission)
HAYDN: Cello Concerto No. 2 in D
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7
Dec 4
New York, NY
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music (Cary Hall)
OSL Presents: Visionary Sounds
“Spells and Revelations”
John Brancy, baritone
Program to include:
Matthew AUCOIN: Revelations of Divine Love, Chapter III for baritone and chamber ensemble (world premiere)
Freya WALEY-COHEN Selections from Spell Book
Dec 11
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall)
OSL Presents: Chamber Music Series
“Piazzolla with Julien Labro”
OSL Chamber Ensemble
Julien Labro, bandoneon
PIAZZOLLA: Contemporáneo, Triunfal, Concierto para quinteto, Tres minutos con la realidad, Celos, Oblivion
GINASTERA: Doce Preludios Americanos, Op. 12
Dino SALUZZI: Minguito
Diego SCHISSI: Astor de Pibe
Dec 11–13
New York, NY
Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture
Free School Concerts
“The Sounds Around Us with Kinan Azmeh”
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Tito Muñoz, conductor
Aya Aziz, host
Kinan Azmeh, clarinet
John Hadfield, percussion
KINAN AZMEH: Suite for Improvisor & Orchestra
ELLINGTON (arr. A. ROITSTEIN): Harlem Airshaft
BARTÓK (arr. A WILLNER): Romanian Folk Dances
SOLHI AL-WADI: Love Poem
Jan 23
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage)
“Mein Traum (My Dream): Schubert, R. Schumann, C. Weber”
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Raphaël Pichon, conductor
Christian Gerhaher, baritone
Ying Fang, soprano
Ensemble Altera
Christopher Lowrey, Artistic Director
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759, “Unfinished”
Songs and arias of SCHUBERT, SCHUMANN, AND WEBER
Jan 29
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage)
“Bernstein’s ‘Kaddish’”
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Bard Festival Chorale
Brooklyn Youth Chorus
James Conlon, conductor
Diana Newman, soprano
Judith and Leah Pisar, narrators
BERNSTEIN: Kaddish
Feb 13
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage)
“Marc-André Hamelin Performs ‘Emperor’”
Bernard Labadie, Principal Conductor
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
HAYDN: Introduzione from The Seven Last Words of Christ, Hob. XX: 2
MOZART: Symphony No. 39 in E-flat, K. 543
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
Feb 19
New York, NY
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music (Cary Hall)
OSL Presents: Visionary Sounds
“Rites and Visions”
Vocalists Eliza Bagg, Catherine Brookman, Kayleigh Butcher, Kirsten Sollek, and Charlotte Mundy
John ZORN: The Holy Visions
Catherine BROOKMAN (arr. Timo Andres): The Narrows, The Falls
Courtney BRYAN: Requiem
March 5
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall)
OSL Presents: Chamber Music Series
“Beethoven, Barber and Mozart”
OSL Chamber Ensemble
Zhu Wang, piano
BARBER: Summer Music, Op. 31
MOZART: Quintet for piano and winds in E-flat, K. 452
BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio in B-flat, Op. 11, “Gassenhauer”
STRAUSS (arr. David Carp): Till Eulenspiegel
March 23–29
New York, NY
OSL Presents: NYC Five Borough Tour
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
“The Music of Chen Yi”
St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble
Chen Yi, composer and speaker
Jeffrey Zeigler, cello
Chen Tao, xiao
Liu Li, guqin
Chen YI: Sprout
Zhou LONG: Chinese Folk Songs
Chen YI: Sound of the Five
Works for traditional Chinese instruments
March 23: Snug Harbor Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island
March 25: Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Bronx
March 27: New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (Lincoln Center), Manhattan
March 28: Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library, Brooklyn
March 29: Flushing Town Hall, Queens
April 10
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage)
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
“J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion”
Bernard Labadie, Principal Conductor
Evangelist: Andrew Haji, tenor
Jesus: Philippe Sly, bass-baritone
Soprano: Joélle Harvey
Countertenor: Hugh Cutting
Tenor: Samuel Boden
Baritone: William Thomas
La Chapelle de Québec
BACH: St. John Passion
April 16
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall)
OSL Presents: Chamber Music Series
“Susan Graham Performs A Standing Witness”
OSL Chamber Ensemble
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Michael Boriskin, piano
Richard DANIELPOUR: A Standing Witness (New York premiere)
April 28
New York, NY
GALA
Honoring OSL musicians
April 30
New York, NY
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music (Cary Hall)
OSL Presents: Visionary Sounds, Visionary Women
“Thoughts and Riddles”
Curated by Augusta Read Thomas
Augusta READ THOMAS: Bebop Riddle V
Joan TOWER: For Marianne
Tyson GHOLSTON DAVIS: Grey Fireworks
Chen YI: Night Thoughts
Augusta READ THOMAS: …a circle around the sun
Paul NOVAK: entwining
Augusta READ THOMAS: Toft Serenade
May 8
New York, NY
Baryshnikov Arts Center (Jerome Robbins Theater)
(co-produced w/ Baryshnikov Arts)
Jennifer Tipton, lighting designer
St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble
Program to include
VIVALDI: The Four Seasons
Angélica NEGRÓN: Marejada
Anna CLYNE: Woman Holding a Balance
June 3
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall)
OSL Presents: OSL Bach Festival
“J.S. Bach’s Stabat Mater”
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Lionel Meunier, conductor
Gemma Nha, soprano
Reginald Mobley, countertenor
VIVALDI: Nulla in mundo pax sincera, RV 630
VIVALDI: Nisi Dominus
BACH: “Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden,” BWV 1083 (arr. of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater)
June 10
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall)
OSL Presents: OSL Bach Festival
“Bach & the French Baroque”
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin & conductor
Program to include:
BACH: Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041
LECLAIR: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 7, No. 5
June 17
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall)
OSL Presents: OSL Bach Festival
“J.S. Bach and Mozart”
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Angela Hewitt, piano & conductor
BACH: Concerto in G minor, BWV 1058
MOZART: Concerto No. 17 in G, K. 453
MOZART: Quintet for piano and winds, K. 452
BACH: Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052
June 24
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall)
OSL Presents: OSL Bach Festival
“J.S. Bach’s Complete Brandenburg Concerti”
Orchestra of St. Luke’s (unconducted)
BACH: Brandenburg Concertos 1-6
July 29
New York, NY
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music (Cary Hall)
World Premieres for Orchestra
DeGaetano Composition Institute composers (OSL commissions)
World premieres for chamber orchestra by LUKÁŠ JANATA, PAUL NOVAK, SOFIA JEN OUYANG, and ZIHAN WU