Orchestra of St. Luke’s 50th anniversary winter/spring includes New York debut by Raphaël Pichon and U.S. premiere of his Mein Traum; Bernard Labadie leading St. John Passion in concluding performances as Principal Conductor

(January 2025) – Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) – lauded for its “exceptionally fine and committed music-making” (The New York Times) – celebrates its 50th anniversary this season. Performances in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage this winter and spring include 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); and a special performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Kaddish” Symphony conducted by James Conlon to mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz (Jan 29). Two more Carnegie mainstage programs mark Bernard Labadie’s final season as OSL Principal Conductor, with the first featuring pianist Marc-André Hamelin in Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto alongside works by Mozart and Haydn (Feb 13), followed by Bach’s St. John Passion with Labadie’s own La Chapelle de Québec(April 10).

Two concerts remain in OSL’s 2024–25 Chamber Music Series, performed in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall: a program of wind music by Barber, Mozart and Strauss, along with Beethoven’s B-flat Piano Trio, with special guest pianist Zhu Wang (March 5); and the New York premiere of Richard Danielpour and Rita Dove’s A Standing Witness featuring mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and pianist Michael Boriskin (April 16). 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).

Outside Carnegie Hall, the innovative new music “Visionary Sounds” series at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music includes a program curated and featuring multiple compositions by Augusta Read Thomas (April 30); and a concert featuring signature works by Courtney Bryan and John Zorn (Feb 19). Finally, in a season partially devoted to spotlighting the work of twelve women composers and creators, the music of Chinese American composer Chen Yi is the focus of the annual NYC Five Borough Tour (March 23–29).

OSL on Carnegie Hall’s mainstage

In a recent profile of conductor Raphaël Pichon, The New York Times noted that “Pichon … in a short time has become not just one of the most interesting younger conductors working with period instruments, but also one of the most interesting conductors around.”

See Pichon discuss the upcoming performance with OSL

Pichon’s original program, Mein Traum – released on the Harmonia Mundi label in 2022 and characterized as “evanescent, bewitching” in The New York Times – is based on an image Schubert wrote down in 1822: “With a heart full of infinite love for those who spurned that love, I wandered.” Anchoring the program with Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony, Pichon – in collaboration with his Pygmalion ensemble and French baritone Stéphane Degout – chose narrative complements in the form of excerpts from the same composer’s stage works, as well as arias from Weber’s operas and Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust, weaving a vast Romantic tapestry around Schubert’s major themes. Soloists for OSL’s U.S. premiere performance – which also marks Pichon’s New York debut – are baritone Christian Gerhaher, who achieved a triumph last fall in the Metropolitan Opera’s Tannhäuser, and soprano Ying Fang, a frequent collaborator with Pichon, known for a “voice that can stop time, pure and rich and open and consummately expressive” (Financial Times) (Jan 23).

See Fang expand on her experiences with OSL and Pichon

Later in January, OSL will give a special Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Kaddish” Symphony conducted by James Conlon to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, featuring soprano Diana Newman, theBard 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).

Bernard Labadie conducts two of the Carnegie mainstage programs this winter and spring. First, he teams up with his longtime friend and collaborator Marc-André Hamelinfor a performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto, along with Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 and the introduction to Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ (Feb 13). For Labadie’s final performance as Principal Conductor, he concludes his series of major Bach choral masterworks with the towering St. John Passion. Philippe Sly – known for his “beautiful, blooming tone and magnetic stage presence” (San Francisco Chronicle) – reprises the role of Jesus he performed in OSL’s St. Matthew Passion in 2022. Tenor Andrew Haji, praised by the Calgary Herald for “lyric beauty and carrying power,” sings the Evangelist. Soprano Joélle Harvey, who was featured in last season’s OSL Bach Festival, countertenor Hugh Cutting, tenor Samuel Boden, and baritone William Thomas complete the roster. The celebrated La Chapelle de Québec chorus, founded by Labadie in 1985 and directed by him ever since, joins OSL for the performance (April 10).

See Labadie discuss the upcoming performance of the St. John Passion

Labadie’s seven-year tenure with OSL has been the most significant of any OSL titled conductor. The fifth to step into that role, Labadie followed in the distinguished footsteps of Sir Roger Norrington (1990-1994), Sir Charles Mackerras (1998-2001), Sir Donald Runnicles (2001-2007) and Pablo Heras-Casado (2011-2017). He led a substantial OSL expansion at Carnegie Hall with the creation of the OSL Bach Festival in 2019, led a cycle of major Bach chorale masterpieces at Carnegie Hall including the St. Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio and the upcoming St. John Passion, conducted more concerts with OSL than any other Principal Conductor, and received consistently glowing praise in the press. Following the pandemic, New York audiences embraced Labadie’s programs, resulting in box office records. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Manhattan School of Music (MSM), conducted the MSM Orchestra and gave masterclasses at both MSM and The Juilliard School, and regularly worked with Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York’s only youth orchestra under the umbrella of a professional orchestra.

Justin Davidson, in New York magazine, called OSL “one of our perpetually underappreciated hometown groups,” noting after OSL’s 2022 St. Matthew Passion: “The result was a luminous rarity: a baroque behemoth performed by a big ensemble with delicacy, lightness, and paschal fervor. … Labadie, the orchestra’s [principal conductor] and a Bach specialist, managed that complex flow of beauty and rage with a mastery worthy of DeMille.” The New York Times agreed: “Under Labadie’s baton, the music was unwaveringly measured but balanced; its flashes of grandeur didn’t need to be overstated to land powerfully.”

With Labadie’s imminent departure, the search for OSL’s sixth Principal Conductor has begun, with the search committee comprising board, musicians, and staff.

About Orchestra of St. Luke’s

Celebrating 50 years during the 2024-2025 season, Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) features New York City’s most talented concert musicians and makes its artistic home at Carnegie Hall, where it 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 Principal Conductor in 2018 and steps down in 2025, concluding an expansive and critically acclaimed tenure. OSL’s annual season features 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 and continues to operate in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood. OSL proudly collaborates with Paul Taylor Dance Company for their 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 on 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 historically underrepresented groups 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 for 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 or follow @OSLmusic on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, or TiKTok.

Orchestra of St. Luke’s: winter/spring 2025

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: Symphony No. 3, “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, Charlotte Mundy, and Kirsten Sollek
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, Mozart, and Strauss”
St. Luke’s 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)
“J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion”
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Bernard Labadie, Principal Conductor
Evangelist: Andrew Haji, tenor
Jesus: Philippe Sly, bass-baritone
Soprano: Joélle Harvey
Countertenor: Hugh Cutting
Tenor: Samuel Boden
Bass: 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”
St. Luke’s 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
“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