Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin Makes Our City, Your Orchestra Debut at William Way LGBT Community Center
Additional Partner Locations Include Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), UrbanPromise, Share Food Program, US Naturalization Ceremonies, Michael Gardner’s Daddy Dressed Me at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, and Relish
(Philadelphia, March 31, 2021)—The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Our City, Your Orchestra series concludes its first season with new online concerts performed by small ensembles and recorded without audiences at iconic locations and Black-owned businesses throughout the region. Upcoming episodes feature collaborations with Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), UrbanPromise, Share Food Program, naturalization ceremonies with Philadelphia’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Michael Gardner’s Daddy Dressed Me at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Relish restaurant, and William Way LGBT Community Center. Our City, Your Orchestra episodes are available for FREE (with registration) on a biweekly basis at www.philorch.org/ocyo and www.facebook.com/philorch, beginning Monday, April 5, 2021, through Monday, June 28, 2021, at 7 PM ET. The series will return with monthly installments in the fall.
Central to the Orchestra’s mission to connect with communities through music and dialogue, Our City, Your Orchestra celebrates the diversity and vibrancy of the Philadelphia region. Musical selections are chosen specifically for, and in collaboration with, each organization to showcase its unique mission, and interviews help tell the inspiring stories of each location.
First Associate Concertmaster Juliette Kang, Associate Principal Viola Kirsten Johnson, and Associate Principal Cello Priscilla Lee visit PAWS, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving Philadelphia’s homeless and at-risk pets. PAWS is the city’s largest rescue partner and provider of affordable, basic veterinary care for pet owners and rescue organizations that cannot otherwise access it. The program includes the second movement of Beethoven’s String Trio No. 1 and the fourth movement of Mozart’s Divertimento in E-flat major, K. 563.
The series continues at UrbanPromise with Concertmaster David Kim, violinist Daniel Han, violist Anna Marie Ahn Petersen, and Assistant Principal Cello Yumi Kendall. Located in Camden, NJ, and founded in 1988, UrbanPromise is a community-based nonprofit youth organization that serves 500 children and teens each year, providing after-school programs, summer camps, two private schools, teen job training, experiential learning and programs that promote well-being among children, youth, and families. In addition to selections performed by the quartet, several international UrbanPromise students join the ensemble for performances of traditional African songs “Matamando” and “Everybody Testifies You Are Good.”
The next episode highlights Share Food Program, the largest hunger relief organization in the region. In the last nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Share Food Program has distributed more than 50 million pounds of food in and around Philadelphia, from its five-acre warehouse at 29th Street and West Hunting Park Ave. in North Philadelphia. Share Food Program also manages the National School Lunch Program for more than 305,000 children in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs who qualify for free or reduced lunch. Principal Horn Jennifer Montone, Associate Principal Horn Jeffrey Lang, and horn player Ernesto Tovar Torres perform. Musicians and staff from the Orchestra can also be seen volunteering on site to pack boxes of food for delivery.
Julia Li (violin), Che-Hung Chen (viola), and Yumi Kendall (assistant principal cello) perform at Philadelphia's United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during three naturalization ceremonies presided by Joel H. Slomsky, senior US District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The trio performs music that celebrates the US as a nation of immigrants and diverse cultures, from MacDowell’s“To a Wild Rose,” from Ten Woodland Sketches to the first movement of Dvořák’sMiniatures. The program also features interviews with newly naturalized citizens.
In celebration of Father’s Day, the Orchestra teams up with Michael Gardner’s Daddy Dressed Me for a special episode filmed at The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM). Gardner began sewing in 2014 as a way to bond with his nine-year-old daughter, Ava, while looking for a new creative challenge. He created Daddy Dressed Me to help Ava build self-esteem and establish confidence in herself and her abilities. Principal Bass Harold Robinson, Principal Bassoon Daniel Matsukawa, Principal Horn Jennifer Montone, Associate Principal Trumpet Jeffrey Curnow, and Principal Timpani Don Liuzzi perform upbeat music that sets the scene for a fashion show in the FWM galleries featuring Ava modeling clothing designed by her father, including pieces made with custom fabric designed and screen-printed in FWM’s renowned print studios.
A special installment of Our City, Your Orchestra celebrates Juneteenth at Relish, a restaurant that celebrates southern cuisine and performances of live jazz while supporting the arts and culture community in Northwest Philadelphia. In honor of Juneteenth, the episode brings attention to the importance of Black-owned business ownership as integral to the ongoing fight for freedom and will include interviews with local change makers about the liberating power of Black-owned business. The repertoire will include works by Black composers and jazz arrangements.
The first season of Our City, Your Orchestra culminates with a visit to the William Way LGBT Community Center in celebration of Pride Month in June. The William Way Community Center encourages, supports, and advocates for the well-being and acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community of Philadelphia through service, recreational, educational, and cultural programming. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will be joined by GRAMMY-winning composer and Philadelphia resident Jennifer Higdon and members of the Orchestra.
Our City, Your Orchestra is supported in part by the William Penn Foundation, with additional support provided through the Connelly Foundation, the PNC Arts Alive initiative, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Our City, Your Orchestra
Spring 2021
Monday, April 5 7:00 PM
PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society)
Juliette Kang Violin
Kirsten Johnson Viola
Priscilla Lee Cello
Beethoven Second movement, from String Trio No. 1
Mozart Fourth movement, from Divertimento in E-flat major, K. 563
Juliette Kang holds the Joseph and Marie Field Chair.
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Monday, April 19 7:00 PM
UrbanPromise
David Kim Violin
Daniel Han Violin
Anna Marie Ahn Petersen Viola
Yumi Kendall Cello
Bach First movement, from Violin Sonata No. 2
Dvořák First movement, from String Quartet No. 12 (“American”)
Traditional “Matamando”
Traditional “Everybody Testifies You Are Good”
Anna Marie Ahn Petersen holds the Piasecki Family Chair.
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Monday, May 3 7:00 PM
Share Food Program
Jennifer Montone Horn
Jeffrey Lang Horn
Ernesto Tovar Torres Horn
East “How Merrily We Live,” from Old English Love Songs
Mendelssohn “Lift Thine Eyes to the Mountains,” from Elijah
Mozart Second movement, from Divertimento No. 4
Schneider Trio No. 7, from 18 Trios
Reicha Trio No. 21, from 24 Trios
Blake and Morgan “Bugle Call” Rag
Jennifer Montone holds the Gray Charitable Trust Chair.
Jeffrey Lang holds the Hannah L. and J. Welles Henderson Chair.
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Monday, May 17 7:00 PM
Philadelphia's United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Julia Li Violin
Che-Hung Chen Viola
Yumi Kendall Cello
Traditional “Great Day,” from Three Spirituals
MacDowell “To a Wild Rose,” from Ten Woodland Sketches
Dohnányi Fifth movement, from Serenade
Dvořák First movement, from Miniatures
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Monday, June 14 7:00 PM
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
Harold Robinson Bass
Daniel Matsukawa Bassoon
Jennifer Montone Horn
Jeffrey Curnow Trumpet
Don Liuzzi Percussion
Program TBA
Harold Robinson holds the Carole and Emilio Gravagno Chair.
Daniel Matsukawa holds the Richard M. Klein Chair.
Jennifer Montone holds the Gray Charitable Trust Chair.
Jeffrey Curnow holds the Gary and Ruthanne Schlarbaum Chair.
Don Liuzzi holds the Dwight V. Dowley Chair.
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Monday, June 19 7:00 PM
Relish
Musicians TBA
Program TBA
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Monday, June 28 7:00 PM
The William Way LGBT Community Center
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Jennifer Higdon
Program TBA
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About The Philadelphia Orchestra
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