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Music Director: Daniel Spalding
Principal Soloist: Gabriela Imreh
History & Mission Statement
Vision & Mission
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| Vision and Mission |
The Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra is committed to changing lives through music’s extraordinary power to communicate, and thus inspire, uplift, educate and entertain. We are dedicated to challenging classical performance boundaries by offering fresh interpretations of the standard chamber orchestra repertoire as well as the discovery of new and unusual works. Through live performances that are evocative, dramatic, and passionate we seek to develop new audiences of all ages for classical music.
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| Overview of the Organization |
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| History |
1991-1995
A Vision of High Artistic Standards
The Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1991 by Daniel Spalding and a group of young professional musicians, whose vision was to perform in the great European chamber orchestra tradition. During the first few years of operations the orchestra was engaged for several appearances on the concert series at the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey (where the orchestra made its debut in October of 1991), at Swarthmore College in a benefit for the Chester-Swarthmore Community Coalition, Trinity Cathedral (Trenton), Valentines Day Concerts at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia, and in keeping with the orchestra's mission to reach young audiences, youth concerts at Brookdale Community College, Westtown School and for the New Jersey State Museum. During this time, a Board was formed and the PVCO was incorporated as a non-profit (501)(3)(c) in December of 1993.
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1996-1999
Establishing a Home While Seeking National and International Recognition
The period 1996-1999 marked tremendous expansion in the scope of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra's activities. In January of 1996, PVCO made its New York debut to a standing ovation in a special program of Romanian music for the New York Library of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. That same year, seeking to become more known and to serve its home city, PVCO implemented its Center City Concert Series at First Presbyterian Church at 21st and Walnut. For the next 12 years, the PVCO was "in residence" at this location and dedicated itself to serving the center city neighborhood with a series of concerts every season. In addition to its concert activities, the orchestra recorded two CD's for the Connoisseur Society label, the first of which was a finalist for the 1998 Grammy nominations. With increased national and international attention coming its way, PVCO secured a contract with Community Concerts, Inc. for several national tours including a performance at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. During 1998-99 and with Gabriela Imreh as piano soloist, PVCO toured a total of six weeks throughout the western and mid-western states, all to high critical acclaim. The PVCO also made its first international appearances when it visited Brazil in the fall of 1998 for a nine-concert three week tour including concerts in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and other major cities.
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2000-2004
National & International Recognition and Service to Our Neighborhood and City
The 2000-2001 season continued with a busy schedule of touring. Four weeks of concerts throughout the eastern half of the USA with thirteen concerts in eight states from New Hampshire to Illinois, were followed by two concerts to open the prestigious Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts, and a one month long seventeen concert tour of Brazil including performing at several major international music festivals and on Brazilian television. The Center City Concert Series continued at the First Presbyterian Church. One of these concerts included the world premiere of "Limites" by the French composer Jean-Louis Petit, who dedicated the work to the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and traveled from Paris to conduct the performance. There were also outreach concerts including performing at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, the Media Theater in Media, PA, and the Westtown School. In the fall of 2002, the PVCO was able to implement for the first time its vision to bring free concerts to economically depressed minority neighborhoods with a performance at the Episcopal Church of the Advocate located in north Philadelphia. Continuing in its commitment to record significant chamber orchestra repertoire, PVCO recorded the music of American composer George Antheil for Naxos, one of the world's largest classical recording companies.
This CD was released in the fall of 2001 and received incredible praise throughout the world press, including being designated as "Editor's Choice" for Gramophone, chosen as "CD of the week" by BBC Radio 3 and the London Observer, and as one of the top 10 classical CD's of 2001 by the Chicago Tribune. It was also a best selling album in the United Kingdom, and continues to be one of Naxos' best selling CDs in the United States. The Center City Concert Series continued as well as a special effort to implement more outreach concerts at schools, retirement communities and economically depressed neighborhoods. During the 2003-2004 season, support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Huston Foundation, Five County Arts Fund, Yamaha Artist Services, and a number of private donors enabled the orchestra to bring classical music concerts to Episcopal Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia, Widener University in Chester, and to Trenton Central High School and Trinity Cathedral in New Jersey. The fall of 2004 saw the orchestra back on the road for some major national touring with appearances in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri, California, and Arizona.
One of many free NEA sponsored concerts at Church of the Advocate since 2003
2005-2008
The Center City Concert Series continued at the First Presbyterian Church with innovative concert programs that attracted the attention of Philadelphia’s classical music reviewers as well as the public. Major national and international tours continued to be a part of the orchestra's schedule. During 2005-2006, PVCO performed in the prestigious Composer Portrait Series at Miller Theater at Columbia University in New York City (which received a favorable review in the New York Times), for the Wednesday Club in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and made a return appearance at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Kravis program was recorded live for broadcast on 248 National Public Radio stations for the program “Performance Today.” In April of 2006 PVCO made its third trip to South America with a 15 day tour to Brazil and Argentina. Two recording projects also came to fruition. An all Howard Hanson CD was released in July of 2006 on Naxos, the second recording for the PVCO on the world’s largest classical label. This CD received the “Writers Choice Award” for the best CD of 2006 from the audiophile magazine Audio Feedback Online, as well as many other stellar reviews from around the world. For the second project, over $34,000 was awarded from the Aaron Copland Fund for American Music and the Francis Coelet Charitable Lead Trusts in order to record a new CD of the music of George Antheil for New World Records. This recording took place in October of 2005 and was released in September of 2006 with George Blood as producer. This CD also received many accolades from major critics around the world. During this period, PVCO was selected to be on the Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour roster. This program is funded by the Heinz Endowment, the William Penn Foundation, Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, the PEW Charitable Trusts, and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. After 12 years of concerts at the First Presbyterian Church, it was decided to schedule future performances in more flexible venues and varied neighborhoods. The first of these concerts took place in the fall of 2008 at the Arden Theater with a daring production called “On the Edge”. This concert featured the P.A.M. Band, a collection of robotic instruments invented by PVCO’s long time violinist and concertmaster, Kurt Coble, along with special lighting effects and choreography.
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The Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra 2009 to Today
Substantial grants from PNC Arts Alive, Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts enabled PVCO to concentrate on performing free concerts throughout the region during these past seasons. This included the orchestra’s debut at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts plus performances in unusual public spaces like shopping centers and Philadelphia International Airport. There were youth concerts in Trenton and another appearance at Church of the Advocate, a wonderful venue where PVCO has continued a long relationship. Two exciting international tours included a week in Mexico and PVCO's European debut at the Nomus International Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, which was partly sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Here at home engagements took the orchestra to Texas, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, and to Queens College in New York City. The latest recording project, released in 2011 on New Ariel Recordings, presented music of the American composer Jeffrey Jacob in a CD dedicated to earthquake relief in Haiti.
The Philadelphia Virtuosi is now in its 20th year of continuous operation and is looking forward to many more years of great music making. Funding for the PVCO over the years has come from the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Cassett Foundation, Arcadia Foundation, Dofinger-McMahon Foundation, Huston Foundation, the Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation, Judson Foundation, Nakamichi Foundation, and most recently by PNC Arts Alive. There have also been a number of private donors who have generously supported the orchestra. The Philadelphia Virtuosi enters into the next phase of its history with confidence and optimism.
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