A Five Star Show at Orchestra 2001

The music’s the thing at most Orchestra 2001 concerts. Orchestra 2001 specializes in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries, with an emphasis on new music and less familiar music. Its May program offers four French and American chamber pieces with intriguing twists, but its most striking feature is a performer lineup headlined by names that should attract anyone familiar with the Philadelphia music scene. The soloists will be mezzo-soprano Freda Herseth; flute star Mimi Stillman; and the Principal Oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Richard Woodhams. The keyboard parts in the four pieces will be played by two Orchestra 2001 regulars with equally impressive careers: Charles Abramovic and Marcantonio Barone. They’ll take on a Henri Dutilleux quartet for the odd combination of oboe, bass, harpsichord, and percussion; an Olivier Messiaen evocation of the song of the blackbird; and two pieces by a pair of American Pulitzer Prize winners.

Orchestra 2001 presents Paris to Philadelphia: Four Views of Nature and Religion, cosponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Department of Music, on Friday, May 9 at 8pm at Trinity Center for Urban Life, 22nd and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia (preconcert discussion at 7:30pm) and Sunday, May 11 at 7:30pm at Swarthmore College’s Lang Concert Hall (preconcert discussion at 7pm). The Swarthmore performance is free and open to the public; donations welcomed. For tickets, prices, and more information visit www.orchestra2001.org or call Ticket Philadelphia at 215-893-1999.