Coming up in Philly music: Orchestra 2001 makes its Waterfront debut

Orchestra 2001 has presented 85 world premieres and over 100 Philadelphia premieres since it performed its first concert in 1988. On Friday, June 7, the concert itself will be a premiere. Orchestra 2001 will present the first orchestral concert in Philadelphia’s new waterfront arts center, the Cherry Street Pier.

Orchestra 2001 specializes in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Its waterfront debut will be a one hour free concert that showcases three pieces with appropriately watery themes. The finale will be (what else?) an orchestral suite from Leonard Bernstein’s music for the 1954 movie On the Waterfront—a score that ranges from angry violence to romantic interludes. The opener will be Snake River, a musical ride down a whitewater river created by one of Philadelphia’s best known contemporary composers, Jennifer Higdon. In the third item, Liquid Interface, Pulitzer-winner Mason Bates combines orchestral music with pre-recorded electronics in a four movement response to global warming and its impact on the oceans and the people who live around them.

The Cherry Street Pier mixes studios and art exhibits with shops, concessions and a new performance space. Visitors can watch artists at work in a setting that includes the traditional urban amenities: shopping, eating, and socializing. Orchestra 2001 moved in a few months ago and established a multifunctional headquarters, with an office, a rehearsal space, and studios for composers.

Orchestra 2001 will present “On the Waterfront” on Friday, June 7 at 8pm at Cherry Street Pier, 121 North Columbus Boulevard. Admission is free. Visit online for more information.