Orchestra of St. Luke's

One of America’s most prominent chamber orchestras, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s came together during the summer of 1979 specifically to appear at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York. Its roots lie in the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, established four years earlier to present concerts at the Church of St. Luke’s in the Fields, located in New York’s Greenwich Village. Roger Norrington became its inaugural music director in 1990 and held the post until 1994, when Charles Mackerras took over the role.

Each season the ensemble presents a subscription series at Carnegie Hall, where it also contributes regularly to the venue’s family concerts and educational initiatives. Extensive tours have taken the orchestra across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan, complemented by recurring residencies in cities outside New York. The group has commissioned numerous scores, including several dance works, and introduced more than one hundred new pieces by composers such as John Adams, Joan Tower, Anthony Davis, André Previn, and Nicholas Maw. It drew additional attention for joining the rock band Metallica on its orchestral tour in 1999.

More than seventy recordings on assorted labels document the orchestra’s work. Two releases on Nonesuch earned Grammy Awards: John Adams’s Nixon in China and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, the latter featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw.