The Dallas Chamber Symphony (DCS) is a professional, American

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

that performs in the

Moody Performance Hall The Moody Performance Hall (formerly Dallas City Performance Hall) is a performing arts venue located in the Arts District of Downtown Dallas, Texas, USA. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) in collaboration with the Architect of Re ...

in the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas Arts District. Founded in 2011, and led by Artistic Director, Richard McKay; the DCS presented its first season in 2012, and performs most of its concerts in the

. Critics have described the DCS as “extremely adroit”, “fresh” and “innovative.” The orchestra has been lauded for its film series, which pairs classic silent films with newly commissioned scores. Japanese violinist Kazuhiro Takagi is the concertmaster.

Artistic Director and Conductor

Richard McKay, the DCS’s Artistic Director and Conductor, earned his doctorate in orchestral conducting with

Gustav Meier Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

and

Markand Thakar Markand Thakar (born 1955, New York City) is an American conductor. He is music director of Baltimore Chamber Orchestra (BCO). Biography From the age of six, Markand Thakar attended the Juilliard School's Pre-College Division, where he was a pian ...

at the

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

. While there, he was Assistant Conductor of the Peabody Conservatory orchestras and operas. McKay earned a Master of Music degree from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Gerhardt Zimmermann and David Neely. He has served as Music Director of the University of Texas University Orchestra and has also worked with the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

, the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

, and the

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Charlotte, North Carolina. As the largest and most active professional performing arts organization in the central Carolinas , the Charlotte Symphony plays approximately 100 perfo ...

. Originally trained as a pianist, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance.

Performance Venues

The DCS performs its main concert series in Dallas City Performance Hall, which opened in 2012. Designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill LLP, with Dallas architecture firm Corgan serving as the Architect of Record, the center is in the heart of the Dallas Arts District. The Piano Competition is held primarily at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

’s Owen Arts Center.

Dallas International Piano Competition

The DCS International Piano Competition took place for the first time in Dallas, Texas, from March 14–16, 2013. The symphony partners with Southern Methodist University’s

Meadows School of the Arts The Algur H. Meadows School of the Arts is the fine arts unit at Southern Methodist University, located in University Park, Texas, U.S. It is known for its programs in art, art history, arts administration, cinema, performing arts, advertising, jou ...

and offers its participants master classes, performance opportunities, private lessons and the chance to play with the symphony itself in the spring of 2013.

World premieres

In November, 2012, the DCS premiered a new

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

to the silent-film comedy ''

A Sailor-Made Man ''A Sailor-Made Man'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Fred Newmeyer and starring Harold Lloyd. Plot "The Boy" (Lloyd) is an idle playboy and heir to $20,000,000, relaxing at an exclusive resort. When he sees "The Girl" (Mildre ...

'', starring

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film co ...

. The score was commissioned specifically by the symphony as part of their film series and was composed by Brian Satterwhite. On February 26, 2013, as part of its film series, the DCS Premiered a new all-strings film score to the silent-film horror classic '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'', starring

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...

. As with ''A Sailor-Made Man'', the score was commissioned by the symphony and was composed by Brian Satterwhite.

Educational Partners

The DCS partners closely with Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts for its International Piano Competition. In 2014, the Dallas Chamber Symphony partnered with the

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the U ...

(DISD) for an educational concert performed at City Performance Hall in conjunction with the release of their iPad music curriculum, "The Sights and Sounds of the Symphony," by Barbara Vance and Richard McKay.

References

External links

Dallas Chamber Symphony Official

Dallas Chamber Symphony International Piano Competition

Sight of Sound Film Competition

Richard McKay Website

Southern Methodist University's Meadows Music Program

Dallas City Performance Hall

Brian Satterwhite Blog

Theatre Jones Performance Review-A Sailor-Made Man

D Magazine Performance Review_A Sailor-Made Man

Dallas Observer Review

KERA's "Art & Seek" Behind the Music of the DCS

KERA's "Art & Seek" Silent Films and Symphonies

"Dallas Morning News" Scott Cantrell Review - Allesio Bax

Dallas Observer Review of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
{{authority control Musical groups established in 2011 Chamber orchestras Music of Dallas Texas classical music Orchestras based in Texas 2011 establishments in Texas