The Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) was an American orchestra based in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. As the second largest and most active professional performing arts organization in the central Carolinas, the Charlotte Philharmonic played approximately 10–15 performances each season and employed up to 85 professional musicians. Annual attendance for CPO performances numbered over 150,000. The CPO was founded in 1990 by Dutch pianist and conductor Albert E. Moehring. The orchestra performed in numerous locations around the Charlotte community until Judith Allen, Executive Director of the

North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Blumenthal Performing Arts (also NC Blumenthal Center and NCBPAC) is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It opened in 1992 and is named in honor of the people of the state of North Carolina and the Blumenthal Foundation established by I.D. ...

appointed the orchestra as the center's resident orchestra. This became the basis for Moehring and the orchestra to film 6

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

musical specials in the Belk Theater. In addition, Maestro Moehring and the Charlotte Philharmonic recorded 13 CD recordings. In September 2003, Judith Allen of the NCBPAC asked Maestro Moehring to collaborate with the Center and the "Charlotte Shout" Festival in the North America debut of the British duo, Opera Babes. In 2010, the Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra was unable to continue full operations, due to the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, but was able to continue with special summer festival concerts for another three years. Due to strong demand, Maestro Moehring stated in 2015 that he was exploring bringing the Charlotte Philharmonic back to the citizens of Charlotte.

References

External links

Maestro Albert Moehring Bio

Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra Official Website

Spirit Award
{{authority control Musical groups established in 1990 American orchestras Musical groups from North Carolina Culture of Charlotte, North Carolina Tourist attractions in Charlotte, North Carolina Organizations based in Charlotte, North Carolina