The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra is Central Florida's resident professional

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, appearing in more than 125 performances each season. Founded in 1993. At over $4 million, the Orlando Philharmonic has the largest endowment of any arts institution in Central Florida. The Orlando Philharmonic entered its 29th anniversary in the 2021-2022 season, led by Eric Jacobsen in his fourth season as Music Director.

History

The Orlando Philharmonic is Central Florida's resident professional orchestra, composed of musicians recruited from around the world.

Programs

The orchestra presents several different types of programming. The Super Series, which runs September through April, comprises ten concerts, including five classical concerts and five "pops" concerts. The 2015-2016 classical series includes guest artists such as conductor

JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954 in Queens, New York) is an American conductor. Biography Falletta was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. She was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard Sch ...

and pianist Stuart Goodyear. The pops series features music from Broadway musicals, the cinema and popular music. All super series concerts are performed at the

Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre Bob Carr Theater (originally the Orlando Municipal Auditorium and formerly the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre) is an auditorium located in Orlando, Florida. Opening in 1927, the venue is currently owned by the City of Orlando and is managed by ...

Orlando, FL Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures relea ...

. The Philharmonic performs several

chamber music 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 numb ...

concerts each year at

The Plaza Live Theatre ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

as part of its Focus Series. A summer version of this series, the Sounds of Summer Series, takes place during June, July and August, featuring programs compiled by the orchestra's own musicians. Additionally, the Orlando Philharmonic performs numerous full-orchestra outdoor fall and spring community pops concerts, performed in partnerships with municipalities throughout the region and offered free to the public.

Opera

In 2010, the Philharmonic performed two Concert Operas,

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

and

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

. In 2011, the orchestra performed La Bohème. In 2012, the Philharmonic performed Rigoletto. The Orlando Philharmonic annually performs 30 Young People's Concerts for over 60,000 Orange, Seminole, and Volusia County Public School, private, and home school students at the

Bob Carr Theater Bob Carr Theater (originally the Orlando Municipal Auditorium and formerly the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre) is an auditorium located in Orlando, Florida. Opening in 1927, the venue is currently owned by the City of Orlando and is managed by ...

Community Collaboration

The Philharmonic initiates many community collaborations. Since its inception, the orchestra has partnered with the

Orlando Opera The Orlando Opera was Orlando, Florida's professional opera company, founded in 1958. The opera performed multiple times a year in the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre and other venues in the central Florida region. On April 16, 2009 the company an ...

, Orlando Ballet, the

Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO) is a music education program in Central Florida, consisting of six primary ensembles with nearly 300 student musicians. FSYO is the oldest operating youth symphony in the state of Florida and is believe ...

Florida Young Artists Orchestra The Florida Young Artists Orchestra, or FYAO, is a youth orchestra serving the Orlando, Florida region. The FYAO is led by Artistic Director Alvaro Gomez (artistic director), Dr. Alvaro Gomez and Assistant Conductors Randall Love and Sherry Pollock ...

, the Orlando Museum of Art, the

Orlando Science Center The Orlando Science Center (OSC) is a private science museum located in Orlando, Florida. Its purposes are to provide experience-based opportunities for learning about science and technology and to promote public understanding of science. The O ...

, Bethune-Cookman University, the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, Stetson University, the "Negro Spiritual" Scholarship Foundation,

Mad Cow Theatre Mad Cow Theatre was a not-for-profit regional theatre based in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 1997, the theatre is located in Downtown Orlando within the central business district. History Mad Cow Theater began in late 1997, founded by Rus Black ...

, the

Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

, the

Orange County Regional History Center The Orange County Regional History Center is a private non-profit history museum located in downtown Orlando, Florida, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or Ameri ...

and many other area organizations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic 1993 establishments in Florida Film scores Music of Orlando, Florida Musical groups established in 1993 Orchestras based in Florida Organizations based in Orlando, Florida Video game musicians Walt Disney Records artists