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About NCCO San Francisco's premiere conductorless ensemble, the Grammy-nominated New Century Chamber Orchestra relies on the virtuosic skill of each individual--instead of a baton--to achieve its improvisatory sound, with power, color and precision. Hailed "best kept secret in San Francisco," by Sir Simon Rattle, NCCO gives performances that you don't need prior musical experience to enjoy. In intimate, acoustically vibrant venues, experience the magic of the New Century Chamber Orchestra up-close. Performing standing, NCCO players are totally exposed on stage with no one to hold them together-- no safety net--nothing to fall back on if someone forgets a beat. Their rhythmic unanimity and velvety smooth string tone will knock your socks off and remind you of what's delicious in the world. They're so good, they don't need a conductor. A History of the New Century Chamber Orchestra
Celebrating its 16th season this year, the New Century Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1992 by musicians looking for fresh, exciting new ways to present classical music in the San Francisco Bay Area and to communicate more vividly with audiences. The guest concertmaster chooses the programs and guides the artistic vision, but the seventeen members of the New Century Chamber Orchestra perform without a conductor. Musical decisions are made collaboratively, resulting in an enhanced level of commitment on the part of the musicians to concerts of remarkable precision, passion and power. In addition to performing classic pieces of chamber orchestra repertoire, New Century commissions important new works, breathes life into rarely heard jewels of the past, performs world premieres, and brings pieces from other genres such as jazz and rock into the chamber orchestra setting. New Century's mission is to bring outstanding chamber orchestra performances to Bay Area communities. They perform in intimate venues with excellent acoustics, great sightlines and welcoming atmospheres in four cities: Berkeley, Palo Alto, San Francisco and San Rafael. Recordings The orchestra released two compact discs on the New Albion label in 1996, the first a collaborative project with Kent Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra featuring the work of 20th century Swiss composer Frank Martin, and the second featuring works by Dmitri Shostakvoich. The Shostakovich was a 1997 Grammy Award finalist. In 1998, the orchestra recorded and released works of Argentine composers Alberto Williams and Alberto Ginastera on the d'Note label. In 2004, the orchestra recorded and released Oculus, a CD of Kurt Rhode's compostions on the Mondovibe label. All of the recordings have been distributed both internationally and in the United States. For more information, visit our recordings page or click here to purchase. Touring During the 1999-2000 Season, the orchestra traveled to Tucson, San Diego, San Bernardino, Phoenix, Orange County, Redding, and Portland under C-Star Management. Earlier tours took the Orchestra to Phoenix, New Orleans, Arcata and Santa Barbara. Highlights
Sir Simon Rattle conducted the New Century Chamber Orchestra's 10th Anniversary Celebration concert in June 2002 for the Marin Academy, leading the orchestra in music by Elgar, Schoenberg and Mozart. This was only the second time that Rattle has conducted in the Bay Area since 1980. In 2000, New Century performed in a multimedia multi-ethnic collaboration with Chinese composer Gang Situ entitled "Strings Calligraphy." The composition examines the parallels between string music and calligraphy, the control of the ehru bow and calligraphy paintbrush and musical renderings and the flow of calligraphy on paper. The uses of shape and line -- dance, string instruments and visual imagery are interwoven as elements of the performance. Chinese characters were projected on downstage screens, as dancers on a platform imitate the shape of the characters. In December 1996, mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade performed at the group's season opening with a new piece by composer Jake Heggie, entitled "On the Road to Christmas," written specifically for von Stade. Educational Programs New Century is committed to being a vital part of the community and to educational outreach in the communities where they perform. The NCCO provides violin lessons to underserved students in Marin City and San Rafael’s Canal District, as well as intimate classroom performances by string quartets to students in Bay Area elementary schools. For more information, click here. Krista Bennion Feeney, Former Music Director Ms. Feeney has performed as a soloist with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the St. Louis Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the New York String Orchestra in Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, the Brandenburg Ensemble, and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, among others. In addition, she has received international acclaim for her performances as co-concertmaster of the Orchestra of St. Luke's (a position she still holds) as well as the first violinist of the Ridge Quartet, which she helped to form in 1979. Ms. Feeney appears in numerous recordings including those with the Ridge Quartet and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. As a member of the Loma Mar quartet, she recorded new quartet compositions by Paul McCartney for his 1999 CD entitled "Working Classical" (EMI Records).She was a student of Isadore Tinkelman's and Stuart Canin's at the San Francisco Conservatory, and later studied with Jaime Laredo and Felix Galimer at the Curtis Institute of Music. Stuart Canin, Founding Music Director
Mr. Canin was born in New York City and studied at Juilliard, where his principal teacher was Ivan Galamian. Mr. Canin won the International Paganini Competition in Genoa and the Handel Medal from the City of New York. He served as concertmaster in Hollywood for studio orchestras, performing on such films as Schindler's List, Titanic and Forrest Gump. Under Mr. Canin's leadership, the New Century Chamber Orchestra became recognized as Northern California's premiere chamber orchestra, and the ensemble's tours and recordings were widely celebrated. |
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Stuart Canin served as New Century's first Music Director from 1992 until 1999. A former Concertmaster of both the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera, Mr. Canin currently serves as Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Opera under Music Director Kent Nagano and General Director Placido Domingo. He also served as Concertmaster of the New Japan Philharmonic in the 1990's, performing and touring under Seiji Ozawa and Mstislav Rostropovich.
