Discovery Ensemble
Defunct Boston-based orchestra
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Discovery Ensemble was a Boston-based chamber orchestra[1] founded by Music Director Courtney Lewis and Artistic Director David St. George. The orchestra, made up of young professionals from the Boston area, gave its inaugural concert in October 2008.[2] It disappeared from the Boston music scene after an announcement cancelling the already advertised 2014 season.[3]
| Discovery Ensemble (DE) | |
|---|---|
| Chamber orchestra | |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Concert hall | |
| Principal conductor | Courtney Lewis |
Discovery Ensemble had two missions. It was a chamber orchestra that performed to local acclaim in the Boston Globe[4][5] and the Boston Phoenix.[6][7][8][9] Concerts took place at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[10][11]
Discovery Ensemble's second mission was education. The orchestra presented four Discovery Programs per year, each consisting of two in-school workshops[12] and a matinee concert for children from local schools.[13] The schools' concerts took place at Strand Theatre in Dorchester, Massachusetts.[14]
Discovery Ensemble played live regularly on WGBH Radio and was featured as Critics' Choice on NPR.[15][16] In December 2009, Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Lloyd Schwartz of the Boston Phoenix named Discovery Ensemble Boston's "Best Kept Secret".[17]
History
The orchestra played its first concert in October 2008 in the Strand Theatre, Dorchester with Ginastera's Variaciones concertantes, Stravinsky's Danses concertantes, and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.[2][14][18]
The orchestra was founded because directors Courtney Lewis and David St. George saw the possibility, given the abundance of young professional musicians in Boston, of forming and training a large (40 players) chamber orchestra that could perform at the highest international level.
Discovery Ensemble was particularly associated with schools and community centers in Dorchester.[13]
Reviews
- Boston Globe 1 Ensemble Shows Exuberance from the Start
- Boston Globe 2 Courtney Lewis and Discovery Ensemble Help Make Classical Accessible
- Boston Phoenix 1 Anniversaries and Other Occasions
- Boston Phoenix 2 Springer vs. Nero
- Boston Phoenix 3 The Roar of the Crowd
- Boston Phoenix 4 2009: The Year in Classical
- Boston Intelligencer Harbison "Bout of Un-relatedness" Between Two Chestnuts
- Dorchester Reporter Orchestra Helps Young People Discover Classical Music
- WBUR A Young Maestro’s Noble Experiment: Classical Music For All
- WBUR A Young Conductor Leads A Noble Experiment