Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Branford Marsalis

Revered jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis teams up with the innovative Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for Rythmé de Vie, a program that meets at the intersection of jazz and classical.

Orpheus and saxophonist Branford Marsalis have spent decades fine-tuning a connection that transcends stylistic labels. In this program, they revisit Ibert’s Concertino da Camera from their landmark 2001 album together, Creation, and bask in a close-knit arrangement of Debussy’s sultry Rhapsody. Veteran Orpheus arrangers Javier Diaz and Jannina Norpoth make the ensemble shine in foreign escapades from two geniuses of genre-hopping: George Gershwin and Cuba’s Ernesto Lecuona. Antonio Garcia, a jazz composer and trombonist steeped in the same New Orleans currents that nourished the Marsalis family, stirs the American melting pot in a new work for Orpheus.

From his early acclaim as a jazz saxophonist bringing new energy and new audiences to the art form, NEA Jazz Master and 3-time Grammy Award winner Branford Marsalis has never stopped exercising and expanding his skills as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, crossing stylistic boundaries while maintaining unwavering creative integrity.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a Grammy-Award-winning classical ensemble, known for creating extraordinary musical experiences through innovative collaboration.

PROGRAM

RAVEL Très Rythmé from String Quartet in F Major / Orchestrated by Michi Wiancko
DEBUSSY Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra / Orchestrated by Zachary Wadsworth. Branford Marsalis, alto saxophone
IBERT Concertino da Camera / Branford Marsalis, alto saxophone
Antonio GARCIA Homecoming: A New Orleans Journey / commissioned by Orpheus
LECUONA Suite Andalucia / Orchestrated by Jannina Norporth
GERSHWIN An American in Paris / Adapted by Javier Diaz. Featuring Branford Marsalis, saxophone

Run time: 2 hours & 15 minutes (includes intermission)