Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Button

Orchestra 2001 is a collective of adventurous, virtuoso performers dedicated to the music of our time. The ensemble is a leader in connecting diverse audiences with the greatest music of the 20th and 21st centuries, engaging new listeners through exhilarating concerts, innovative artistic collaborations, and enriching community partnerships in Philadelphia and beyond.

Orchestra 2001 is a Programming Partner at Cherry Street Pier

DONATE

A MORE PERFECT UNION: Musical Reflections on Six Amendments to the Constitution

COMING late-April to mid-June 2026!

“A MORE PERFECT UNION: Musical Reflections on Five Amendments to the U.S. Constitution” will present concerts in months prior to America's 250, interpreting constitutional amendments through the lens of contemporary music. New commissions and existing works by 30 diverse American composers – including 7 Pulitzer- and Grammy-winners, and 15 Philadelphians – will examine our nation’s blueprint for democracy, provoking both profoundly serious and light-hearted thoughts on freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition; the right to bear arms; the abolition of slavery; women’s suffrage; and the repeal of prohibition.

The U.S. Constitution was authored by forward-thinking “Founding Fathers,” who were in hindsight, far from perfect men. It therefore comes as no surprise that some extremely important and blatantly obvious rights were omitted in their first edition! A MORE PERFECT UNION will explore legislation that was necessary to improve the foundational structure of our government, penned here in Philadelphia, with a series of free and pay-as-you-wish events at historic sites and indoor/outdoor venues, concluding with a musical bar-crawl.

TBA: Dates and Multiple Locations from late April to mid-June 2026. Repertoire subject to change.

Learn More about our America 250 Concerts!

EMERGING MARKETS • • • • PLAYING THE MARKETS

Orchestra 2001's ongoing project has presented dozens of performances of contemporary classical music and jazz to thousands of Philadelphians where they shop and work, including parts of the city with little access to live music. Aimed at eliminating barriers to attendance, EMERGING MARKETS was honored with an Arts and Business Council Award from the Chamber of Commerce.

To develop sustainable new audiences, the project is now called PLAYING THE MARKETS and will present pop-up events, followed by chamber and conducted ensemble visits. The 2024-25 series began with five pop-ups at Reading Terminal and Philadelphia (formerly Franklin) Mills Flea Market, and continues with almost a dozen events in June 2025, and more in August!

Learn More, Watch Videos, and See Gallery!

PLAYING THE MARKETS – JUNE-OCTOBER 2025:

Jazz Trio

Saturday, October 4, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon

Clark Park Farmers Market

4300-4398 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia 19104

Brass and Percussion Sextet

Sunday, September 28, 9:30 am – 11:30 am

Philadelphia Flea Market, Franklin Mills

90 Franklin Mills Boulevard, Philadelphia 19154

String Quartet

(including music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Rhiannon Giddens)

Saturday, September 27, 9:00 am – 11:00 am

Clark Park Farmers Market

4300-4398 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia 19104

Brass Quintet

Thursday, August 28, 3:15 pm – 5:15 pm

Fairmount Farmers Market, Eastern State Penitentiary

22nd Street & Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia 19130

Jazz Duo

Sunday, August 24, 8:30 am – 10:30 am

Philadelphia Flea Market, Franklin Mills

90 Franklin Mills Boulevard, Philadelphia 19154

String Quartet

(including music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Rhiannon Giddens and Caroline Shaw)

Thursday, June 19, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Reading Terminal Market

1136 Arch Street, Philadelphia 19107

Jazz Trio

(including music by Philadelphia jazz legends)

Sunday, June 15 (Father's Day), 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Reading Terminal Market

1136 Arch Street, Philadelphia 19107

Matt Davis, Jazz Guitarist

Thursday, June 12, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Fairmount Farmers Market, Eastern State Penitentiary

22nd Street & Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia 19130

Woodwind Quintet

(including music by Philadelphia composer Vincent Persichetti)

Thursday, June 5, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

Produce Junction, Wynnefield

2241 Bryn Mawr Avenue, Philadelphia 19131

Woodwind Quintet

(including music by Philadelphia composer Vincent Persichetti)

Thursday, June 5, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Fairmount Farmers Market, Eastern State Penitentiary

22nd Street & Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia 19130

Woodwind Quintet

(including music by Philadelphia composers Samuel Barber and Vincent Persichetti)

Monday, June 2, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Cherry Street Pier – Artists Marketplace

121 N. Christopher Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia 19106

Percussion Duo

(including music by Icelandic composer Áskell Másson)

Sunday, June 1, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

Philadelphia Flea Market, Franklin Mills

90 Franklin Mills Boulevard, Philadelphia 19154

PLAYING THE MARKETS lead support is provided by the William Penn Foundation with additional funding from PECO Powering the Arts.

Orchestra 2001 Percussionists take our Market Challenge: Purchase "Instruments" with $50 Cash in 30 Minutes (Video by Sharon Torello)

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN (a her-story of drag)

Cookie Diorio – drag queen, librettist, costume designer

Andrea Clearfield – composer

Where Classical Music Meets Drag – and History Gets a Makeover! A 90-minute, genre-defying cantata created by drag artist/opera singer Cookie Diorio, and composer Andrea Clearfield. The piece dives into the history of drag, its role in queer culture, and its power to challenge systems and spark change. Long Live the Queen calls out the ways misinformation and policy are being used to silence artists and communities, while lifting up drag as a fierce, joyful act of resistance and self-expression.

“The art of drag and operatic performance share commonalities in language, form, and function: both require high levels of technical skill and artistic development; both rely upon storytelling through music; both have a grandiosity in visual design and aesthetic quality; and both employ the 'Superpowers of a Diva.' " — Cookie Diorio

Part of ArtPhilly's What Now: 2026 Festival, join us for the world premiere at the Wilma Theater, this June!

Elizabeth Braden, conductor

Orchestra 2001

Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir,

Voices of Pride, and Transcendent Choir of Philadelphia

Friday June 19, 7:00 pm

Saturday June 20, 7:00 pm

Sunday June 21, 2026, 3:00 pm

The Wilma Theater

265 South Broad Street, Philadelphia 19107

Previous programming:

Learn More, Watch Videos, and See Gallery!

Join us for a final performance featuring the unique marriage of East African Kiganda folk and

contemporary classical music by Ugandan composer Justinian Tamusuza.

Learn More and Watch Video! GET TICKETS!

A CENTURY OF ARGENTINE COMPOSERS (TANGO FOR STRINGS)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2025, 7:00 pm

$25 General Admission

MAAS Building, 1325 N. Randolph Street, Philadelphia 19122

Entrador – Mario De Marco

Todo corazón – Julio De Caro

En Pampa y la vía – Pablo Jaurena

La muerte del ángel – Astor Piazzolla

Milonga triste – Sebastián Piana

Astor de pibe – Diego Schissi

Yokan – Guillermo Rubino

El tero – Ernesto Montiel/Blas Martinéz Riera

Cielo – Guillermo Rubino

Meridional – Víctor Lavallén

Orchestra 2001 musicians will join Argentine violin tango master, Guillermo Rubino, and bandoneonist Shinjoo Cho to explore the development of the Argentine tango. This string ensemble will present tangos of the 1940’s, works by Astor Piazzolla, Argentine folkloric pieces, and new works by Mr. Rubino and Diego Schissi, Orchestra 2001’s ¡Conexiones! Argentina commissioned composer from 2021.

Get Tickets

Music by Philadelphia Composers – Celebrating Cherry Street Pier

Vincent Persichetti – Pastorale for Wind Quintet (1951)

Samuel Barber – Summer Music for Wind Quintet (1956)

Andrea Clearfield – Compass Kaleidoscope for Wind Quintet (2015)

¡CONEXIONES! PUERTO RICO

Mark Loria, conductor; Martha Guth, soprano

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2023; 7:30pm - 9:00pm

Teatro Esperanza

4261 North 5th Street, Phila. 19140

Learn More

Roberto Sierra – Bongo-O

Angélica Negrón – Quimbombó

Angélica Negrón – Tembleque

Ana María Hernández – Fantasía sobre el seis Mapeyé

Roberto Sierra – Canciones de amor, poetry by Julia de Burgos (World Premiere)

Sonia Morales-Matos – Fiesta #1

George Crumb: SCORES AT AN EXHIBITION

Composer George Crumb - Agnus Dei (Peace sign) Score

THURSDAY, May 18, 2023 | 2:45 PM

Teatro Esperanza: Student Event

4261 N. 5th Street, Phila. 19140

WEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 | 7:30 PM

Main Gallery at Slought

4017 Walnut Street, Phila. 19104

Learn More

GEORGE CRUMB: SCORES AT AN EXHIBITION explores Philadelphia’s well-known contemporary composer (1929-2022) and long-time Orchestra 2001 collaborator, in a visual arts setting. His stunning visual scores are works of art, and presenting them in a gallery context allows for a more complete appreciation of these masterpieces.

Miles Davis' BIRTH OF THE COOL

FIRST Performance: (SOLD OUT!)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023 | 7:30pm

Clef Club of Jazz

736 South Broad Street, Philadelphia 19146

ENCORE Performance:

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023 | 7:30pm

Mummers Museum

1100 S. 2nd Street, Philadelphia 19147

Learn More

History-making jazz with humble beginnings in a basement on Manhattan’s West 55th Street... the 12 tunes from that collaboration of jazz and classical giants are a collector’s classic, and forged decades of new directions in concert halls, jazz clubs, and film scores.

¡CONEXIONES! CUBA

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2022 | 7:30 PM

Teatro Esperanza

Mark Loria, conductor

Ernesto Abelardo Valdés – Almendra

Tania León – Toque

Ileana Pérez Velázquez – Zunzun

Leo Brouwer – La Niña Bonita

Paquito D'Rivera – Preludio y Merengue

Learn More

Harlem Renaissance and Beyond

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022 | 7:30 PM

American Hats Factory Showroom

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022 | 7:30 PM

African American Museum in Philadelphia

Na'Zir McFadden, conductor

William Grant Still — Summerland

Undine Smith Moore — Afro-American Suite

Duke Ellington — Single Petal of a Rose

(Elizabeth Steiner, harp)

George Walker — Lyric for Strings

Valerie Coleman — Portraits of Langston

Jessie Montgomery — Source Code

Learn More

IN THE KEY OF L – Music Along SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line

Orchestra 2001 featured musical compositions by Philadelphia composers in pop-up concerts at train stops, parking lots, businesses, murals, and parks along the 45-minute SEPTA route that cuts across dozens of diverse communities.

See Video