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EMERGING MARKETS • • PLAYING THE MARKETS

Launched during the pandemic, our ongoing project has presented contemporary classical 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 of Greater Philadelphia. 


Orchestra 2001's new William Penn Foundation and PECO Powering The Arts grants for 2024-25 support audience engagement through PLAYING THE MARKETS. This series of contemporary classical music and jazz starts with pop-ups, followed by marketed returns to the same sites featuring chamber music groups and conducted ensembles, with free or pay-as-you-wish attendance. 


Five pop-up concerts opened this season of PLAYING THE MARKETS at Philadelphia’s two largest markets. Our jazz trio played at Reading Terminal Market including the Scrapple and Apple Festival (Charlie Parker’s “Scrapple from the Apple”). Two of our inventive percussionists took the “Flea Market Challenge” at Philadelphia Mills (formerly Franklin Mills) Flea Market where players are given $50 cash to buy “junk instruments” that they then play for shoppers and vendors. View videos below! (Sharon Torello, videographer) 

Funding for   EMERGING MARKETS   and   PLAYING THE MARKETS   provided by:

PLAYING THE MARKETS – FEBRUARY 2026:


Automotive Percussion

Friday, February 6, 2026, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (Free!)

Reading Terminal Market

1136 Arch Street, Philadelphia 19107


Automotive Percussion

Saturday, February 7, 2026, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

Philadelphia Auto Show (Auto Show ticket required)
PA Convention Center
12th & Arch Streets, Philadelphia 19107


Automotive Percussion

Saturday, February 7, 2026, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Philadelphia Auto Show (Auto Show ticket required)
PA Convention Center
12th & Arch Streets, Philadelphia 19107



PLAYING THE MARKETS – JUNE-OCTOBER 2025:


Jazz Trio

Saturday, October 4, 2025, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon

Clark Park Farmers Market

4300-4398 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia 19104


Brass and Percussion Sextet

Sunday, September 28, 2025, 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, 2025, 9:00 am – 11:00 am

Clark Park Farmers Market

4300-4398 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia 19104


Brass Quintet

Thursday, August 28, 2025, 3:15 pm – 5:15 pm

Fairmount Farmers Market, Eastern State Penitentiary

22nd Street & Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia 19130


Jazz Duo

Sunday, August 24, 2025, 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, 2025, 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, 2025 (Father's Day), 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Reading Terminal Market

1136 Arch Street, Philadelphia 19107


Matt Davis, Jazz Guitarist

Thursday, June 12, 2025, 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, 2025, 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, 2025, 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, 2025, 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, 2025, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

Philadelphia Flea Market, Franklin Mills

90 Franklin Mills Boulevard, Philadelphia 19154


9th Street Market concerts in November 2020 and May 2021

Cherry Street Pier Markets

14 Concerts at the Love Lot (Food and Medical Assistance During COVID-19), Kensington, Philadelphia

"Harlem Renaissance and Beyond" encore performance at American Hat Factory/Showroom, Bridesburg, Philadelphia

Orchestra 2001 Percussionists taking our Market Challenge: 30 minutes and $50 Cash to Purchase "Instruments"

Video by Sharon Torello

Roosevelt Flea Market

Quaker City Flea Market

Philadelphia (Franklin) Mills Flea Market

Reading Terminal Market (Virtual and Live Performances)

View more

Junk Yards and Scrap Iron Percussion, Camden, NJ

Henry Got Crops Farmers Market, Roxboro

Overbrook Farmers Market

CHOP Karabot Farmers Market, West Philly

LoMo (Lower Moyamensing) Flea Market, Broad Street, South Philly

Art for the Cash Poor Market, Northern Liberties

View more

The Lodge Holiday Markets, Independence Blue Cross Riverrink, Delaware River Waterfront

Philadelphia Flower Show and Garden Marketplace at FDR Park, South Philly

Bourse Food Court

East Falls Farmers Market

Spruce Street Harbor Park Market

Automotive Shops (Olney, Oxford Circle, and Tacony)

Produce Junction, Wynnefield

Fairmount Farmers Market by Eastern State Penitentiary

Philadelphia Flea Market, Franklin Mills

Clark Park Farmers Market on Baltimore Avenue, West Philadelphia