“[New York’s] hometown band.”
– The New York Times
Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) performs and produces in a variety of formats throughout New York City, including orchestral and chamber music series on each of Carnegie Hall’s iconic stages, programs focused on contemporary composers presented throughout the five boroughs, collaborations with Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center, a composition institute, and much more. Many of OSL’s performances are presented for free through its education and community engagement programs, reaching over 12,000 students and families annually with accessible, interactive student concerts, a thriving youth orchestra, and mentorship programs for emerging players. OSL built and operates The DiMenna Center in midtown Manhattan — the city’s only rehearsal, recording, and performance space built specially for classical music — where it hosts thousands of musicians and audience members year-round.
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Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) Biography
Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) is an independent orchestra and concert producer based in New York City. Founded in 1974 when a group of virtuoso chamber musicians began performing together in Greenwich Village at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, the ensemble expanded into an orchestra in 1979 and is today “a mainstay of New York’s classical scene” (New Yorker) under the baton of Principal Conductor Bernard Labadie, a celebrated specialist in 18th-century music, and special guests. OSL performs and produces in a variety of formats, including orchestra and chamber music series curated expressly for each of Carnegie Hall’s iconic venues, programs focused on contemporary composers presented throughout the five boroughs of New York City, collaborations with Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center, a composition institute which creates new works each season, and much more. Many of OSL’s performances and programs are presented for free, reaching over 12,000 public school students and families annually with accessible, interactive student concerts, a diverse youth orchestra of neighborhood students, and mentorship programs for emerging players. OSL owns and operates the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Manhattan, described by the New York Times as “a major boon for New York’s classical music scene”, for local and international musicians and audiences.
OSL’s signature programming includes: a curated orchestra series presented by Carnegie Hall, now in its 30th season, featuring OSL with an international roster of renowned guest soloists; the OSL Bach Festival, exploring J.S. Bach’s musical influence and presented in partnership with Carnegie Hall each June; the Chamber Music Series, which spotlights members of the orchestra in intimate chamber music performances; the Visionary Sounds series dedicated to 20th and 21st century music at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music; summer concerts at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts; an annual collaboration performing live with Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center; and more. OSL champions the work of historically underrepresented composers, in recent seasons including Florence Price, Julius Eastman, Joseph Bologne, and others along with living composers, recently including Valerie Coleman, Eleanor Alberga, Anna Clyne, Joan Tower, and more. OSL has participated in 120 recordings, four of which have won Grammy Awards, has commissioned more than 70 new works, and has given more than 200 world, U.S., and New York City premieres.
OSL’s Education & Community Engagement programs have been a staple of its work since it first produced a staged opera for New York City public school children in 1976. Today, OSL continues to offer accessible, interactive, school concerts in addition to: the 100-member Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s (YOSL) program, now in its 10th season and the only youth orchestra under the umbrella of a professional group in New York City; five-borough concert tours that introduce classical music to new audiences; the Chamber Music Mentorship Program, which provides professional development opportunities and workshops for pre-professional musicians; and the DeGaetano Composition Institute which supports the development of emerging composers and commissions up to four new works for OSL each season.
OSL opened The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in 2011 to remedy New York City’s lack of affordable first-rate rehearsal and recording space specialized for classical and instrumental music. Today, thousands of local and international musicians create work at The DiMenna Center – located in the nexus of Manhattan’s burgeoning Hudson Yards neighborhood and the theater district near Times Square – where they not only stage performances, but also rehearse, record, and broadcast music enjoyed throughout the city and the world.
See here for a history of OSL’s leadership.