Orchestra New England: History and Mission
Orchestra New England (ONE) is one of the most versatile and exciting orchestras in America. The Orchestra is committed to quality and innovation, a commitment that has made its artistic achievements possible by generating and nurturing an unusual workplace and a remarkable orchestra.
ONE was founded in March 1974 as the Yale Theater Orchestra, adopting the name Chamber Orchestra of New England in 1975 and the name Orchestra New England in 1985. Early in its history, ONE began to establish itself as one of the most innovative and critically-acclaimed orchestras in the Northeast. Immediately following its premiere concert, the Orchestra and its founding Music Director, James Sinclair, recorded an album of premieres for CBS Masterworks.
That was the beginning of a tradition. Today, ONE is unsurpassed among musical ensembles between New York and Boston in the number of commercial recordings it has created. These include CBS Masterworks’s world premiere recording of the Villa-Lobos folk opera, Magdalena, New World Records’s release of Cole Porter’s first Broadway hit, 50 Million Frenchmen, and both Naxos’s and Koch International Classics’s world premiere recording of orchestral music by Charles Ives. These recordings have met with extraordinary and unanimous critical praise. In June 2023 Naxos released ONE’s new recording of Charles Ives’s complete Sets for Chamber Orchestra.
Each year, the Orchestra performs a subscription series of concerts in its hometown of New Haven, Connecticut. In past seasons ONE has seen as many as 50 performances annually throughout New England and the northeastern U.S. The Orchestra’s subscription concerts are presented at Yale’s acoustically-superb Battell Chapel, the United Church on the Green, and the Unitarian Society of New Haven, and were frequently broadcast on Connecticut public radio stations. ONE also has been heard featured over the Voice of America and National Public Television.
The Orchestra may be contacted at P.O. Box 200123, New Haven, CT 06520-0123, 203-777-4690, or info@orchestranewengland.org. Our website is www.orchestranewengland.org.
Watch this short 7-minute video about ONE, produced by SCSU student Donna Girot: http://vimeo.com/33427735
We hope you enjoy it.
Click here to learn more about the history of Orchestra New England.
Click here to view a complete chronological listing of the repertoire performed at over 800 Orchestra New England concerts.
View Orchestra New England's complete 45-year repertoire list here.
Orchestra New England's Mission
Orchestra New England shares the vitality of great music and great music making, embracing audiences and colleagues, and collaborating with like-minded organizations.
We engage, educate, and empower youth.
We are committed to opening doors, welcoming the joy of live music as an integral element of our lives in the expanding community we strive to serve.
We are distinguished in our versatility and in the immediacy of our connection with our audiences.
Our top-flight instrumentalists are individually accomplished as soloists and chamber musicians, and as leading players in Connecticut's major symphony orchestras.
Under the O.N.E. banner we perform as chamber ensembles, jazz bands, pop orchestras, and mid-sized symphony orchestras, always emphasizing exquisite quality, creative imagination, and infectious energy.