The Chelsea Symphony to Present 2026/27 Season
The orchestra will perform works by Shostakovich, Beethoven, and Respighi alongside premieres by Aaron Dai and composition fellows.
The Chelsea Symphony has announced its 2026/27 season, the orchestra's 21st, featuring a lineup of beloved favorites, rarely heard historical compositions, and contemporary works. Highlights include Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, and Respighi's Pines of Rome, alongside premieres by Resident Composer Aaron Dai and Composition Fellows Nicholas Bentz and Ben Murphy.
The season kicks off on October 2 and 3, 2026 with Dmitri Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, the composer's response to life under Soviet autocracy. Friday's concert includes Ernest Chausson's Poème, inspired by Ivan Turgenev's novella The Song of Triumphant Love. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto, performed on Saturday, recasts material from the composer's Hollywood film scores. The program opens with the East Coast premiere of Puzzle Box, a work by new TCS Composition Fellow Nicholas Bentz.
Premium unassigned seating in special reserved areas is available for sale on Eventbrite. Limited day-of tickets are available at the door for a suggested donation of $20.
Shostakovich 5
Friday, October 2 at 8pm
Saturday, October 3 at 8pm
The Chelsea Symphony
Conducted by Valentina Paolucci and Mark Seto
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music (450 West 37th Street)
$30 reserved premium general seating on sale at Eventbrite
$20 suggested donation seating available at the door
Nicholas Bentz: Puzzle Box (East Coast premiere)
Ernest Chausson: Poème, Op. 25 featuring Amy Chryst, violin (Friday only)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 featuring Joseph Morag, violin (Saturday only)
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47
Beethoven's Eroica
Friday, November 6 at 8pm
Saturday, November 7 at 8pm
The Chelsea Symphony
Conducted by Matthew Aubin and Nicolás Gómez Amín
St. Paul's Church (315 West 22nd Street)
$30 reserved premium general seating on sale at Eventbrite
$20 suggested donation seating available at the door
Aaron Dai: Agitato (world premiere)
Camille Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 featuring Evan Wood, cello (Friday only)
Antonio Vivaldi: Flautino Concerto in C Major, RV 443 featuring Dirk Wels, recorder (Saturday only)
Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending featuring Léa Bourgade, violin (Saturday only)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 'Eroica'
Holiday
Friday, December 4 at 8pm
The Chelsea Symphony
Conducted by Matthew Aubin and Mark Seto
St. Paul's Church (315 West 22nd Street)
$30 reserved premium general seating on sale at Eventbrite
$20 suggested donation seating available at the door
Sergei Prokofiev: Selections from Lieutenant Kijé, Op. 60
Cécile Chaminade: Concertino for Flute, Op. 107 featuring Sarah Abrams, flute
William Grant Still: Suite for Violin and Orchestra featuring Veronica Carpenter, violin
Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn: Nutcracker Suite (After Tchaikovsky)
Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride
Aaron Dai: The Night Before Christmas
Sea Interludes
Friday, January 22 at 8pm
Saturday, January 23 at 8pm
The Chelsea Symphony
Conducted by Nicolás Gómez Amín and Mark Seto
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music (450 West 37th Street)
$30 reserved premium general seating on sale at Eventbrite
$20 suggested donation seating available at the door
Felix Mendelssohn: The Hebrides, Op. 26 'Fingal's Cave'
Max Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26 featuring Aviv Zalcenstein, violin (Friday only)
Derek Weagle: Serenade for Bass-Baritone, Horn, and Strings featuring John-Morgan Bush, horn; Harrison Hintzsche, Bass-Baritone (Saturday only)
Gabriella Smith: Tumblebird Contrails
Benjamin Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op. 33a
Schumann's Rhenish
Friday, March 5 at 8pm
Saturday, March 6 at 8pm
The Chelsea Symphony
Conducted by Matthew Aubin and Valentina Paolucci
St. Paul's Church (315 West 22nd Street)
$30 reserved premium general seating on sale at Eventbrite
$20 suggested donation seating available at the door
Ben Murphy: New Work
Friedrich Gulda: Cello Concerto, Op. 129 featuring Alec Hon, cello (Saturday only)
John Corigliano: To Music
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97 'Rhenish'
Prokofiev's Cinderella
Friday, April 9 at 8pm
Saturday, April 10 at 8pm
The Chelsea Symphony
Conducted by Matthew Aubin and Valentina Paolucci
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music (450 West 37th Street)
$30 reserved premium general seating on sale at Eventbrite
$20 suggested donation seating available at the door
Shuying Li: In This Breath
Reinhold Glière: Horn Concerto, Op. 91 featuring Luis Montesdeoca, horn (Friday only)
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 featuring Candace Chien, piano (Saturday only)
Ulysses Kay: Of New Horizons
Sergei Prokofiev: Selections from Cinderella
Pines of Rome
Friday, June 11 at 8pm
Saturday, June 12 at 8pm
The Chelsea Symphony
Conducted by Nicolás Gómez Amín and Mark Seto
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music (450 West 37th Street)
$30 reserved premium general seating on sale at Eventbrite
$20 suggested donation seating available at the door
Grażyna Bacewicz: Violin Concerto No. 3 featuring Allison Dubinski, violin (Friday only)
Michael J. Miller: Là-bas (world premiere) featuring Steve Lyons, trumpet (Saturday only)
Oscar Navarro: Legacy (Concerto for Oboe and Symphony Orchestra) featuring Michael Dwinell, oboe (Saturday only)
Gabriela Ortiz: Antrópolis featuring Tyler Hefferon, timpani
Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome
About The Chelsea Symphony
Hailed as an 'enterprising group of young musicians' by Time Out and 'New York's most intimate orchestral experience' by Lucid Culture, The Chelsea Symphony (TCS) upends the traditional hierarchy of the classical orchestra: members rotate as featured soloists, conductors, and composers. The Chelsea Symphony's fellowship program provides early-career composers and conductors the opportunity to be immersed in this unique organizational model. Founded in 2005, the self-governing ensemble has established its reputation as a vibrant, innovative group, dedicated to making the classical orchestral experience a more welcoming, accessible, and inclusive environment for all audiences by removing the barrier to access with suggested donation ticketing and free live streamed performances. The orchestra—now in its twenty-first season—remains equally committed to its focus on professional development, socially engaged programming, and a commitment to contemporary music and composers from historically underrepresented groups. From appearances in the Amazon Original Series Mozart in the Jungle to providing accessible concerts for incarcerated persons on Rikers Island in partnership with the NYC Department of Correction, TCS is the height of the modern-day orchestra—a cultural and musical identity centered in the heart of Manhattan's vibrant Chelsea neighborhood.
For full season information, visit chelseasymphony.org.
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