Modus Operandi Orchestra To Feature Works By Rachel Burckardt At Merkin Hall

Multiple works by award-winning Boston composer Rachel Burckardt will be featured in a Modus Operandi Orchestra (MOO) performance at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City.

The concert will mark the orchestra’s fifth appearance at Merkin Hall and will present a program pairing music by Johannes Brahms with newly composed orchestral works by Burckardt, including several world premieres.

Conducted by MOO Founder and Music Director Justin Bischof, the program will include Brahms’ Tragic Overture and Symphony No. 4, alongside Burckardt’s original compositions October Fanfare, Aire Mount Auburn in a new orchestral adaptation, Variations on Afternoon Light, and 3 Psalms. The Burckardt works will receive their premieres at the concert.

“For me, it is deeply meaningful to hear new works come to life in conversation with a composer like Brahms,” said Burckardt. “Brahms' music carries immense emotional and structural depth, and I'm honored to have my own voice placed alongside his in a program that affirms the symphonic tradition as something vibrant and evolving.”

Many of Burckardt’s compositions draw inspiration from reflection, light, and spiritual contemplation, informed by her long career as both a composer and church musician.

“This program is exciting because it places Brahms' profound emotional architecture alongside the living, breathing voice of Rachel Burckardt, reminding us that the symphonic tradition is not a museum, but a living art form,” said Bischof. “Audiences will experience both the timeless power of Brahms and the excitement of hearing new music born in our own time.”

The concert will take place on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City.

Burckardt is a composer whose work spans sacred and liturgical music, jazz, electronic music, and orchestral composition. She has served as a church musician for more than 48 years and is currently a member of the Saint Cecilia Parish music ministry and the American Guild of Organists. She previously served as co-director of Saint Cecilia Parish’s contemporary ensemble and performs as a vocalist with the Boston Archdiocesan Festival Choir.

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