Orpheus Chamber Orchestra To Return To The Bickford Theatre With Violinist Chad Hoopes

The world-renowned Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will perform Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor with guest violinist Chad Hoopes and the stunning "Pictures at an Exhibition" reimagined by Jannina Norpoth in the intimacy of Morris Museum's Bickford Theatre. Hoopes, who has been lauded by The New York Times as "prodigiously talented" joins Orpheus after a string of performances with top orchestras around the world for a thrilling evening of masterful artistry. Premiered in January 2023 at Carnegie Hall, "Pictures at an Exhibition" received enthusiastic reviews including this statement from Oberon's Grove: "Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" was given in a fresh arrangement by Jannina Norpoth, and she gets major kudos for her luxuriant, imaginative vision of the music."

The special relationship between the Morris Museum and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra began when members of the famously conductor-less ensemble performed atop the Morris Museum's elevated parking lot to a socially distanced and grateful audience in October 2020 as part of the inaugural Lot of Strings Music Festival. The relationship has since flourished with indoor performances featuring the full ensemble and guest artists like Fazil Say and Angela Hewitt.

"When Orpheus takes to the stage, whether it be Carnegie Hall or the Bickford Theatre, audiences are treated to the result of some of the best performing artists working today performing works that have been navigated and negotiated through democratic process that brings a collective understanding and deep appreciation to any work." Remarked Brett Wellman Messenger, the Museum's Curatorial Director of Live Arts.

VIP ticket holders are invited to a pre-performance reception and purchasing a VIP level ticket helps keep ticket prices accessible to all members of the community.

May 3, 2023.

Tickets: $40.00 | Member Tickets: $35.00

VIP Tickets: $75.00 | Member VIP Tickets: $70.00

25 and under tickets: $25.00

A $3.00 handling fee applies to each ticket.

Tickets: morrismuseum.org/orpheus

The Morris Museum thanks Will and Mary Leland and F. Gary Knapp for their leadership support for this season's presentations of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

About Chad Hoopes

Acclaimed by critics worldwide for his exceptional talent and magnificent tone, American violinist Chad Hoopes has remained an impressive, consistent, and versatile performer with many of the world's leading orchestras since winning First Prize at the Young Artists Division of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. Hoopes is a 2017 recipient of Lincoln Center's Avery Fischer Career Grant. Former winners include Kirill Gerstein, Yuja Wang, Leila Josefowicz, Joshua Bell and Hilary Hahn. Highlights of past and present seasons include performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse for the premiere of Qigang Chen's concerto "La joie de la souffrance." He has performed with leading orchestras including San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston and National Symphony, as well as Minnesota Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Hoopes frequently performs with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Additionally, he has performed recitals at the Ravinia Festival, Tonhalle Zürich, the Louvre, and at Lincoln Center's Great Performers series in New York City.

About Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a radical experiment in musical democracy, proving for fifty years what happens when exceptional artists gather with total trust in each other and faith in the creative process. Orpheus began in 1972 when cellist Julian Fifer assembled a group of New York freelancers in their early twenties to play orchestral repertoire as if it were chamber music. In that age of co-ops and communes, the idealistic Orpheans snubbed the "corporate" path of symphony orchestras and learned how to play, plan and promote concerts as a true collective, with leadership roles rotating from the very first performance.  

Bickford Theatre Mask Policy:

The Morris Museum has adopted a dynamic mask policy for upcoming events in the Bickford Theatre. Face masks are currently optional in the CENTER and HOUSE RIGHT sections (indicated in blue) and are required in the HOUSE LEFT section (indicated in red). This policy is subject to change at any time. Please check back on our website or call the box office for our current policy before your scheduled performance date. For assistance, call the box office at 973-971-3706.

About the Morris Museum

Founded in 1913, the Morris Museum is an award-winning, multifaceted arts and cultural institution serving the public through its exhibitions and performances, which strive to interpret the past and discover the future through art, sound, and motion. The Museum is home to the historic and internationally-significant Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata. The Museum's Bickford Theatre is a 312-seat performing-arts facility, offering unique programming in film, jazz, and live performance through its innovative series, Live Arts. As New Jersey's only Smithsonian Affiliate, Morris Museum launched Spark!Lab, a dynamic, Smithsonian-created learning space which will inspire young visitors to create, collaborate, and innovate.

Photo credit: Jiyang Chen

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