Joseph Anderer: There are four of us that were there the first year, but many, many more that were there very early on, and we're still together.

Alex Fortes: It's not just an orchestra that's celebrating its 50th anniversary, but many of the members playing every day are also celebrating 50 years or almost 50 years with the group.

Joseph Anderer: It's really like my family. As personnel changes, there's always this core of members who have been around for well over 40 years in most, in a lot of cases.

Alex Fortes: And so the institutional memory that St. Luke's has across so many different kinds of, of, of musical collaborations is unique.

Louise Schulman: I think of us as a family. There is so much love. Lately because I'm getting older, I'm still playing everything I can. We have new children in our family and they are great. You know, they have a warmth about them that they just come in and they're, and we give that warmth to them too. And we share that mutual love for music and excellence.

Dana Kelly: What's most exciting for me, I think, is how diverse the offerings are for the ensemble and how much the musicians can do, and how much they can do well. From Baroque to Classical to Romantic to contemporary music and all the collaborations with different artists and different genres and different performers. It's incredible to me when I look back at how it started to see where it is now. If we keep going this way, we're going to find success.

Elliott Forrest: Members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, past and present. Including founding members Joseph Enderer, Principal Horn, and violist Louise Schulman. And newer members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's family, violinist Alex Fortes, and violist Dana Kelly.

The Orchestra of St. Luke's is marking its 50th anniversary. A golden jubilee of exceptional performances, artistic innovation, and a commitment to the transformative power of music. I'm Elliott Forrest. For half a century, the Orchestra of St. Luke's has been a cornerstone of New York City's vibrant classical music scene, captivating audiences with its virtuosity and passion. From its humble beginnings as a chamber ensemble in 1974 at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields, this remarkable orchestra has grown to become a world-renowned institution. The New York Times calls them New York's hometown band.

On this special 50th anniversary program, we'll hear a recent recording of a concert given at their original home, the little church in the West Village where the Orchestra of St. Luke's acquired their name. We'll also hear some of the orchestra's other recordings, including a past concert at one of their regular venues, the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.

In its 50-year history, the orchestra performed in venues around the city, including a regular annual series at Carnegie Hall. They have the unique distinction of having performed at Carnegie Hall more than any other orchestra since their debut in the hall in 1983. Another home for the Orchestra of St. Luke's is the Dimenna Center in Manhattan's Hudson Yards, which serves as a rehearsal, recording, and performance space. James Roe is the President and Executive Director of the Orchestra of St. Luke's. He told us about the evolution of the orchestra, starting with their concerts in that West Village church.

James Roe: And it wasn't long after we started playing at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields that we were noticed. And we were noticed by people who needed an orchestra. Who needed an orchestra of special players who could do extraordinary things. What evolved, then, was an organization that was really responsive to audiences, to producers, to partners, to artists.

And in the process, we developed our own personality, our own point of view, and we were the partner that everyone wanted to work with. We were the people that everyone wanted to record with. If you're going to play at Carnegie Hall, get St. Luke's. If you're going to have a dance concert at City Center or BAM, well get Orchestra of St. Luke's. And that sort of center of the musical world that we occupied is something that really uniquely exists in New York City. I feel like Orchestra of St. Luke's is a New York original. Its success story could only happen here, and its success is something that has made the musical life of New York richer.

Elliott Forrest: Orchestra of St. Luke's President and Executive Director, James Roe. As part of their 50th anniversary celebration, members of the orchestra recently performed a special concert at their original home, the Church of St. Luke in the Fields. WQXR recorded this special event, and we'll hear some of that concert now.Here is Beethoven's Septet in E flat Major, performed by a chamber version of the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

MUSIC – Beethoven Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20

Elliott Forrest: Beethoven's Septet in E flat Major, Op. 20, performed by members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Recorded live by WQXR at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields, the original home of this orchestra.

This concert is part of the Orchestra of St. Luke's 50th anniversary celebration. I'm Elliott Forrest.

Founding member and Orchestra of St. Luke's violist Louise Schulman describes the essence of this ensemble.

Louise Schulman: We are passionate about music. We, you know, we love it so much and when we're experiencing it, you know, when you think about people in the audience, they're there to experience the music. But I think the performers experience it on even a more deeper level, because we're living it. You know, it's like every moment is a great moment, every moment is a treasure, is a miracle, if you're talking about the great composers.

Elliott Forrest: Violist Louise Schulman.

We're going to hear something from one of those great composers now, a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, also recorded at the 50th anniversary concert.

The singer for this cantata is soprano Amanda Forsythe. Forsythe is a regular soloist with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and also performs with the Boston Early Music Festival, the Handel and Haydn Society, the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, among others. Let's hear that cantata now.

Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, Exalt God in Every Land. Part of the Orchestra of St. Luke's 50th anniversary celebration at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields, their original home in New York's Greenwich Village.

MUSIC – Bach: Cantata: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51

Elliott Forrest: A cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, the Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, performed by members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's with soprano Amanda Forsythe. This performance was recorded live at the church where the ensemble started 50 years ago. The Church of St. Luke in the Fields.

We're celebrating 50 years of music making by one of New York City's great ensembles, the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Coming up in the second half of this program, a performance recorded at Caramoor's Center for Music and the Arts, where the orchestra has been performing since the late 1970s. I'm Elliott Forrest.

This is Classical New York WQXR 105. 9 FM and HD Newark, 90. 3 FM WQXW Ossining, and WNYC FM HD2 New York.

We're listening to an excerpt of a concert recorded at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields. These are members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's performing alongside their youth orchestra. Founded in 2014, the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's is an after-school program focused on collaboration, performance, and creativity.

In this recording, the young musicians are playing right alongside members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's who provide invaluable mentoring. In addition to this after school program, the orchestra also presents free concerts to thousands of New York City public school students each year. Education has been one of the pillars of the Orchestra of St. Luke's for the past 50 years.

We're celebrating the orchestra's golden jubilee on this special program from WQXR. I'm Elliott Forrest.

We now take a trip upstate to Katonah, New York, where the Orchestra of St. Luke's has a regular presence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. Orchestra of St.

Luke's violist, Dana Kelly, is a fan of the venue.

Dana Kelly: I love going to Caramoor. I've been going up there with different ensembles for almost ten years now. And it's always a treat to go up during the summer to escape the city for a little bit. And I think actually, my favorite part about Caramoor is how unpredictable the weather can be. And how, because there's the tent over the main stage that we just play through everything. And I remember a concert, I think it was last summer of 2023 where it was pouring rain. We went up for a dress rehearsal in the morning and it was pouring. We couldn't hear each other at all. People couldn't even tighten their bows. It was so humid. And then the rain stopped magically about 30 minutes before the concert. And it was just like, everyone was listening in a different way because we've been fighting, you know, for a couple hours in the morning to just play. And then it was like, oh, the sky's cleared and it was time for the music, you know. So there's always something that happens at Caramoor that makes you be on your toes, and I love that.

Elliott Forrest: One of the newer members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, violist Dana Kelly.

The orchestra has been in residence at Caramoor since 1979, providing concerts of classic repertoire and works by contemporary composers.

We have a recording of the Orchestra of St. Luke's from the summer of 2022. With guest conductor Gemma New. Here's Mozart Symphony No. 35 recorded at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.

MUSIC – Mozart Symphony No. 35 “Haffner”

Elliott Forrest: A recording of the Orchestra of St. Luke's at their summer home, the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. We heard Mozart's Symphony No. 35, also known as the Haffner Symphony. The conductor was Gemma New.

We're celebrating 50 years for one of New York's great musical institutions, the Orchestra of St. Luke's. As the Orchestra of St. Luke's takes the time to celebrate all the accomplishments of their past, they also recognize their commitment to the future. Orchestra of St. Luke's President and Executive Director, James Roe.

James Roe: So, I think the exciting thing right now upon reaching 50, is to think about reaching 100. To build on the legacy of our founders, to use the principles and values that have brought us so much success, and think about an organization that's going to outlast all of us. And building those essential building blocks right now into the organization that will sustain us going forward. That's what's happening at this juncture. And I'm so excited that the musicians are behind this, the staff is behind us, the board is behind this. And I tell you, the audience is behind it. We're having the audience embrace our programming. We're having full houses in every sort of variety of music that we're playing and the fact that they are coming in such great numbers to everything that we're doing, well this is, this is really what's the most important thing.

Elliott Forrest: Orchestra of St. Luke's President and Executive Director James Roe.

We hope you've enjoyed this program honoring the 50 years of music making by the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Here's to the next half century for New York's hometown band.

Our great thanks to the staff of the Orchestra of St. Luke's for their assistance with this program.

WQXR's recording team includes George Wellington and Noriko Okabe. Eileen Delahunty is the radio producer. I'm Elliott Forrest. This program is a production of WQXR in New York.

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