New Century Chamber Orchestra

What a gem! Nadja and the rest of the orchestra all so talented, thoughtful, and put on quite a performance.
I was lucky enough to see the opening night performance of the 20^th Anniversary Gala – and tour. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
The Barber: Adagio for Strings brought tears to my eyes. A magical performance by a mesmerizing group.
If you’re seeing them at the Herbst Theatre, get a box seat (N-​1 and –2 [or B-​1 and –2] are quite impressive – your date won’t forget the experience!).

Most of the orchestral music I see live is from the Baroque or early Classical and I had forgotten how nice it is to appreciate more modern classical music, especially performed by such an amazing group of musicians!
Nadja Salerno-​Sonnenberg was just this year named the new music director and concermaster at NCCO. I can’t say if it’s entirely her doing but the orchestra’s sound was so tight and full of life that I have to think the rest of the players feed off her frenetic but controlled energy.
I saw a program of Russian composers (Prokofiev, Shastakovich and Tchaikovsky) that blew me away. In addition to the orchestra’s energy and the superb program, the venue (First Congregational Church of Berkeley) added to the experience with its divine acoustics. The guest artist (pianist Ann Marie McDermott) is Salerno-Sonnenberg’s long time collaborator and is a trememdously gifted concert pianist. The familiarity between McDermott and NSS (even though they’ve never played together in such a configuration) complemented the experience. I found myself smiling from ear to ear as the last notes of the final movement were played and I left the concert thrilled to finally see NSS live (I remember her from a 60 Minutes segment when she was the new big thing in the late 1980s and have always wanted to see her perform live).
I recommend this orchestra especially if you are a casual fan of classical music. They play in SF, Berkeley, Marin and Palo Alto so it makes it much easier to catch a concert wherever you are in the Bay Area.

Four concerts a year. But, they do some amazing stuff. Even if Arvo Paart, Schoenberg, and (eeewwwww) Bartok aren’t your cup of tea, they also throw in some good olé’ Mozart or Bach into each concert for good measure. Great venues! Caught them at the Herbst and Legion of Honor. More intimate than a full orchestra, more lush than a quartet. Check them out!