EPSG:4326

2025 Winter Warmer II

University of Southern Maine

2025 Winter Warmer I

Following a heartfelt violin sonata by Schumann (who adored Bach), the East Coast Chamber Orchestra’s extraordinary ensemble offers a contemporary work inspired by Bach's stunning Chaconne, “one epic movement ... that would define string playing forever after.” Finally, with a rollicking set of variations on a Baroque dance theme, you’ll see why the New York Times declared, "ECCO delivers performances that are nothing short of electrifying." 

Program IV: Virtuosity

Portland Chamber Music Festival - Virtuosity

Vijay Iyer’s new piano concerto, Handmade Universe, incorporates elements of jazz in a work written for Shai Wosner and the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, presented here in a special partnership with Portland Chamber Music Festival. Violinist Jennifer Koh joins festival directors Wilhelmina Smith (SBC) and Melissa Reardon (PCMS) in Missy Mazzoli’s folk-inspired string trio and Mozart’s dark and brooding G minor Piano Quartet to bring the festival’s 30th year to a rousing conclusion.

Festival Concert 4

Lincoln Theater Damariscotta

Salt Bay Chamberfest Festival Concert 4

The East Coast Chamber Orchestra’s PCMF debut in 2022 drew raves from audiences: “The energy and artistry was astounding!” “Such virtuosic performances, and such wit and joy!” Well, they’re back, bringing with them Handmade Universe, a brand new work by Grammy-nominated composer Vijay Iyer that blends jazz harmonies with intricate orchestrations. A playful flourish of a string trio and a breathtaking arrangement of Bach's stunning Chaconne open the program, and the youthful vigor of Mendelssohn’s delightful Octet, written when he was just 16, brings the evening to a ravishing close.

Program III: Universal Resonance

Portland Chamber Music Festival - Universal Resonance

Harry T. Burleigh was the first Black composer to be acclaimed for his concert songs as well as for his adaptations of African-American spirituals. He studied at the National Conservatory of Music in New York, where his association and friendship with Antonín Dvořák inspired the Czech composer and then-director of the Conservatory to write his New World Symphony and “American” Quartet. ECCO—an ensemble featuring leading soloists and chamber musicians of today’s younger generation—illuminates the connections between Burleigh and Dvořák while collaborating with Israeli-born pianist Shai Wosner on a new concerto by MacArthur Fellow Vijay Iyer, co-commissioned by PCMS.

ECCO
Shai Wosner, piano

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

ECCO Shai Wosner, Piano

Inspiring PSC favorite returns with pianist Shai Wosner for the world premiere of composer/ jazz pianist Vijay Iyer’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, written for Shai Wosner and East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and co-commissioned by Peoples’ Symphony Concerts through a grant from the Roger Shapiro Fund and with support from Richard Replin and Elissa Stein,  Michael Hindus and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

ECCO and Shai Wosner, piano *IYER WORLD PREMIERE

Washington Irving Campus

The critically acclaimed East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) is a collective of dynamic like-minded artists who convene for select periods each year to explore musical works and perform concerts of the highest artistic quality. Drawing from some of the world's finest orchestras, chamber groups, and young soloists, ECCO strives for vitality and musical integrity; a self-governing organization, each member is equal and has a voice in every step of the artistic process, from programming to performance. ECCO believes that the best musical experience can speak to all audiences regardless of age or socioeconomic background and performs accordingly across a wide range of venues. 

East Coast Chamber Orchestra And Shai Wosner, Piano

Washington Irving High School

The Skaneateles Festival welcomes back the “exciting conductor-less band of strings” ECCO (New Yorker). Joined by founder-violinist Nick Kendall of Time for Three and recent 2023 Grammy-winner, the orchestra performs beloved music by Mozart as well as American composer William Grant Still’s joyous Dances from Panama. Eminent American pianist Shai Wosner joins ECCO to bask in the orchestra’s signature “warm glow” of sound (New York Times).

Mozart Under the Stars

Skaneateles High School

Pianist Shai Wosner, known for his “remarkable blend of the intellectual, physical and even devilish sides of performance” (Chicago Sun Times), joins members of ECCO for a program of music from the spiritual to the spooky: J. S. Bach’s heavenly chorale preludes; Hungarian composer György Kurtág’s alternately serene and demonic miniatures; and Beethoven’s hair-raising “Ghost” Trio. The program ends back on earth with Max Bruch’s lush, romantic Octet for Strings.

Angels & Ghosts

First Presbyterian Church

First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles

ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra) leads a sonic exploration of strings, including the violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Learn about the many sides of stringed instruments, from sweet singing to fiery fiddling! The virtuoso players of ECCO share music by Mozart, Grieg, and some musical surprises.

KidsFest with ECCO

Mandana Barn

ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra) fills the stage to share music of remembrance, nostalgia, and the will to live life to its fullest. The program features Edvard Grieg’s heartrending Holberg Suite “in the olden style”; Jamaican composer Eleanor Alberga’s tender elegy for her mother; and Franz Schubert’s searing, intense “Death and the Maiden” Quartet, heard here in Gustav Mahler’s unforgettable arrangement for string orchestra.

Ecco Plays Schubert

ECCO: East Coast Chamber Orchestra

Central Park

Featuring 17 leading soloists and chamber musicians of today’s younger generation, ECCO combines the power and expansiveness of a great orchestral ensemble with the personal involvement and spontaneity of chamber music. For its PCMS return, this exciting, conductor-less band of strings teams up with the Jupiter Quartet, “an ensemble of eloquent intensity” (The New Yorker) and a mainstay of the American chamber music scene.

ECCO Jupiter Quartet

ECCO w/ Jupiter Quartet

The Jupiter String Quartet (“technical finesse and rare expressive maturity,” New Yorker) joins the exuberant East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) for a wide-ranging program that includes Schubert’s great “Death and the Maiden” Quartet, arranged for string orchestra, and Jessie Montgomery’s take on the national anthem, Banner. “Everything the group touched felt balanced and bright...And the orchestra, as always, played luminously.” (N Y Times)

ECCO & Jupiter String Quartet

The Jupiter String Quartet, described as “an ensemble of eloquent intensity” by The New Yorker, performs on tour with East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO). Featuring members of some of the world's finest orchestras, chamber groups, as well as young soloists, ECCO strives for vitality and musical integrity. This historically rich concert program features Franz Schubert’s String Quartet in D Minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”), arranged for string orchestra by Gustav Mahler; Adolphus Hailstork’s Sonata da Chiesa from 1992, an instrumental counterpart to a traditional choral Mass; and Jessie Montgomery’s Banner from 2014, which, as Montgomery explains, draws on world anthems and patriotic songs to answer the question, “What does an anthem for the 21st century sound like in today’s multicultural environment?”

East Coast Chamber Orchestra

Mar 8, 2025

2025 Winter Warmer II

Mar 6, 2025

2025 Winter Warmer I

East Coast Chamber Orchestra