The Senior Concert Orchestra of New York is back! It’s always sad when a musical organization no longer has the funds to perform, and that’s why it is great news to hear the Senior Concert Orchestra has made a return. This is in thanks to the Music Performance Trust Fund and the Lortel Foundation for supporting the Orchestra.
The MPTF recently hired Dan Beck, a veteran music executive, songwriter and manager. It is with his lead, and the rest of the staff at the MPTF, that made the organization a supporter of the arts by awarding grants to worthy causes such as the Senior Concert Orchestra, which had to leave Carnegie Hall six years ago due to lack of funding. Not surprisingly, Carnegie Hall is one of the most expensive places to perform in The City. They will be one of the first recipients to receive this grant in 2014.
The Senior Concert Orchestra is headed by 84-year-old Gino Smbuco who is a retired violinist with the NY Philharmonic. He fought for a year to get the Orchestra back at Carnegie Hall and with the grant from the Lortel Foundation they were close to accomplishing that goal. It was Dan Beck heading the MPTF that gave them the final push.
The symphony is comprised of players in their 90s, 80s, and 70s with the old musicians being 98-years-old! The rest of the symphony is comprised of local 802 (NYC). Many attended Juilliard and have impressive resumes playing for the Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and City Opera. It’s a diverse group of gender and ethnicities that all have two things in common: they are in their senior years and they love music.
The show is set for November 16 at 3 PM.
