New Century Chamber Orchestra

One of only a handful of conductorless chamber ensembles in the world, New Century Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1992 and includes 19 string players from the San Francisco Bay Area as well as throughout the United States. Musical decisions are made collaboratively, resulting in an enhanced level of commitment from the musicians and concerts of remarkable precision, passion, and power.

British violinist Daniel Hope was appointed as Music Director and Concertmaster beginning in the 2018-2019 season (after serving the prior season as the ensemble’s Artistic Partner), bringing a new era of vibrancy and leadership. Previous music directors of the ensemble include Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (2008-2017), Krista Bennion Feeney (1999-2006) and Stuart Canin (1992-1999).

With a commitment to the virtuosic performance of chamber orchestra masterworks, New Century also expands the genre through frequent commissions of new music and innovative collaborations with artists from other genres. New Century fosters an intimate relationship with music, not only by offering concerts in small, local venues throughout the Bay Area and beyond, but also by connecting our musical history to the work of living composers and the cultural narratives of today. Recently commissioned composers include Tan Dun, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Jennifer Higdon, Mark Adamo, Lera Auerbach, Jake Heggie, and Nicolás Lell Benavides. Underscoring its commitment to new music, New Century recently released Music for a New Century, its debut recording under Music Director Daniel Hope on the Deutsche Grammophon label with Ukrainian pianist Alexey Botvinov, featuring four works commissioned or co-commissioned by New Century over the last six years: Philip Glass’ Piano Concerto No. 3 (2017), Tan Dun’s Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra with Percussion (2021), Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Lament for Solo Violin and String Orchestra (2018-19) and Jake Heggie’s Overture (2023).