Carnegie Hall

The world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra strives to share the transformative power of music with the widest possible audience, and to create joy, connection, and excitement through music in the Philadelphia region, across the country, and around the world. Through innovative programming, robust education initiatives, a commitment to its diverse communities, and the embrace of digital outreach, the ensemble is creating an expansive and inclusive future for classical music and furthering the place of the arts in an open and democratic society.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is now in his 13th season with The Philadelphia Orchestra, serving as music and artistic director. His connection to the ensemble’s musicians has been praised by both concertgoers and critics. In addition to expanding the repertoire by embracing an ever-growing and diverse group of today’s composers, Yannick and the orchestra are committed to performing and recording the works of previously overlooked composers.

Your Philadelphia Orchestra takes great pride in its hometown, performing for the people of Philadelphia year-round, at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and around the community, in classrooms and hospitals, and over the airwaves and online. The Kimmel Center has been the ensemble’s home since 2001, and in 2024 Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center was officially rededicated as Marian Anderson Hall in honor of the legendary contralto, civil rights icon, and Philadelphian. The orchestra’s award-winning education and community initiatives engage more than 50,000 students, families, and community members of all ages through programs such as PlayINs; Our City, Your Orchestra Live; the Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concert; School Concerts; open rehearsals; the School Partnership and School Ensemble programs; All City Orchestra Fellowships; and residency work in Philadelphia and abroad.

Through concerts, tours, residencies, and recordings, the orchestra is a global ambassador and one of our nation’s greatest exports. It performs annually at Carnegie Hall, the Mann Center, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival. The orchestra also has a rich touring history, having first performed outside Philadelphia in its earliest days. In 1973, it was the first American orchestra to perform in the People’s Republic of China.

Under Yannick’s leadership, the orchestra returned to recording with 14 celebrated releases on the Deutsche Grammophon label, including the Grammy Award–winning Florence Price Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3. The orchestra also reaches thousands of radio listeners with weekly broadcasts on WRTI-FM and SiriusXM. For more information, please visit philorch.org.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is currently in his 13th season with The Philadelphia Orchestra, serving as music and artistic director. An inspired leader, Yannick, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is both an evolutionary and a revolutionary, developing the mighty “Philadelphia Sound” in new ways. His collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm have been heralded by critics and audiences alike.

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most thrilling and sought-after talents of his generation. He became the third music director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 2018. In addition, he has been artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. In 2017, he became the third-ever honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and he served as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008 to 2018 (he is now honorary conductor). He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles and at many of the leading opera houses.

Yannick has shown a deep commitment to expanding the repertoire by embracing an ever-growing and diverse group of today’s composers and by performing the music of underappreciated composers of the past. In 2018, he signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Under his leadership, The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with 14 releases on that label, including Florence Price Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, which won a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance.

A native of Montreal, Yannick studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at Montreal’s Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini; he also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick’s honors are an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada; Companion to the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec; an Officer of the Order of Quebec; an Officer of the Order of Montreal; an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year; ECHO KLASSIK’s 2014 Conductor of the Year; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec, Curtis Institute of Music, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, McGill University, University of Montreal, University of Pennsylvania, Laval University, and Drexel University. To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit philorch.org/conductor.

A multiple Grammy Award winner and winner of the 2018 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, Kansas-born mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato has soared to the top of the industry both as a performer and a fierce advocate for the arts. With a repertoire spanning over four centuries, a varied and highly acclaimed discography, and industry-leading projects, her artistry has defined what it is to be a singer in the 21st century. She made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2015 at Carnegie Hall.

Ms. DiDonato’s recent performance highlights include opening the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023–2024 season as Sister Helen in a new production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. She returned to the Met to revive her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in Kevin Puts’s The Hours; appeared in concert with her hometown Kansas City Symphony for subscription concerts; and performed in recital at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Vienna’s Musikverein, and Carnegie Hall. Much in demand on the concert and recital circuit, she has recently held residencies at Carnegie Hall and the Barbican Centre in London, toured extensively around the world, and was guest soloist at the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. Other recent highlights include performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Additional recent opera appearances include Handel’s Agrippina at the Met and in a new production at the Royal Opera House; Didon in Berlioz’s Les Troyens at the Vienna State Opera; the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, and Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma at the Met; and Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther at the Royal Opera House.

Ms. DiDonato is an exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics / Erato and has an expansive discography that includes Les Troyens (Gramophone’s Recording of the Year) and Agrippina (Gramophone’s Opera Recording of the Year). Other albums include her singular EDEN, which has toured to nearly 40 cities globally; Schubert’s Winterreise with Yannick Nézet-Séguin; the Grammy Award–winning Songplay; Stella di Napoli; the Grammy Award–winning Diva, Divo; and Drama Queens. Other honors include Gramophone’s Artist of the Year and Recital of the Year awards and an induction into the Gramophone Hall of Fame.

The Philadelphia Symphonic Choir made its debut in December 2016, performing in three programs with The Philadelphia Orchestra that season. Consisting of talented vocalists auditioned from around the country, the ensemble was created to marry gifted and unique voices of Philadelphia and beyond with the legendary Philadelphia Sound. Performance highlights with the orchestra include the world premiere of the concert version of Kevin Puts’s opera The Hours and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall. The ensemble has also sung holiday performances of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors and Handel’s Messiah. The Philadelphia Symphonic Choir is directed by Joe Miller, professor of conducting and director of choral studies at the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music. He made his conducting debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2021 leading performances of Messiah. The American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO, the union of professional singers, dancers, and production personnel in opera, ballet, and concert, represents the choral artists in these performances.

Renowned for its musicianship, intelligence, and interpretive abilities, the Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale (PBCC) has cultivated a devoted worldwide following for its highly acclaimed concerts and performances. Established in 1968 and under the baton of Jeffrey R. Smith since 2004, the choir is known as “America’s Ambassadors of Song,” proudly representing both the City of Philadelphia and the United States on its many concert tours across the globe, most recently in India in August 2024. PBCC’s achievements include recordings with internationally renowned orchestras and soloists such as Luciano Pavarotti, television appearances, and praise from critics and audiences worldwide. PBCC has collaborated with many ensembles, including The Philadelphia Orchestra (with which it debuted in 1973), Philly POPS, Philadelphia Ballet, Opera Philadelphia, Curtis Institute of Music, Academy of Vocal Arts, Mendelssohn Chorus, Pig Iron Theater, VoxAmaDeus, and Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. PBCC has appeared on national television and is also a regular performer at Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles games.

A highly selective music education program for girls ages six and older, the Philadelphia Girls Choir, which made its Philadelphia Orchestra debut in March 2024, is designed to instill confidence and excellence through music education and performance. The choir takes a holistic approach to choral music that relates musicianship and performance to the broader human experience. Cultural diversity and personal development are essential elements of training. Founded in 2012 and in its 12th season under the artistic direction of Nathan Wadley, the choir began with 18 singers and has grown to include more than 200 youth divided into four ensembles—Prelude, Etude, Cantata, and Concerto. Beginning with the basics of music theory and performance, singers progress over the years to learn more about vocal technique through challenging repertoire. The choir has performed at renowned locations such as the National Constitution Center, Academy of Music, Kimmel Center, Vienna’s Golden Hall, and Met Philadelphia for the mayoral inauguration of Cherelle Parker in 2024. The choir has also traveled extensively throughout Europe.