Defining music. Redefining concerts.

Orchestra Alchemy changes the concert experience to one of innovation and connection through deep and meaningful storytelling with insights into music. Think orchestral TEDTalks.

[Concerts can be adjusted to run within a window of 60-90 minutes, and are performed without an interval.]

“I would die, but for my art”: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 & his Heiligenstadt Testament©Karin Hendrickson: In the summer of 1802 Beethoven wrote two of his most historical works - The Second Symphony, and his Heilignstadt Testament. One was a musical explosion of joy, with long heroic themes. The other was an intensely personal testament written in anguish, acknowledging the certainty of his impending deafness and agonizing over the questions of his future. Hear the weaving of his personal words intertwined with one of his most extraordinary and well-loved symphonic works, and be astonished how he overcame the sorrow of his Testament and resolved himself to “his art”, in order to produce one of his most compellingly joyful symphonies.

Music from Mozart’s Letters©Karin Hendrickson: Known for his off-color commentary and copious annecdotes, come enjoy the music that Mozart himself mentions in his letters, whether by him or by others, and hear just what the musical prodigy thought about it all!

MIXTAPE Brahms©Karin Hendrickson: An exploration of Brahms through his best (and perhaps less familiar, but equally beautiful) music, including orchestral works as well as songs and lieder that he wrote for voices. The concert is bookended by the first movement of the First Symphony, and the last movment of the Fourth Symphony.

The Stories that Saved her Life: Scheherazade©Karin Hendrickson: Come hear how a young brave woman saved her own life, and all the lives of the women in her city, through love and her intoxicating storytelling that would come to be known as The Arabian Nights. (Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade: The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship; The Story of the Kalendar Prince; The Young Prince and the Young Princess; The Ship Breaks against a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman).

Journey through the Museum: Pictures at an Exhibition©Karin Hendrickson In a concert inspired by art, come see and hear the visual journey walked by Modest Mussorgsky as he celebrated the artistic exhibition of his dear friend Viktor Hartmann. This concert requires a screen above the orchestra.

The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz©Karin Hendrickson: A concert telling of the immeasurable history of the Women’s Orchestra in Auschwitz-Birkenau which was conducted by Alma Rose (the niece of Gustav Mahler), using repertoire from the orchestral canon that was actually performed by the Women’s Orchestra in Auschwitz, and sharing first-hand account by orchestra members intertwined with historical documents and diary recollections from other prisoners.