An Orchestra Without a Conductor?

The Indian River Symphonic Association continues its season next Thursday, March 5, welcoming the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to Community Church of Vero Beach for an evening that challenges everything you think you know about how an orchestra works.

For more than fifty years, Orpheus has operated without a conductor. No baton, no podium, and the intimacy and precision of a chamber ensemble. The New York Times described it as "smiles born of camaraderie, shared accomplishment, and deep engagement with exceptional music."

And then there's the soloist. Pianist Marc-André Hamelin, whom the Times has called a performer of "near-superhuman technical prowess," takes on Liszt's Wanderer Fantasy (after Schubert), one of the most ferociously demanding works in the piano repertoire.

The March 5 concert begins at 7:30 PM at Community Church of Vero Beach, 1901 23rd Street.

Tickets are $90 and available at irsymphonic.org or by calling (772) 778-1070.

Remaining concerts in the series:

Monday, March 16: Academy of St Martin in the Fields Tuesday

Tuesday, March 24: Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra