The Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra is an energetic group of skilled musicians, under the guidance of music director and conductor Daniel Spalding, interested in moving beyond classically restrictive performance boundaries and dedicated to bringing music to new audiences throughout the world. The evening’s program will include works by Fritz Kreisler, Miguel de Aguilla, Leo Weiner and Pablo de Sarasate. The ensemble will also perform selections from Rossini’s Barber of Seville and two pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach as arranged by conductor Leopold Stokowski.

About Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra... www.philadelphiavirtuosi.com

The Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1991 by Daniel Spalding, whose vision was to combine the great European chamber orchestra tradition with the extraordinary virtuosity of some of the finest musicians from the Philadelphia area and the east coast. The Center City Concert Series, which began in 1996, continues at the First Presbyterian Church with innovative concert programs that have attracted the attention of Philadelphia’s classical music reviewers as well as the public. Major national and international tours continue to be a part of the orchestra's schedule. In 2005, the PVCO performed in the prestigious Composer Portrait Series at Miller Theater at Columbia University in New York City (which received a favorable review in the New York Times), for the Wednesday Club in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and made a return appearance at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Kravis program was recorded live for broadcast on 248 National Public Radio stations for the program “Performance Today.” In April of 2006, the PVCO toured Brazil and Argentina (its third tour to South America) and in the fall of 2006 gave touring performances in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. In 2008, the orchestra will be making its debut in Spain.

For the past several years, the PVCO was selected to be on the Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour roster. This program is funded by the Heinz Endowment, the William Penn Foundation, Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, the PEW Charitable Trusts, and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. The PVCO is also directly funded by the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, and in recent years has been supported by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Cassett Foundation, Arcadia Foundation, Dofinger-McMahon Foundation, Huston Foundation, the Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation, and the Judson Foundation. There have also been a number of private donors who have generously supported the orchestra.

Reaching more communities with the richness and beauty of classical music in the Philadelphia region and the world, and expanding education for young and new audiences are all priorities for the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra as it moves into the new millennium.