This KCO performance will mark the 250th anniversary year - the semiquincentennial - of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Featured will be a world premiere by Gary S. Fagin, “Each and All,” drawing on texts about democracy by Plato, Alexis de Tocqueville, Henry Longfellow, Walt Whitman, and Abraham Lincoln.
“Charlotte: Life? or Theater?,” book and lyrics by Elise Thoron, music by Gary S. Fagin, is a one-act music-theater piece based on the life and paintings of Charlotte Salomon, the German-Jewish painter who created an astonishing visual record of her life in Berlin and France in the 1930s and 1940s, and who lost her life in Auschwitz in 1943.
“A Distant Love – Songs of John and Abigail Adams,” libretto by Terry Quinn, music by Gary S. Fagin, is based on the David McCullough biography of John Adams and the letters between John and Abigail Adams.
May 29, 2025, 7:30 PM-9:30 PM
WSA, 161 Water Street, New York City
The musicians of the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, with soprano Christine Jobson, mezzo-soprano Kate Tombaugh, tenor Scott Murphree, and KCO Music Director and Conductor, Gary S. Fagin, showcased both world and orchestral premiere performances of Fagin’s instrumental and vocal compositions.
A post-concert waltz accompanied by the full live orchestra with scenic views of the South Street Seaport, East River, and Brooklyn Bridge delighted the audience.
March 13, 2025, 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Guests were invited to a special musical soirée that took place on Thursday evening, March 13th—a preview of a program the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra is set to present in May.
March 21, 2024, 7:00 PM
Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York City
In coordination with “Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark,” a special exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage highlighting the remarkable story of the rescue of Danish Jews during the Holocaust, the KCO presented “A Concert Dedicated to Courage and Compassion,” with soprano Mikaela Bennett and baritone Benjamin Davis. The concert featured the premiere of Gary S. Fagin’s “Courage to Act," honoring Henny Sinding and her boat, Gerda III. In 1943, twenty-two-year-old Henny led Gerda III’s rescue activities, saving an estimated 300 Jews via clandestine journeys across the Øresund Sound to Sweden.
April 22, 2023, 7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.
Winter Garden at Brookfield Place
A celebration of Earth Day, featuring a conversation with MacArthur Genius Award recipient, author, and ecologist Carl Safina, works by Aaron Copland, Gustav Mahler, and Kurt Weill, and the world premiere of Gary S. Fagin’s Rachel Carson-inspired composition, “In Every Grain of Sand,” with mezzo-soprano Rosena Hill Jackson and baritone Nathaniel Stampley. Brookfield Place’s Winter Garden.
June 19, 2022, 3:00 PM
Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York City
Soprano Lindsay Roberts, mezzo-soprano Rosena Hill Jackson, tenor Chauncey Packer, and baritone Tamar Greene joined the KCO to perform works celebrating the new national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in 1865. Works by Florence Price, Duke Ellington, Ricky Ian Gordon, and the world premiere of Gary S. Fagin’s “Good Trouble.” Edmond. J. Safra Hall at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
April 28, 2022
South Street Seaport
Attendees reveled in the New Roaring 20s at this soirée-fundraiser for the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra. Period drinks, decadent hors d’oeuvres were served; lively entertainment by Vince Giordano and members for the Nighthawks. Photo by Katie Settel.
September 22, 2021
Museum of Jewish Heritage
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the KCO performed music to uplift and inspire: Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings; Duke Ellington’s Come Sunday; the world premiere of Gary S. Fagin’s 9/11 In Memoriam. Edmond. J. Safra Hall at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Friday, October 2, 2020
5pm to 9pm
Brookfield Place, 230 Vesey Street, Lower Manhattan
Ten consecutive 20-minute concerts, each with a different program
Chamber music in a pandemic safe environment. KCO musicians presented a series of performances featuring works of Bach, Haydn, Piazzolla and Paganini for small, socially distanced audiences. Attendees experienced the joy of live music again!
Grab a partner, bring the kids, and join Gary S. Fagin and the KCO under the trees at the Battery Park City waterfront for a selection of timeless tunes in 3/4. One-two-three, one-two-three; practice your waltzing—and then listen for all your old favorites, from Richard Rogers's “Carousel Waltz” to “Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss II! Bring your dancing shoes! FREE EVENT
Bring your BFF and channel your inner Fred & Ginger as Gary S. Fagin and the KCO play timeless waltzes at the breezy end of Pier 45. An enchanting evening of some of the greatest music in 3/4 ever written, by such masters as Scott Joplin, Richard Rogers, Johannes Brahms, and the Waltz King himself, Johann Strauss II. Swirl and sway, or just sit back and relax; either way, enjoy a Hudson River sunset enveloped by the sweet sounds of the KCO strings! FREE EVENT
Ahoy! Join the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra on Maritime Day for a lively concert of classical seafaring tunes.
FREE EVENT
Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place
Experience the world premiere of KCO Music Director Gary S. Fagin’s delightful one-act opera for children. Based on a Native American myth, the allegory follows the courageous journey of Jumping Mouse as she interacts with other animals and perseveres through challenges in pursuit of her dreams.
FREE EVENT
An all-female ensemble from the KCO celebrates Women’s History Month with a performance showcasing great classical and contemporary female composers. Led by KCO concertmaster Belinda Whitney and featured violinist Joyce Hamman, the all-star lineup also will tell stories about how they followed their musical dreams.
FREE EVENT; REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Click here to register
In a special kick-off to our 11th season, the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra is pleased to announce an exclusive performance of KCO Music Director Gary S. Fagin’s “John Adams in Amsterdam: A Song for Abigail,” libretto by Terry Quinn, on the evening of Monday, February 11, 2019, at the famed Knickerbocker Club.
Tango-Waltz-Foxtrot! We kicked up our heels with Gary S.Fagin and the KCO for “Sweet Sounds of Summer!"—a stylish selection of classical melodies for our dancing pleasure, including foxtrots, tangos and waltzes. We enjoyed the timeless tunes of Johann Strauss, Irving Berlin and other great song and dance masters!
Location: Hudson River Park's Pier 45 (cross at Christopher Street)
Gary S. Fagin and the KCO played toe-tappin' favorites at the breezy end of Pier 45 such as Scott Joplin’s "Maple Leaf Rag" and “The Entertainer;” Noel Coward’s “Sail Away” and the 1930’s hit “Red Sails In The Sunset;” as well as traditional Scottish reels and Aaron Copland’s rousing "Hoe-Down from Rodeo.”
Location: Schimmel Center
In this world premiere of Gary S. Fagin's new cantata for soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone and orchestra, the KCO gave voice, hauntingly, to those most affected by the gun epidemic: victims of gun violence and their families.
Location: Museum of Jewish Heritage
An enchanting chamber music and dance work about a child whose toys come to life, Zaubernacht is Kurt Weill's earliest work for the stage. The KCO collaborated with the innovative choreographer Jody Oberfelder, who created original characters based on Weill's dynamic score.
The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra kicked-off of their Tenth Anniversary Season of performances in the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place.
Location: Battery Park City
Elizabeth Pitcairn performed with her legendary 1720 Stradivarius, inspiration for the 1999 Academy Award-winning film “The Red Violin," in this Kid's Classical Concert on February 7th.
Free, ages 8 and up.
Sponsored by Goldman Sachs.
The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra joined friends high in the sky at the Ritz-Carlton overlooking New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty on February 6, 2018, while violin virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn serenaded all with her legendary Stradivarius Red Violin
The KCO performed at the South Street Seaport Museum’s 50th Anniversary Gala, aboard the tall ship Wavertree.
Attendees twirled in 3/4 time with the Hudson River as backdrop as the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra strings serenaded with a selection of all-time waltz favorites.
The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra swung into action playing dance classics from the Great American Songbook.
Hot Latin rhythms floated on sultry South American currents on our Hudson riverfront, as downtown's own Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra performed dramatic Tango music with exhibition dance.
Inspiring and transporting as the KCO performed selections from modern classical masters Igor Stravinsky and Charles Ives under the Wavertree’s spectacular masts and spars, as well as some soaring surprises, reflecting Wavertree’s maritime majesty!
Gary Fagin and the KCO gave an insider's look into the whys and hows of classical masterpieces!
Join the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra and co-sponsors Laura Starr of Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners, Madelyn Wils of the Hudson River Park Trust and the Old Seaport Alliance as we celebrate 100 years of the National Park Service; honor Seaport founder and visionary, Peter Stanford; and toast Lower Manhattan's unique waterfront parks--The Battery and Hudson River Park!
On Saturday, April 23, at the Tribeca Film Festival's huge Family Festival street fair, Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra musicians join with the American Tap Dance Foundation's Tap City Youth Ensemble to present a quick history of the art of tap!
Canterbury’s music students perform with select members of the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra. Members of the Knickerbocker Orchestra include Nancy Hume, granddaughter of Canterbury founding Headmaster Nelson Hume and daughter of Michael Hume ‘41, as well as Canterbury faculty member, Belinda Whitney.
