The Greenwich Village Orchestra was founded in 1986 by a group of musicians from the New York Metropolitan area. The 70-member community orchestra is made up of accountants, actors, artists, attorneys, carpenters, editors, physicians, professors, photographers, computer programmers, retirees, scientists, students, and teachers. The GVO is committed to making music at the highest possible level and dedicated to enriching the lives of our players and our audience. The performances are emotionally-charged, exhilarating experiences that truly delight audiences and the performers alike.
The GVO regularly performs with internationally-acclaimed soloists such as violinists Andrés Cárdenes, Itamar Zorman, and Hye-Jin Kim; cellists Edward Arron, Raman Ramakrishnan, David Heiss, and Brook Speltz; soprano Christine Goerke; mezzo-sopranos Jennifer Johnson Cano and Naomi O’Connell; baritone Jesse Blumberg; and trumpet soloist Brandon Ridenour. Recent guest conductors have included Pierre Valet, Yaniv Segal and Farkhad Khudyev.
On May 7 at 3:00 PM, the GVO — as led by Music Director and Conductor Barbara Yahr — will close its 30th anniversary season at Washington Irving Campus Auditorium with a pops concert, Broadway Downtown. The event will feature performances by guest artists and Broadway stars Grasan Kingsberry (The Color Purple, Motown The Musical, Aida) and Betsy Struxness (Hamilton, Matilda, Wicked). The program will include selections from the Golden Age of Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and classics. The GVO will play the role of the expanded pit band, offering fully-orchestrated renditions of some of America’s most popular Broadway tunes.
“I am really thrilled to bring back the pops tradition to the GVO,” says Music Director Barbara Yahr. “I loved conducting pops concerts when I was Assistant Conductor with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and did quite a few with other orchestras like the National Symphony, and the Munich Radio Orchestra as well. The repertoire is refreshing and rich offering us a chance to experience a uniquely American musical genre. This year, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the GVO and my 15th anniversary with the orchestra, and I love the idea of celebrating the golden age of musical theater with artists like Grasan and Betsy, who are fabulous performers. I know the orchestra is excited to take on this challenge. It’s going to be a blast!”
