Blogcritics: Exclusive Interview: Parlando Founder and Music Director Ian Niederhoffer Previews October 4 ‘Odysseys’ Concert, with Music of Tchaikovsky, Jimmy Lopez, Joey Roukens

Blogcritics
By Jon Sobel

The New York City-based chamber orchestra Parlando aims to bridge the gap between audience and performer.

That might sound a bit self-evident – doesn’t every artist and ensemble want to connect with listeners? 

But for Parlando and its founder and music director Ian Niederhoffer, “bridging the gap” means something special: truly direct communication, and engagement in creative and fun ways.

Niederhoffer engages with the audience before each concert, explicating the theme of the program. The selections vary widely, but each concert’s theme connects standard works with new or underrepresented music. The upcoming “Odysseys” concert, October 4 at Merkin Hall, brings together two contemporary pieces, Jimmy Lopez’s Guardian of the Horizon and Joey Roukens’ Visions at Sea, with Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence.

Read more here.

Photo Credit: Rebecca Fay