Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Jennifer Higdon is known for her vibrant colors, driving rhythms, and instantly engaging musical language. Her piece Punch It Up does exactly what the title promises—pushing the volume, excitement, and virtuosity into high gear!
Hear it 3/13!
🎟️ link in bio!
Composer Victor Ewald is widely celebrated as one of the founding figures of the brass quintet repertoire. His Brass Quintet No. 1 in B-flat minor remains a cornerstone of the genre—richly melodic, dramatic, full of sweeping musical conversations.
Hear it Friday 3/13!
🎟️ link in bio!
Conductor and composer Michael Tilson Thomas has spent decades electrifying audiences with his bold musical imagination. His Street Song III captures that energy perfectly—rhythmic, colorful, and bursting with urban vitality.
Hear it Friday 3/13, as part of our second annual QUOfest!
Link in bio!
Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story is a high-energy orchestral suite adapted for the concert hall from the 1957 Broadway musical.
Hear it live at our concert "The Dance Floor" on 3/14 at 8PM at St. Paul & St. Andrew.
🎟️ Tickets available at the link in our bio!
Florence Price’s Dances in the Canebrakes is a joyful, rhythm-filled work that entwines classical tradition and early American dance culture.
Join us 3/14 for The Dance Floor, a night that lifts up the dance floor as an inimitable space of queer expression, community, and liberation.
🎟️ Link in bio
QUO is thrilled to highlight Kebra-Seyoun Charles on all 3 of our up-coming QUOfest concerts! Friday's performance will feature "Vignette 1" from their "Enby Ballet Suite." Saturday and Sunday's performances will bring "Nightlife: Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra."
🎟️: queerurbanorchestra.org
3 Days. 4 Events! QUOfest focuses on the dance floor as a long-established safe space for queer folx. Featuring a chamber program, an old-school queer tea dance, a full orchestra concert with grooves of the Americas, and a family concert where kids can get their wiggles out! Ticket link in bio!
Another sneak peak at rehearsals for QUOtets XX, featuring "Fly Free Forever" by QUO member Jacob Szilagi! See this and 8 other small ensembles next weekend at QUOtets XX!!
🗓️ Saturday 1/31, 8PM
⛪ Judson Memorial Church (55 Washington Square S)
🎟️ queerurbanorchestra.org/tickets
Saturday 1/31, the members of QUO shine in QUOtets XX!! Grab your tickets early for a $5 discount and come enjoy an evening of member-curated solo and small-ensemble works!
🎟️: www.queerurbanorchestra.org/tickets
#quo #queerurbanorchestra #nycorchestra #queermusic #chambermusic #queernyc
QUO wishes all our members and patrons a Happy Holidays and New Year! We’re so grateful for your continued support and look forward to making music together in the year ahead!
Last Saturday’s @queerurbanorch.bsky.social percussion section. #tchaikovsky2 #lanziloti #debussy #viljoen
QUO will be featured on this Friday's episode of "All Of It with Alison Stewart" on NPR, 12/11 at 12:30! The episode will feature an interview with Artistic Director David Bloom, current Vice President David Lohman, and Orchestra Manager Brian Shaw, as well as live performances by QUO members!
QUO is thrilled to feature two of our members this Saturday as we present REFUGE! Johann Palo shines on Debussy's Première rapsodie, and we'll present the world premiere of Tafeni - on finding home, by QUO cellist Michael J. Viljoen. Also: Tchaik 2 and ao kuewa by Lanzilotti. 🎟️ Ticket link in bio!
This season is about building and protecting the spaces where queer people can gather, create, and thrive. A place where our art is celebrated, our identities are honored, and our community feels safe.
If you believe places like this should exist, please consider supporting us this #GivingTuesday!
Your contribution ensures QUO can use music to create welcoming spaces for queer community. Thank you for supporting this crucial queer space.
Donate at givebutter.com/B8mbYf or visit our linktree (link in profile!)
To keep QUO thriving, we've set a goal to raise $15,000 by December 31 and we need your help to get there. We hope you will consider making a contribution today!
In addition to our concerts, QUO is devoted to a queer future for orchestral music with our artist development programs: the Vanguard Composers Competition, Conducting Fellowship, and our Concerto Competition.
For QUO it’s not just about the concerts. As the Northeast's only LGBTQ+ orchestra, QUO is a beacon for our 100+ members, a space to connect and support each other. Our weekly rehearsals are a reminder that even during challenging times for our community, no one is alone. (more...)
When folk songs turn symphonic!
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 pays homage to the rich folk traditions of Ukraine, a lifelong fascination he explored during his extended visits to the country.
Join us 12/13 for an evening of color, community, and connection through music.
Ticket link in bio!
It’s concert day!! Tickets are available at the door from 7:00. And please join us for pre-concert talk at 7:15 with a few special guests, led by QUO Associate Conductor Derek Weagle!
We can’t wait to take this journey with you!!
#Holst #ThePlanets #QueerCosmos #QueerNYC #ClassicalMusic #orchestra
A glimpse behind the scenes before lift-off 🚀✨
Don’t miss Queer Cosmos, a symphonic journey through the queer space with the Queer Urban Orchestra Saturday night!
Featuring Brooklyn Treble Choir in Holst’s The Planets and pianist Isabelle O’Connell in Viet Cuong’s Stargazer.
🎟️ link in bio!
Get ready for a STELLAR performance! This Saturday, Isabelle O'Connell joins the Queer Urban Orchestra for a newly revised version of Viet Cuong's breathtaking piano concerto, "Stargazer"! Ticket link in bio!
#IsabelleOConnell #QueerUrbanOrchestra #VietCuong #Stargazer #PianoConcerto #NewMusic
Queer Cosmos is this Saturday!! Join us to hear works by Imogen Holst and Viet Cuong, as well as Gustav Holst’s The Planets!
$5 off all tickets purchased online through Friday night- ticket link in our bio!
#holst #theplanets #vietcuong #isabelleoconnell #brooklyntrebelchoir #nycmusic #queermusic
We’re thrilled to welcome Brooklyn Treble Choir as our guest performers this season! Known for their radiant sound and inclusive community, this dynamic ensemble of treble voices joins QUO for selections from The Sun’s Journey by Imogen Holst!
Tickets available www.queerurbanorchestra.org/tickets/
QUOtets XIX was a smashing success! Congratulations to all of the musicians that brought their A-game, and thank you to our incredible audience for supporting us!
#queerurbanorchestra #queerart #queermusic #quo #nyc #classicalmusic #orchestra
QUO Member Spotlight: KARISHMA!
COMPOSER SPOTLIGHT: Meet HERMAN BEEFTINK
Herman Beeftink is Dutch-American composer based in Southern California. You’ve heard his work in X-Men Origins, The Simpsons Movie, and Gilmore Girls. Now, come hear it at QUOtets on September 6! (Ticket link in our linktree!)
QUO's '25-'26 season 'A Place for Us' kicks off SATURDAY NIGHT with QUOtets XIX!!! Grab your tickets (linktr.ee/quorchestra) and come hear the creativity and artistry of QUO's musicians on full display in this evening of chamber music, selected and performed by groups of QUO musicians!
QUO Artistic Director David Bloom, Board President David Lohman, and Orchestra Manager Brian Shaw met with Matt Tracy of Gay City News to talk about the orchestra’s roots and promote our upcoming season, “A Place for Us.” Check out the article linked in our bio or in print wherever GCN is available!
