Orchestra Miami photo.
Audio By Carbonatix
In the 17th and 18th centuries, before commercial music venues were a thing, most classical music was performed inside churches. Orchestra Miami, founded in 2006 by Artistic Director Elaine Rinaldi, is bringing that tradition back with its Saturdays at Trinity chamber music series, held inside the historic Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Miami.
The next concert in the series will happen on Saturday, June 13, with La Musique Nouvelle: Art Nouveau Music in France, a program dedicated to the lush, theatrical sounds of the French Art Nouveau era. Audiences will hear works by Georges Bizet, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, and Francis Poulenc performed by Orchestra Miami’s musicians inside the cathedral’s intimate sanctuary with an acoustic that only that setting could provide.
“We’re so grateful to Trinity for opening their doors to us and allowing us to present this series in their beautiful space,” Orchestra Miami founder and artistic director Elaine Rinaldi tells New Times. “This series not only allows us to explore music that we otherwise wouldn’t get to perform but also allows us to showcase the talents of our outstanding musicians.”
The evening’s program leans into the opulence and emotional richness that defined the Art Nouveau movement from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. Highlights include Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C Minor, Sarasate’s fiery Carmen Fantasy, performed by Orchestra Miami concertmaster Mei Mei Luo, and Ravel’s Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, featuring tenor Gerardo José Ortega.
The concert closes with Poulenc’s witty and playful Wind Sextet, a staple of the woodwind repertoire. Performers include Luo, Anthony Seepersad, Mujan Hosseinzadeh, Ashley Garritson, Elissa Lakofsky, Kendra Hawley, Richard Hancock and Gabrielle Hsu, alongside Ortega and Rinaldi on piano.
If you are looking for a different way to spend your Saturday night, whether to finish your day or as an initial activity before continuing your night, this sounds like an activity worth your time.
Admission operates on a pay-what-you-wish basis starting at $5, while front-row reserved seating is available for $30. Guests are also invited to a post-concert wine-and-bubbly reception with the artists.
Orchestra Miami’s La Musique Nouvelle: Art Nouveau Music in France. 7 p.m Saturday, June 13, at 7 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 464 NE 16th St., Miami; orchestramiami.org; 305-274-2103. Tickets start at $5.
