We are excited to be gearing up for our new season when we can come together once again in celebration of music, moments, and community.

During this time when we couldn’t be together, we have been busy with an exciting project with support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and in partnership with the NYC Department of Correction. Over the next few months, The Chelsea Symphony will be releasing short videos highlighting the orchestra. Some will feature music, while others will be about TCS‘s unique model. 

These videos are being simultaneously released to the general public as well as people who are detained in DOC facilities, allowing us to provide the same high-quality experience to those in low-access settings that we provide for you. The DOC’s individual tablet system also provides a meaningful two-way interaction between detainees and our musicians, where questions about the music, musical careers, and instruments can be asked and answered.

We hope you enjoy these first selections, and that you will follow us on our YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts so that you can be the first to know when a new video is released.

Stay tuned for our 2021/2022 season announcement - but until then, we hope you enjoy this series as much as we had fun making it!

Oliver Davis’s “Flight” Concerto for Violin and Strings

The 3rd movement from British composer Oliver Davis’s “Flight” Concerto for Violin and Strings features TCS violinist Phong Ta.

This 😂 plucky 😂 movement focuses on the pizzicato string section, rocking back and forth with a trance-like rhythm.

Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances

This excerpt from Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances is a great example of calm before the storm. The gentle music of the introduction leads to a raucous syncopated dance.