The 2020-2021 season would have been The Chelsea Symphony’s 15th anniversary season. As an orchestra interrupted, like literally everyone else, we have taken the last 15 months to reflect and look inward as we now start to plan for what is to come ahead. 

TCS is thrilled to announce our two founders, Miguel Campos-Neto and Yaniv Segal, are rejoining our ranks in conductors laureate and advisory roles. 

Since its founding in 2005, Miguel’s and Yaniv’s vision remains the basis of what makes TCS great today. 

“We started TCS to fill several gaps that we considered in the NY artistic scene,” said Segal, as “a community for musicians, an accessible orchestra for audiences who may not wish to travel ‘uptown’ or cannot afford tickets, and an orchestra to provide important artistic opportunities for young and emerging musicians.”

This ethos of community, accessibility, and opportunity remain our core values today. And it is from this core that our innovation, collaboration, and commitment to equity have been able to emerge and grow. 

Both founders went on to pursue their now mature careers in conducting - Yaniv based now in Michigan and Miguel in his home city of Belem, Brazil. Yet both have retained a strong connection to TCS over the years. 

Time and distance have given both founders a new perspective on the humble but persistent beginnings of the orchestra. 

Miguel comments, “something that I did not expect is that we would have a large number of members that are in it simply because they believe in the mission and because they love the music.” Based on the now four-year partnership with the City of New York through access and funding to bring music to people who are incarcerated, he continues, “I realized that one unexpected goal achieved is the place that TCS has today in the musical and cultural life of many people and of the whole city.”

And now, the reunion of the past into the present gives TCS the wealth of institutional knowledge and the perspective that can be mined from professionals still so emotionally invested in our thriving musical family. 

Welcome back Miguel and Yaniv! We are so excited to continue to grow with you!