Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Since its inception, the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine has offered era-spanning concert programs, from Mozart to Leonard Bernstein to more contemporary fare. The orchestra presents around 40 concerts a year, which includes several specifically for children, as well as educational and cultural community outreach programs. In 2022, it issued a recording of music by Olivier Messiaen. The Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine was founded in Poitiers, France, in 1981 as the Orchestre Poitou-Charentes. It keeps a roster of 45 to 50 musicians generally from the surrounding area, where many of its members are active teachers in nearby schools. The orchestra's concert season consists of approximately 40 concerts, typically with three specifically designed for younger audiences. Though its home is the Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers, the orchestra performs throughout the region. Beyond the concert hall, the group is active in outreach programs for different school levels, master classes for young musicians, and programs for Alzheimer's patients, among others. From the start, the Orchestre Poitou-Charentes attracted the attention of prominent guest conductors and soloists, such as François-Xavier Roth, Arie van Beek, and Jean-Jacques Kantorow. Charles Frey served as the orchestra's artistic director from 1989 to 2000. Frey was succeeded by pianist and conductor Jean-François Heisser in 2000, who continues to hold the post as of 2022. Heisser led the orchestra on its debut recording of works by Manuel de Falla on the Mirare label in 2007. Several more albums followed, including 2014's American Journey, which featured works by Bernstein, Gershwin, Bernard Herrmann, and others. In 2017, the group took the name Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine as Heisser joined forces with his former student Bertrand Chamayou to mount a new festival in Nouvelle-Aquitaine that would become the Ravel Festival in 2020. The year 2017 also saw the newly minted Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine issue a complete recording of Beethoven's piano concertos, with Heisser conducting from the piano. The orchestra has frequented other major festivals as well, including the Roque d'Anthéron, Epau Abbey, and La Folle Journée. In 2022, Heisser led the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine on a recording of Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles....
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