OUR STORY
FOUNDED IN 1992
One of only a handful of conductorless chamber ensembles in the world, New Century Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1992 and includes 19 string players from the San Francisco Bay Area as well as throughout the United States. Musical decisions are made collaboratively, resulting in an enhanced level of commitment from the musicians and concerts of remarkable precision, passion, and power.
British violinist Daniel Hope was appointed as Music Director and Concertmaster beginning in the 2018-2019 season (after serving the prior season as the ensemble’s Artistic Partner), bringing a new era of vibrancy and leadership. Previous music directors of the ensemble include Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (2008-2017), Krista Bennion Feeney (1999-2006) and Stuart Canin (1992-1999).
With a commitment to the virtuosic performance of chamber orchestra masterworks, New Century also expands the genre through frequent commissions of new music and innovative collaborations with artists from other genres. New Century fosters an intimate relationship with music, not only by offering concerts in small, local venues throughout the Bay Area and beyond, but also by connecting our musical history to the work of living composers and the cultural narratives of today. Recently commissioned composers include Tan Dun, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Jennifer Higdon, Mark Adamo, Lera Auerbach, Jake Heggie, and Nicolás Lell Benavides. Underscoring its commitment to new music, New Century recently released Music for a New Century, its debut recording under Music Director Daniel Hope on the Deutsche Grammophon label with Ukrainian pianist Alexey Botvinov, featuring four works commissioned or co-commissioned by New Century over the last six years: Philip Glass’ Piano Concerto No. 3 (2017), Tan Dun’s Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra with Percussion (2021), Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Lament for Solo Violin and String Orchestra (2018-19) and Jake Heggie’s Overture (2023).
New Century’s live performances have continued to explore new ground. The 2023-24 season marks the orchestra’s return to five weeks of programming with partners like Stanford Live, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and SFMOMA; major works by Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, and Caroline Shaw; and appearances by acclaimed guest artists such as Kelley O’Connor, Alexi Kenney, Sterling Elliott, Awadagin Pratt, and trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary in her US Debut. The orchestra recently completed its 30th anniversary season, including special performances with the San Francisco Girls Chorus, the debut of an expanded version of Stranger by Nico Muhly with tenor Nicholas Phan, and the first live performances of Tan Dun’s Double Concerto. The centerpiece of the 30th anniversary season was Berlin 1938: Broadcasts from a Vanishing Society, an innovative musical radio drama created by Music Director Daniel Hope and baritone Thomas Hampson that explored the disappearing freedoms and growing threats of violence in German society leading up to World War II, as characterized by the songwriters of the era.
Beyond its regular season concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area, New Century under Music Director Daniel Hope has expanded its touring profile, embarking on two European summer tours in 2019 and 2023, performing across Germany and Poland, at the Leonard Bernstein-founded Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Rheingau Festival, and the Philharmonie Essen, among others. New Century’s domestic performances have included coast-to-coast tours in 2011 and 2013, and an expanded portfolio of presentations across the state of California, including Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center, Stanford Live’s Bing Concert Hall, and a May 2023 debut at San Diego’s La Jolla Music Society.
The orchestra has released eight albums including its first recording under Music Director Daniel Hope, Music for a New Century, which debuted on June 2, 2023 on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Prior releases include From A to Z: 21st Century Concertos, a 2014 compilation of four of New Century’s live world premiere performances of newly commissioned works by William Bolcom, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Clarice Assad and Michael Daugherty. New Century significantly increased its video offerings over the past few years, including six episodes of Daniel Hope’s internationally acclaimed television series Hope@Home – Next Generation. Filmed in San Francisco, each half-hour episode was streamed to an international audience of over 400,000 viewers and comprised of solo and chamber music featuring Daniel Hope, musicians of the orchestra and Bay Area guest artists pianist Garrick Ohlsson, composer Jake Heggie and percussionist Zakir Hussain.
Updated: October 2023
Music Directors
Stuart Canin served as New Century’s first Music Director from 1992–1999. Mr. Canin has held the title of Concertmaster at the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, and numerous Hollywood studio orchestras, performing on such films as Schindler’s List, Titanic and Forrest Gump. From the beginning, Mr. Canin set such a high musical standard that New Century immediately won the respect of audiences, musicians, and critics.
A native of Menlo Park, CA, Krista Bennion Feeney succeeded Mr. Canin as New Century’s Music Director and Concertmaster from 1999–2006. She is currently Concertmaster of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center during the summer and Co-Concertmaster of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s year-round at Carnegie Hall and throughout the summer at the Caramoor Festival in Katonah, New York. During her tenure as Music Director, New Century earned a reputation for musical imagination and versatility.
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg joined the ensemble as Music Director and Concertmaster from 2008-2017, succeeding previous music directors Krista Bennion Feeney and Stuart Canin. As a world-renowned violin soloist, chamber musician and recording artist, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg brought New Century “a new sense of vitality and determination, as well as an audacious swagger that is an unmistakable fingerprint of its leader,” according to Gramophone magazine.
British violinist Daniel Hope is the current Music Director and began his tenure in the 2017-2018 season. Hope has performed as a soloist, chamber artist, artistic director and recording artist for over 25 years and has served as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2007. His recordings have been awarded the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, the Diapason d’Or of the Year, the Edison Classical Award, the Prix Caecilia, six ECHO-Klassik Awards and GRAMMY nominations. In the 2016–2017 season, Hope succeeded Sir Roger Norrington as Music Director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and in 2019 he began his appointment as the Artistic Director of the Dresden Frauenkirche. The 2019 season was Hope's last as Associate Director of the Savannah Music Festival after serving for 16 years.