About Phoenix

Phoenix is an award-winning chamber orchestra presenting music in accessible and social atmospheres for all audiences. Known for its unique approach to audience interaction, the orchestra emphasizes creating real relationships with everybody that comes to see its shows. Starting in 2021 Phoenix welcomed Joshua Weilerstein as Music Director, marking the next chapter in the orchestra’s history.

Since its inception in 2014, when it was called “eminently worth of your attention” (The Boston Globe), Phoenix has been wowing classical music aficionados and rookies alike with its energetic playing, versatile programming, and an individualistic approach to larger orchestral repertoire. At the core of its mission, Phoenix is committed to program and promote composers from groups that traditionally experience difficulty having their voices heard in the orchestral world, including composers that identify as women and BIPOC. The orchestra garnered attention early on, winning the Improper Bostonian’s Boston Best Classical Ensemble in 2017.

In conjunction with its mission of reaching new audiences of all backgrounds, Phoenix is proud to have performed at a variety of venues in the Greater Boston Area including, OBERON, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Center for Arts at the Armory (Somerville, MA), the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, Bully Boy Distillers, District Hall, and Aeronaut Brewing Company, among others. Additionally, Phoenix became the first ensemble in residence at Aeronaut Brewing Company in Somerville (2017-2020). The residency was the first between an orchestra and a brewery in the United States, and a direct result of both Phoenix’s drive to engage a wider audience for classical music and Aeronaut’s investment in culture and events. During its residency with Aeronaut, Phoenix was a vital fixture in the brewery’s Pindrop Sessions, a series in partnership with GBH and 99.5 CRB.

Phoenix is committed to the expansion of the orchestral and chamber music repertoire and has worked with composers Jonathan Bailey Holland, Jeffrey Mumford, Maria Finkelmeier, Alice Jones, Cody Forrest, and Mary Bichner on new works. The orchestra collaborated on a commission of a cello concerto by Jeffrey Mumford for cello soloist Deborah Pae, which was supported by a grant from the Cricket Foundation. In May 2019 Phoenix gave the world premiere of Mumford’s of radiances blossoming in expanding air… with Ms. Pae. In September 2019, Phoenix gave the world premiere of Jonathan Bailey Holland’s El Jaleo, which was commissioned by and presented at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Additionally, Phoenix has collaborated with percussionist and composer Maria Finkelmeier, flutist Paula Robison, soprano Margot Rood, mezzo-soprano Britt Brown, tenor Omar Najmi, actor Will Lyman, composer Marti Epistein, and author Jen Deadrick.

When its sixth season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Phoenix immediately pivoted to connect with audiences through a virtual platform. In fall 2020 Phoenix launched “The Chronophone,” an episodic series that journeys through musical time from 1685 through the present day. In each of the episodes Phoenix presents chamber music performances of music both familiar and unfamiliar to classical audiences and contextualizes the music within the historical space. “The Chronophone” and Phoenix are the recipients of the 2021 Boston Cultural Council Grant.