Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra

Under the direction of Gary S. Fagin, the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra was founded to reintroduce people to their musical heritage by performing great music in distinctive Lower Manhattan venues and by offering interactive musical programs to local schools.

The orchestra is composed of 25 of the region's top musicians, and was launched on January 17, 2009 at the World Financial Center Winter Garden with "The Red Violin Concert," featuring Elizabeth Pitcairn playing her 1720 Red Mendelssohn Stradivarius violin. One year later, after a triumphant first season, the KCO returned to the Winter Garden and drew 1,500 fans to "Musical Tales and Adventures," a concert starring renowned author Neil Gaiman narrating Prokofiev's "Peter & the Wolf" and Broadway star Jason Danieley in Mr. Fagin's composition "And Bold to Fall Withal – Henry Hudson in the New World" celebrating the 400th anniversary of Hudson's sail into New York Harbor. Since then, the KCO has strengthened its ties to the Lower Manhattan community, building a loyal following with major performances as well as smaller, more intimate soirees.

The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra is a meshing of the old and the new—classical music played by top contemporary musicians, performed in the fast-growing neighborhoods of old New York, in venues steps away from cobblestone streets and wireless skyscrapers.