ABOUT US

The Starling Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is a twenty-five member string ensemble of top players from the Starling Preparatory String Project. Founded by Kurt Sassmannshaus in 1987, the SCO offers unprecedented opportunities for young artists to perform as soloists, tour internationally, and make recordings. These young virtuosi have attracted wide-spread attention, including feature articles in The Washington Post and The New York Times. The orchestra has been featured on “From the Top,” “Performance Today” and on Robert Sherman’s “Young Artists Showcase” program in New York. The SCO maintains a busy touring and recording schedule. Since 1992, the orchestra has performed frequently at the Aspen Music Festival and has toured Europe, Korea, Russia, and the People’s Republic of China and at Lincoln and Kennedy Centers performs an annual series in Cincinnati in CCM’s Werner Recital Hall. Each concert features SPSP soloists who are selected by audition.

The Starling Chamber Orchestra’s discography includes three discs of Giornovichi violin concerti on the Arte Nova Classics/BMG label. The SCO’s CDs, Aspen Serenade, Simply Brilliant! and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons (recorded on rare violins) have been highly praised by American Record Guide. In March 2000, the Starling Chamber Orchestra’s first educational video, Classical Quest, was distributed free to an initial audience of 600 public school music districts in Ohio. The video has won numerous awards including those from the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival and The Telly Awards 2000. The video also won a regional Emmy award for Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming.