Conductor Yoel Gamzou Launches New Orchestra

The orchestra will have its debut at the Beethovenfest Bonn in September 2023 and will program 50% of its repertoire with contemporary works

Israeli-American conductor Yoel Gamzou has recently launched a new orchestra with a strong focus on contemporary works. Titled oneMusic, the orchestra is made up of players from a number of European ensembles, such as the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Philharmonic, and the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra.

The orchestra will have its debut in September 2023, as part of its residency at the Beethovenfest Bonn. One concert will pair Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and the "Emperor" Piano Concerto alongside four works by contemporary composers — all of whom are also active outside the classical scene.

They are Andy Creeggan (Canada), Robin Haigh (UK), Marshall McDaniel (USA), and Florian Kovacic (Austria).

Yoel Gamzou grew up between New York and Tel Aviv. He trained with Winston Dan Vogel and was the last student of Carlo Maria Giulini in Milan. He has led orchestras such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, and the Norwegian Radio and Vienna Symphony Orchestras.

Most recently, Gamzou was the General Music Director at Theater Bremen between 2018 and 2022.

"Beethoven has left us a task by asking us not to look backwards but only forwards," Gamzou said of new music. "Every time we perform his pieces (or deal with music at all), we should ask ourselves, 'What does this mean for us today?'"

You can purchase tickets for oneMusic's debut concert at the Beethovenfest: here.