Company Profile
Worthington Chamber Orchestra
Company Overview
The mission of the Worthington Chamber Orchestra (WCO) is to support local artists while providing diverse and dynamic programming that entertains, inspires, and fosters music education. WCO cultivates meaningful relationships between artists and the Worthington community.
Company History
Worthington Chamber Orchestra (WCO), formerly McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra, was founded by Dr. Antoine T. Clark in 2013 and serves Worthington, Ohio, and neighboring communities. The 42-piece chamber orchestra annually performs three masterworks programs and education, family, and chamber concerts throughout the community. In keeping with the orchestra’s mission to present the work of underrepresented artists, WCO performers include college professors and professional freelance musicians from diverse communities.
The chamber orchestra’s programming focuses on masterworks (standard orchestral repertoire), new music, commissions, education and family programming, chamber music, interdisciplinary artistic collaborations, and a focus on women and BIPOC composers. The Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy recently recognized WCO’s commitment to programming works by women and BIPOC composers by awarding the chamber orchestra a three-year performance grant. The orchestra also receives financial support from other local and statewide arts funding agencies.
The chamber orchestra’s masterworks programming features local artists and composers. These artists have included members of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Louisville Orchestra, as well as faculty from The Ohio State University, Capital University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. WCO regularly commissions new works from nationally and locally acclaimed composers. Past composers include Dr. Matthew Saunders, Dr. Michael Torres, Jacob Reed, Christopher Weait, Dr. Tony Zilincik, Dr. Linda Kernohan, Dr. Ching-chu Hu, Dr. Mark. A. Lomax, II, Dr. Vera Stanojevic, Korine Fujiwara, and Dr. Evan Williams.
The orchestra’s education and family programming provides preschool through middle school students opportunities to connect to live orchestral music in their community and the classroom curriculum. In addition, musicians of WCO lead masterclasses for Worthington students. Education and family programming includes collaborations with The Ohio State University School of Music – Opera Theatre Program (Hansel and Gretel), Worthington Public Libraries (WorthingTunes), Worthington City Schools (Danse Macabre Young People’s Concert), and Hixon Dance (Peter and the Wolf).
Interdisciplinary artistic collaborations are a hallmark of WCO. The orchestra’s past eleven seasons have seen collaborations with a sculptor, a poet, a dance company, and fiber artists, emphasizing the power of music to enhance storytelling in connection with all of the arts.
Through its Community Connect Series and partnership with the City of Worthington’s Green Team, the chamber orchestra seeks to shed light on issues important to the Worthington community, including honoring Worthington’s immigrant communities, actively fostering diversity, and supporting the city’s environmental sustainability efforts.
The chamber orchestra’s annual operational budget is $160,000. The chamber orchestra has received grant funding from the Ohio Arts Council, the Columbus Foundation, the City of Worthington, the Johnstone Fund for New Music, the Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy, and Lincoln Financial.
The Executive Director and chamber orchestra are supported by a part-time staff of Orchestra Manager (Librarian/Personnel Manager), Production Manager, and Marketing Manager. The WCO also contracts with a bookkeeper, a grant writer, and a program notes writer.