Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra

About the BCCO

The Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra (BCCO) is a passionate and diverse group of dedicated amateur and professional musicians who perform the great masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire, from Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky to contemporary works by living composers. Now in its 23rd year, BCCO’s members feel more keenly than ever the profound joys of playing and sharing some of the world’s most beautiful music. The 72-member ensemble is composed of players from all walks of life, from middle-school art teachers to law professors and local baristas. Open by audition to adult orchestral musicians who play at an advanced level, the BCCO presents four to six concerts for the community throughout the year, including a popular family concert at the Brooklyn Museum.

Petra and Wolfie take the stage with the BCCO
The BCCO’s popular Petra and Wolfie children’s concert at the Brooklyn Museum
The BCCO performs outside the Old Stone House in Brooklyn
The BCCO accompanies the winners of the Suzuki Concerto Competition
Petra and Wolfie at the Brooklyn Museum
The BCCO performs at St Ann & the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn
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Saturday, March 15

Join the Orchestra at 7:30 pm for performances of Mendelssohn’s Symphony no. 3, colloquially known as “The Scottish,” Ruth Gipps’ Chanticleer Overture, and Matthew Hindson’s House Music, a concerto for solo flute and orchestra featuring flutist Alice Jones.

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Saturday, June 7

The BCCO’s Spring Concert will feature the Overture to Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” performances by the winners of BKCM’s Young Musicians Competition, and Sibelius’ Symphony no. 5.

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Returning Soon!

The BCCO’s wild and wacky family musical is an unforgettable, perennially popular retelling of Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf featuring live comic actors, video, orchestral works by Prokofiev and Modest Mussorgsky, and some of your favorite pop tunes! Stay tuned for announcements about future performances.

JOIN THE BROOKLYN CONSERVATORY COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA

The Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra’s members are adults of all ages and walks of life who come together for Tuesday evening rehearsals in Park Slope and performances throughout the year. If you are interested in learning more or scheduling an audition, please contact the Music Director, Dorothy Savitch, at dorothy.savitch@gmail.com.

Registration (2024-2025 Season):

    • Members can register for a Full Year (starting in September) for $405, a Half Year (starting in January/February) for $250, or an April start for $165.
    • To ensure that the orchestra remains accessible, we offer sliding scale pricing, and members may pay $250, $195, $140 or $85. Please pay the amount that fits your budget.
    • There is an additional $45 charge to process all registrations.

Rehearsals

All rehearsals are on Tuesdays at St John’s Church, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, unless otherwise noted. Rehearsals begin on Tuesday, September 10th. St John’s is at 139 St John’s Place in Park Slope.

Auditions

Interested musicians are invited to audition during August and early September and throughout the year by appointment. Auditioners will be asked to prepare two excerpts: one slow with legato bowing or tonguing, and one fast, more off-the-string or staccato. Can be a Bach partita movement, an etude, a sonata or concerto excerpt. Auditioners should prepare about two minutes of each, preferably from two different time periods. There will be no accompanist.

To schedule an audition, contact the Music Director, Dorothy Savitch, at dorothy.savitch@gmail.com.

CONCERT VIDEOS

Click here to see a great promo video of the Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra produced by BRIC Arts Media. This is a few years old now, but still captures the spirit of the orchestra! Below, please find several videos of recent BCCO performances:

SELECTED PROGRAMS FROM PAST SEASONS

    • June 2023
      Boulanger: “D’un Matin de Printemps”
      Mozart: Piano concerto no. 21, Alexander Liu, piano
      Brahms: Symphony no. 1

    • June 2022
      Gipps: “Seascape” for Double Wind Quintet
      Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
      Brahms: Double concerto for violin and cello, Luis Casal, violin and Isaac Casal, cello

    • December 2021
      Butterworth: The Banks of Green Willow
      Chevalier de St. Georges: Sinfonie Concertante, with members of the BKCM Suzuki Advanced String Ensemble
      Still: Afro-American Symphony
    • March 2017
      Vaughan Williams: Norfolk Rhapsody
      Mozart: arias from the Magic Flute, Victor Starsky, tenor
      Lew: Third Rhapsody: “Song of Wandering Aengus”, Victor Starsky, tenor
      Beethoven: Symphony no. 6
    • March 2007
      Ellington: Three Black Kings
      Copland: A Lincoln Portrait (Jeffrey Wright, narrator)
    • April 2005
      Cowell: Old American Country Set
      Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Richard Thompson, piano)
      Thompson: Voices
      Dvorak: Slavonic Dances 2 & 5Dvorak: Symphony #9 from the New World

SELECTED RECENT PRESS

2024-25 Season

2023-24 Season

2022-23 Season

2021-22 Season

DOROTHY SAVITCH, MUSIC DIRECTOR

Dorothy Savitch has served as Music Director of the Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra since its founding in 2002. A BKCM faculty member since 1989, Ms. Savitch has also led the Conservatory’s Music Partners program since 1996, facilitating music education for students in more than 35 NYC public schools and community-based organizations. Since 1997, Ms. Savitch has also been Music Director of Long Island’s Sound Symphony Orchestra. Since her tenure began, both orchestras have grown and expanded into two of the finest community ensembles in the New York metropolitan area. They have received high praise for their vibrant performances and expansive repertoire. Before her transition to the podium, Ms. Savitch studied the classical guitar with Christopher Parkening and Vicente Gomez, and toured throughout the West Coast. She received music degrees from Columbia University and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. Her conducting teachers include Harold Farberman and Maurice Peress.

Interested in joining the BCCO? Contact our Music Director, Dorothy Savitch.

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