Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live

Thank you Harry Forbes at Forbes Film and Footlights for your support over the years! Review link to Friday May 1st "The Forgotten Victor Herbert" concert.

The Forgotten Victor Herbert (Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live!) By Harry Forbes VHRP Artistic Director Alyce Mott has capped an extraordinary run of operettas and musicals by the great Irish-American comp...

Thank you David Wright of New York Classical Review for attending and reviewing our concert last Friday.

New York Classical Review The more one knows about Victor Herbert, the more interesting he becomes. That was the premise of a concert of Herbert rarities Friday night at the Église St-Jean-Baptiste Catholic Church on East 76th Street, as Steven Byess led the New Victor Herbert Orchestra. With high-energy performances and co...

We are still basking in the glow of the incredible concert we witnessed Friday night! It was so magical to hear the great Victor Herbert's rare and beautiful classical music—live in concert—as never heard before. (Or at least in 100 years!)
Maestro Steven Byess and the New Victor Herbert Orchestra created an unforgettable experience that still reverberates in our hearts.
Reflecting on the past 10 Seasons of presenting Herbert's works in New York City, the VHRP LIVE! artistic staff are grateful to our audiences, our company members, and the support of the Victor Herbert Foundation.
Special thanks to Andrew Buck, Stage Manager and Église St-Jean-Baptiste for the beautiful space.
William Hicks, Company Pianist
The New Victor Herbert Orchestra
Michael Thomas, Theatrical Conductor, Music Director,
Steven Byess, Concert Conductor-Forgotten Victor Herbert (2024)
Gerald Steichen, opera, Natoma (2014)
Barry Centanni, Orchestra Contractor

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/charles.chessler.2025

Live Music Project listing....tonight! 7:30.

It's going to be magical in here very soon! There are plenty of seats left in this incredible church! Experience the New Victor Herbert Orchestra performing rare classical works. 7:30PM
🎟 https://vhrp-live.thundertix.com/

The Suite of Serenades, composed in 1924, holds immense significance as Victor Herbert's final major composition and due to its connection to a pivotal moment in American musical history. The piece was written specifically for Paul Whiteman's historic "An Experiment in Modern Music" concert (nicked named the Aeolian Hall Concert), which took place in NYC’s Aeolian Hall on 42nd Street between Sixth and Fifth Avenue on February 12, 1924. This Suite preceded the amazing George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Whiteman had commissioned both works to contribute to his vision of broadening and refining jazz music.

He specifically wanted to prove that a larger ensemble, his “Jazz Orchestra,” could play the new Jazz as well as the smaller ensembles. The Suite of Serenades became Herbert's "first essay in writing for the 'jazz' orchestra." He was required to score the piece for Whiteman's unique instrumentation, which included a full array of saxophones.

The suite consists of four short serenades—Spanish, Chinese, Cuban, and Oriental. Critics noted that the Suite was "actually the least like jazz of anything on the program". Herbert liked this little piece so much that he would very quickly re-score the complete version for his own Victor Herbert Orchestra. Totaling less than nine minutes, this work stands as the final display of creativity from a composer who had long championed both the popular and serious musical worlds, culminating in a piece positioned at the nexus of classical tradition and the emerging American sound. It was an unofficial passing of the baton. The giant American superstar would pass three short months later on May 26, 2024 at the age of 65. Accounts suggest he suffered a fatal heart attack on the steps leading down from his doctor's office. The composer/conductor had only one contract to fullfill – the Victor Herbert Orchestra's annual performance residency at Willow Grove Park. The Victor Herbert Orchestra fulfilled that engagement after his death, conducted by Henry Hadley and then disappeared completely from the American musical scene.

See the suite performed live, tonight!
🎟 https://vhrp-live.thundertix.com/

Victor Herbert composed Panamericana: Morceau Characteristique in 1901 for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) to play at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Herbert submitted the composition, to the Exposition music committee well before the Fair opened on May 1, 1901. The work won the award for composition at the Exposition. The Exposition’s theme was Pan-American, focusing on commercial well-being and good understanding among the American Republics. Herbert designed the piece to reflect this theme, noting that it was a "popular" piece consisting of three musical sections intended to represent different national characters: an "Indian" part, a "ragtime" part (modern America), and a "Cuban or Spanish" part.
VHRP LIVE! Presents: The Forgotten Victor Herbert
Nine Rare Classical Works 1884-1924
May 1, 7:30 PM
Église St-Jean-Baptiste (in the beautiful Sanctuary)
184 E 76th Street @ Lexington Ave. New York.
Tickets $35-100. $10 students.
https://vhrp-live.thundertix.com/