About the Orchestra
Discovery Ensemble was founded in 2008 by conductor Courtney Lewis and musicologist David St. George. The aim was to create a chamber orchestra of around 40 players that could rival the great chamber orchestras of Europe. Boston is uniquely blessed in its abundance of musicians at the beginning of their careers who play at a level of mastery and musical sophistication that would have seemed impossible just a generation ago. Courtney and David were certain that, given the right kind of leadership, a world-class orchestra could be formed from players in Boston almost all of whom are still in their twenties!
At the same time, it was felt that truly to justify itself in a city that is already so rich in musical organizations, the orchestra should have a keenly developed social conscience as well. For, although it is one of the world’s major musical centers, music education has virtually ceased to exist in Boston. The generation of Boston residents just reaching adulthood now has received little or no education in music as part of their schooling, and even the most rudimentary knowledge of classical music, which their parents would have taken for granted, is usually missing.
When Courtney had occasion to spend two weeks in Venezuela in June 2008 he saw firsthand the amazing El Sistema program – the system of musical education that has been the fundamental bedrock of the entire school system throughout the country for the last 20 years – and he was deeply moved by the transformative effect it has on the young people of Venezuela, even in the most impoverished parts of Caracas and other cities. After witnessing this he saw the dual mission of Discovery Ensemble clearly: to give concerts of interesting and varied repertory at the highest level of musical and technical excellence, and also to bring live music and music education into the least advantaged parts of Boston, giving intimately scaled workshops in schools and large children’s concerts in theaters in the neighborhoods where the children live.
