QUO: the Queer Urban Orchestra

05/06/2026

Pauline Oliveros’ Heart Chant invites us into a different kind of musical experience, one rooted in listening, presence, and connection.

A pioneer of Deep Listening, Oliveros reimagines the concert space as something shared. In Heart Chant, sound is not just performed, it is created together, through breath, voice, and awareness.

This participatory work offers a moment of stillness within the program, a space to reflect, to connect, and to be fully present with one another. Join us for this unique collective experience this weekend!

Details/ticket link in our bio!

***rArt

05/04/2026

We're just a few days away from OF RAGE & REMEMBRANCE, featuring Blake Pouliot on Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto, John Corigliano's Symphony No. 1, Benjamin Britten's arrangement of Mahler's What the Wild Flowers Tell Me, and a participatory performance of Pauline Oliveros' Heart Chant. Experience this once-in-a-lifetime evening in a glorious new venue, St. Bartholomew's on Park Avenue. We can't wait to share this performance with you!

Of Rage & Remembrance
Saturday, May 9
Pre-concert talk 7:15
Concert 8:00
St. Bartholomew's Church (325 Park Ave)
www.q***rurbanorchestra.org/tickets

04/30/2026

In the second movement of his Third Symphony, "What the Wild Flowers Tell Me," Gustav Mahler, a composer known for pairing vast emotional landscapes with deeply personal expression, turns inward. This music feels like a meadow in motion: light, playful, and quietly expressive. The “wild flowers” speak in delicate gestures and fleeting dances, each voice distinct, reminding us that even the smallest expressions can carry profound meaning.

In his arrangement, Benjamin Britten, celebrated for his clarity and sensitivity, distills this world into something more intimate. With reduced forces, every line feels closer, more vulnerable, and more human. What was once expansive becomes personal; an exchange of quiet, individual voices.

Hear "What the Wild Flowers Tell Me" and more on Saturday, May 9!

Details & tickets: www.q***rurbanorchestra.org/tickets

***rurbanorchestra ***rmusic

04/27/2026

QUO features music by Samuel Barber, John Corigliano, Pauline Oliveros, and Gustav Mahler on our May 9 concert, Of Rage & Remembrance, featuring Blake Pouliot on Barber's Violin Concerto! Tickets available now at the link in our bio!

04/23/2026

QUO is thrilled to collaborate with violinist Blake Pouliot! Blake is hailed as “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned” and truly one of those rare, once-in-a-generation talents. With a sound that captivates and a presence that electrifies, Blake brings a level of artistry that transforms every performance into something unforgettable.

Join us as we take on Violin Concerto, Op. 14 by Samuel Barber, a work of sweeping lyricism and dazzling virtuosity. From appearances with major orchestras across North America and Europe to a rapidly rising international career, including a highly anticipated debut at Carnegie Hall, Blake continues to make his mark on the global stage. We couldn’t be more excited to share this extraordinary musician with our audience. This is a performance you won’t want to miss. 🎻✨

Of Rage & Remembrance
Saturday, May 9
Saint Bartholomew's Church (325 Park Ave)
www.q***rurbanorchestra.org/tickets

04/21/2026

Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto is one of the most beloved works in the American repertoire. Lyrical, intimate, and deeply expressive, before giving way to a virtuosic and unrelenting finale. We’re honored to feature Blake Poliout, whose performance brings both nuance and brilliance to this powerful work.

Composed in 1939, the concerto moves through striking contrasts: expansive, singing lines, a moment of stillness and vulnerability, and a final movement driven by restless energy and urgency. Through this journey, the music opens a space for reflection and remembrance, holding both tenderness and intensity, and carrying memory forward.

Join us on May 9 for an evening of music that resonates long after the final note!

🎟️ Tickets & details available at the link in our bio.

04/16/2026

History isn't just found in textbooks - it’s found in the score. 🎼

In 1981, the CDC first reported the cases of what would become known as AIDS. Nearly a decade later, John Corigliano premiered his Symphony No. 1, a massive work dedicated to his friends and colleagues lost to the disease.

From the famous "off-stage" piano mimicry of an Albeniz Tango to the wall of orchestral sound representing anger and loss, the work serves as a sonic time capsule of the 1980s. 45 years after that first report, Corigliano’s work reminds us that art is our most powerful tool for processing collective grief.

Join us on May 9th at St. Bart’s as the Q***r Urban Orchestra performs this monumental masterpiece. Experience the "Rage and Remembrance" in person as we honor our history through music.

🎟️ Tickets and more information available at the link in our bio.

***rUrbanOrchestra

04/14/2026

On May 18, 1981, the New York Native published one of the first reports of a mysterious health issue affecting gay men in New York City, as Dr. Lawrence D. Mass outlined emerging cases of severe, unexplained illnesses while cautioning against panic and unverified claims. Just weeks later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally documented similar cases in Los Angeles, marking the earliest recognized pattern of what would become a major public health crisis. In a moment when many outlets remained silent to avoid stigma, the New York Native played a critical role in raising awareness—offering measured, early insight while encouraging informed, safer choices within the community.

On May 9, QUO will mark 45 years since this first publication with Of Rage & Remembrance, featuring John Corigliano's First Symphony, a musical answer to the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

📅: May 9, 2026
⛪️: Saint Bartholomew's Church (325 Park Ave)
🎟️: www.q***rurbanorchestra.org/tickets

04/09/2026

🚨COMING MAY 9🚨 Marking 45 years since the first reports of AIDS, QUO performs John Corigliano's musical AIDS quilt, his First Symphony. Barber's Violin Concerto, with sensational violinist Blake Pouliot, and Britten's arrangement of music by Mahler lend elegiac lyricism. The evening also includes a participatory performance of Pauline Oliveros’ musical mediation Heart Chant.
🗓️ Saturday, May 9
⛪️ Saint Barthalomew's Church (325 Park Ave)
🎟️ link in bio
www.q***rurbanorchestra.org/tickets

03/18/2026

03/12/2026

DJ Andrew Lenox and host Jemma Oh lead an old-school q***r Tea Dance! This Saturday - 3:00. FREE!

QUO invites the whole community to a Saturday afternoon tea dance! In 1960's New York City, it was illegal for bars to serve alcohol to people known to be q***r, but no law could stifle q***r creativity. Q***r folx organized afternoon dance parties where they served tea instead of alcohol. In these safe spaces, they could enjoy the company of their community without the threat of police raids. Whereas tea dances now are closely associated gay men in vacation destinations and heavy drinking, historically they were not so limited.

LEWKS encouraged! TEA will be SERVED!

Come for the dance and stick around for the evening concert!

Details: www.q***rurbanorchestra.org/tickets