A Chamber Orchestra for the 21st Century

WHAT WE DO    •    ORCHESTRA    •    MUSIC DIRECTOR    •    BOARD AND STAFF

Since 2009, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra has crafted performances that tell the story of the human experience in new ways. SMCO features music by composers of under-represented groups, such as women and people of color, on every performance. A professional ensemble flexible in size and instrumentation, SMCO is made up of adventurous artists hailing from all over the United States, Asia, and Europe.

In SMCO’s primary Orchestral Series, audiences experience a diverse variety of music through themes relevant to our world, curated from the stage with verbal insights. Secret Chamber Music brings intimate SMCO small-ensemble performances into homes, galleries, and other private locations. SMCO’s cross-genre projects have featured collaborations with DJs, visual artists, and dancers for unique events in nightclubs and unexpected spaces.

SMCO finds new ways to tell the story of communities of the greater Seattle metropolitan area through music. The SMCO Out Loud! Program seeks to inspire future generations of musical minds with hands-on artistic experiences.

Watch and listen to past SMCO performances

Violin
Caitlin Kelley, Concertmaster
Emilie Choi, Asso. Concertmaster
Pamela Liu, Asso. Concertmaster
Rachel Nesvig, Principal Second
Liza Zurlinden
Libby Phelps
Jiyeon Yeo
Allion Salvador
Eleanor Legault
Christina Xiaowan Wu
Jenny Kim
Lauren Eastman
Bryan Djunaedi
Kathy Shaw
Janet Utterback-Peck
Thao Huynh

Viola
Tricia Wu
Kelly Moore
Aleida Gehrels
Brian Hillyard
Elizabeth Boardman
Evan Uebelacker
Brian Jankanish

Cello
Adrian Golay
Mary Riles
Erika Pierson
Lauren McShane

Bass
Attila Kiss
Bryan Kolk
Rose Gear

Piano
Anastasia Solomatina
Amanda Harris
Jeremy DesChane

Organ
Susanna Valleau

Harp
Lauren Wessels

MUSIC DIRECTOR

American conductor Geoffrey Larson is the founding Music Director of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. At home on both the symphonic and operatic stage, he also serves as the Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master of Berkshire Opera Festival. Geoffrey's adventurous, multi-genre projects have harnessed the storytelling power, rich variety, and universal relevance of orchestral and operatic music to engage new audiences.

In December 2021 Geoffrey was awarded second prize in the International Orchestral Conducting Competition “UAL” in Spain, after competing with 126 conductors from 26 countries. He was also named a semifinalist in the Arthur Nikisch International Conducting Competition and a finalist in the Lanyí International Conducting Competition. He has conducted orchestras such as the Alabama Symphony, Omaha Symphony, South Bend Symphony, Spokane Symphony, National Radio and Television Orchestra of Albania, and Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria).

In the world of opera, he has collaborated with artists such as Tamara Wilson, Sebastian Catana, Caroline Worra, and Daniel Belcher. Working closely with baritone Sherrill Milnes, he served as Assistant Conductor for Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre in Prague, the site of the work’s premiere. He recently collaborated with soprano Laquita Mitchell and members of the Seattle Symphony for a new staging by Music of Remembrance of Tom Cipullo’s opera Josephine. His other opera credits include Puccini's La bohème, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Chabrier’s L’étoile, Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied, and Verdi’s La Traviata, Rigoletto, and Falstaff.

With a deep commitment to the music of our time, he has given the premieres of numerous works and has collaborated with composers such as Gabriel Prokofiev, Erberk Eryılmaz, Nancy Galbraith, Reza Vali, and Leonardo Balada. Passionate about equity of access and increased inclusion in classical music, Geoffrey’s performances with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra each feature works by composers of under-represented groups, such as women and people of color.

Geoffrey is currently completing a doctoral thesis at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the mentorship of Arthur Fagen and Thomas Wilkins. He has served as Assistant Conductor of IU Opera and Ballet Theatre, working with David Neely, Kevin Murphy, and Walter Huff. He previously studied with the late Robert Page at Carnegie Mellon University, where he conducted performances and recording sessions of the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. His recording with the Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Music Ensemble appears on NAXOS Records.

Geoffrey has participated in master classes at London’s Royal Academy of Music at the personal selection of George Hurst, and he studied at the Pierre Monteux School under the tutelage of Michael Jinbo. During a concentrated half year of study in Vienna, Austria, he studied harmony with Gerold Gruber at Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien and opera conducting with Wolfgang Harrer. He has benefited from additional studies with Nicolás Pasquet, Rodolfo Saglimbeni, Carl St. Clair, Peter Erös, Ronald Zollman, and Michael Christie.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Steve Reeder, President

Marcia Johnson, Director

Andrew Fox, Director

Credit for images on this page
Top ensemble image: Carlin Ma. Middle image of SMCO artists: Dawndra Budd. Image of Music Director Geoffrey Larson: Sean Salamon.