About LCO
The Lowell Chamber Orchestra (LCO) is Lowell’s first and only professional orchestra, founded on a simple but powerful belief: everyone deserves access to exceptional live music, regardless of income or circumstance. In a city where many residents face economic barriers to cultural participation, LCO removes one of the most significant obstacles by offering every concert completely free of charge.
Since its founding in 2019, LCO has brought professional musicians and innovative programming directly into the community, presenting orchestral and chamber music, multimedia and staged works, educational programs, and performances that invite audiences to experience classical music in new ways. Its repertoire spans centuries—from the Baroque to newly commissioned works—combining great works of the past with a strong commitment to the music and voices of today.
LCO has become an important advocate for living composers and new music, presenting numerous local and world premieres by composers including Anna Clyne, Brian Raphael Nabors, José Luis Elizondo, Anthony R. Green, Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Jeremy Gill, and many others. Through its Lowell Threads initiative, LCO commissions composers to create new works inspired by shared themes, ideas, and experiences. Performances and professional recordings extend the impact of these projects far beyond Lowell, giving composers valuable exposure while connecting the city to a broader national and international artistic community.
This work is particularly meaningful in Lowell, a gateway city shaped by generations of immigrants and enriched by extraordinary cultural diversity. LCO believes that a community this vibrant deserves access to professional arts experiences of the highest caliber. By eliminating ticket prices and creating welcoming, engaging performances, the orchestra provides an entry point for students, families, older adults, low-income residents, and community members who may have had limited opportunities to experience live professional classical music.
LCO’s musicians reflect the international and multicultural character of the community it serves. The orchestra also creates pathways for the next generation of artists by providing select university music students with opportunities to perform alongside and be mentored by established professionals. Performances at Middlesex Community College, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and venues throughout the region bring music into accessible community and educational spaces, allowing students and residents alike to encounter professional music close to where they live, study, and work.
Through artistic excellence, free public access, education, mentorship, and the creation of new music, the Lowell Chamber Orchestra demonstrates how a professional orchestra can be more than a performing organization: it can be a community resource and a catalyst for connection, opportunity, and belonging.
LCO is a member of Lowell City of Learning, supporting efforts toward Lowell’s development as a UNESCO Learning City, and participates in Art Pharmacy, furthering its commitment to the role of arts and culture in individual and community well-being.
Only philanthropic support makes this model possible. By investing in the Lowell Chamber Orchestra, funders help ensure that financial circumstances never determine who has access to exceptional music—and that a culturally rich and diverse community can see itself represented, welcomed, and inspired through the arts.
The Team
Orlando Cela, Music Director
Niko Revìthi, Executive Director
Board:
Julie Goldberg
Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta
Wei Zhao
