The Orchestral Society for the Preservation of the Orchestra

The Orchestral Society for the Preservation of the Orchestra

Artist

The tongue-in-cheekily named “Orchestral Society for the Preservation of the Orchestra” first appeared on a cold December night in 2002. The group originated from the mind of David Longstreth, frontman of Dirty Projectors. While working on the 2004 release Slaves' Graves & Ballads, Longstreth commented:

I wanted to use classical instruments for their individual timbres and peculiarities. I got together a bunch of musicians—two violins, cello, flute, clarinet, oboe, horn, and a percussionist—and I called them the First Orchestral Society for the Preservation of the Orchestra. We rehearsed and recorded my scores from midnight to the break o’ day for three consecutive nights in December. I recorded my own singing on top of them afterwards.

Longstreth later employed The Orchestral Society on the 2005 album, The Getty Address. The line-up for the Society was Adam Bloniarz, David Longstreth, Elana Arian, Emily Rostetter, Ezra Seltzer, Hank Miller, Jon Zalben, Sam Bernstein, and Yasemin Schatz.