Grantee News: Orchestra 2001

This month, we are delighted to spotlight MFS grantee Orchestra 2001 and its project LONG LIVE THE QUEEN: a Her-story of Drag! This new, one-hour cabaret-oratorio features Cookie Diorio, renowned Philadelphia drag artist, librettist, and costume designer, with music composed by MFS member, Andrea Clearfield. Performed by Orchestra 2001 and joined by members of the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir, and Voices of Pride, LONG LIVE THE QUEEN highlights the “Superpowers of a Diva,” and explores an art form that’s a unique intersection of opera, drag, performance art, multimedia oratorio, and cabaret. It’s a dynamic work that will create a vision for understanding, acceptance, and social and cultural change in light of increased discrimination against drag artists and events in the U.S.

About Orchestra 2001:
Orchestra 2001 (O2001) has performed at Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress, and Phoenix’s Musical Instrument Museum, engaging diverse audiences throughout Appalachia, the Southwest’s Navajo Nation, and at Louisiana and Mississippi HBCUs; and overseas in Austria, Denmark, England, Russia, Cuba, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, China, and Hong Kong, as well as in 37 of Philadelphia’s 48 zip codes.

Over the past decade, O2001 has presented local premieres of John Luther Adams’ “Inuksuit”; Frank Zappa’s “The Yellow Shark;” Tan Dun’s “Prayer and Blessing for COVID-19;” and Miles Davis’ jazz-classical “Birth of the Cool.” The ¡CONEXIONES! series features Latin American composers, and “ENGOMA ENTEERA: Classical Music from Uganda” partnered with African composer Justinian Tamusuza, with a final concert at the Cathedral Basilica in June 2024. To learn more about O2001, visit them at https://www.orchestra2001.org/.