The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony is a classical symphony orchestra that serves New York City communities by producing orchestral and chamber music concerts of the highest artistic level. In its performances, PACS features world class artists, such as Carter Brey, Jon Manasse and Whoopi Goldberg, as well as emerging artists from Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music and Mannes, giving its New York City audiences fantastic opportunities to hear the best and the brightest artists in interesting concerts at local venues for reasonable prices.
Additionally, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony fills a philanthropic role by supporting and celebrating organizations that bring music education to New York City children. The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony’s most recent benefit, “A Winter’s Waltz”, raised over $100,000 for the Harmony Program—a New York City program that provides music lessons to economically disadvantaged children that is modeled after Venezuela's world-famous model of music education, "El Sistema". The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony established the Juilliard School Pre-College Division Parent’s Association Scholarship Fund through a similar benefit concert that raised $90K, and has also raised funds for the Lucy Moses School’s outreach program that brings Suzuki training to inner-city families.
On top of this, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony provides an essential exposure and experience to emerging young artists at the beginning of their careers.
By providing both cultural leadership through bringing high quality concerts to its constituent community, as well as philanthropic leadership in bolstering the education programs that develop the next generation of engaged audiences and supporters of Classical Music, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony is at the forefront of a grassroots effort to build and re-build classical music in the cultural fabric of its community.
The current music director is David Bernard.