Our History
"One World Symphony continues to remind us of why it's highly likely it will be around for decades to come." — TimeOut New York
New York's One World Symphony was founded in 2001 by conductor and composer Sung Jin Hong and graphic designer and singer Adrienne Metzinger-Hong, among others. In the last decade, One World Symphony has served the community through benefit concerts for local and global organizations, educational and outreach concerts, and inspiring performances that have engaged its audiences. The dynamic ensemble is a community of gifted artists who have performed in some of the world's most prestigious ensembles and venues across the globe. One World Symphony is comprised of more than sixty musicians and thirty vocal artists, in addition to a team of composers and conductors. One World Symphony has residencies at historic venues in New York City: Ansche Chesed Synagogue on the Upper West Side, St. Ann and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights, Church of the Holy Apostles in Chelsea, and The Town Hall in Midtown Manhattan, where it performs to sold-out audiences. In addition, One World Symphony continues to be invited to perform as a guest ensemble in other venues, such as concert series at Bard College and Great Music for a Great City at the CUNY Grad Center, and to collaborate with other esteemed artists, including Paul Taylor, Take, and Misnomer Dance Companies, and the vocal rock band The Fault Line.
Sung Jin Hong and Adrienne Metzinger after their first concert together in 2001.
One World Symphony's commitment to the general philosophies of music education goes one step deeper than most organizations by engaging audience members and young musicians alike to actively participate in its live performances. Conductor Sung Jin Hong invited a sold-out Town Hall audience to participate in choruses from Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances From West Side Story. During a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 2001, a capacity crowd stood to join the One World Symphony Chorus in singing "Ode to Joy." Hong has also extended such an invitation to a younger audience, when thirty elementary violin students from The Promise Academy in Harlem's Children's Zone performed in Holst's The Planets with One World Symphony. During 2007-2008 season One World Symphony premiered a symphonic arrangement of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody with audience members. In 2010, TimeOut New York described the audience interaction experience in One World Symphony's The Cunning Little Vixen thus: "The five-minute dissection of the love duet could easily be turned into a 30-minute preconcert talk by Hong. While he is incredibly knowledgeable, he is also passionate, which makes the experience all the more illuminating."
One World Symphony presents thematically inspired programs that fire the imagination by relating different forms of music to visual, literal, philosophical, and political arts. The "Shakespeare: Love and Madness" program of the 2005-2006 season ventured into opera in Verdi's Otello and orchestral in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, and included a world premiere in Stan Grill's Ophelia Songs for orchestra and soprano. The entire 2006-2007 season embraced all forms of the arts relating to "Heroes, Anti-Heroes, and Femmes Fatales." Highlights from the 2007-2008 season "Contrasts and Controversies" examined our origins with "Creation vs. Evolution" and New York's rich musical culture with "Uptown vs. Downtown." The 2008-2009 season explored the human feelings of obsession in Richard Strauss’ Elektra, Samuel Barber’s Vanessa, and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. During the recession, One World Symphony took the audience to a trans-Atlantic voyage in its 2009-2010 season by performing works from Prague (The Cunning Little Vixen), St. Petersburg (Queen of Spades), and Paris (Ravel, Berlioz, and Piaf).
In the last decade, One World Symphony has raised over $10,000 for charitable causes and organizations:
2001: the Uniformed Firefighter's Association Widows' and Children's Fund
2002 and 2003: United Spinal Association
2005: American Red Cross Tsunami Victims Fund
2005: American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Victims Relief Fund
2007: The Coalition for the Homeless
2008, 2009, 2010: St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Roof Restoration Fund
2010: The Humane Society of New York
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz publicly proclaimed and recognized One World Symphony's local and global humanitarian efforts:
The Town Hall presents One World Symphony and Sung Jin Hong in their sold-out debut concert at the historic hall.
Whereas, it is a Brooklyn tradition to celebrate the spirit of generosity and concern for one's fellow human beings in their time of need, it is only fitting that this office should recognize and honor One World Symphony working to support humanitarian relief efforts around the world. I salute and commend Conductor Sung Jin Hong and all the talented musicians of the One World Symphony for their generously donating their musical skill to help those in such great need, and for sharing their beautiful music with us tonight."
One World Symphony is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
