The Worcester Symphony Orchestra.
“It’s a captivating-looking program with wonderful works by Beethoven, Bach, Brahms and Arvo Pärt,” writes Richard Duckett in Sunday’s (3/5) Telegram and Gazette (Worcester, MA). “The tried-and-true orchestra coming to Mechanics Hall March 11 to perform the program has had several fine moments there before, and the music director and conductor, Roderick MacDonald … has become a familiar face as a conductor to regular local concertgoers. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the ‘Masterworks’ concert at Mechanics Hall … on March 11 will be the name of the orchestra performing it. It’s the Worcester Symphony Orchestra—formerly the New England Symphony Orchestra…. The New England Symphony Orchestra had performed several concerts in Mechanics Hall both before the pandemic and also in 2021 and 2022 as MacDonald intimated that the orchestra was considering Mechanics Hall and Worcester as a potential new home base for its performances after many years in the Litchburg/Leominster/Lancaster area. Now Worcester has a new orchestra. ‘We hope to live up the name…’ said MacDonald … The name was changed last summer…. ‘We have a lot of ambitious plans,’ MacDonald said. ‘Worcester is going to be our home base, and Mechanics Hall is world class.’ ”
