Stamford-based Orchestra Lumos, under the direction of internationally acclaimed conductor Michael Stern, brings the extraordinary experience of a live orchestra -- playing the world’s greatest music, old and new -- to our doorsteps. Thanks to this world class ensemble, we can witness the sensory delights that connect us with this timeless magic right in our own community.
“The performance of music of any genre -- and certainly of classical music -- is this kind of secret communion from the composer through the people on stage, and then with the audience,” says Stern, who joined Lumos in 2022. “And when you receive it surrounded by other souls who are also experiencing this, it is a profoundly sensory, sensual and deeply human experience. Even when it’s wordless, as it often is, your experience may be completely different from mine, but equal both in validity and in power.”
Stern (whose father, the late violinist Isaac Stern, was one of the great names in 20 th Century American classical music), is also quick to note that the live listening experience is an engaged experience, something Lumos underlines with thematic programming, with evenings devoted to Broadway, film scores, Jazz, and America’s 250th birthday. “I don't believe that listening to music should be a passive experience. If there is through-line to the program, if there's a way to have a narrative, people will come and listen to the new stuff in the context of the old stuff and vice versa. It creates a dialogue between the stage and the audience, which I think enhances the
experience. What you take away is just as vital and just as real as what somebody else is taking away. But the fact that you're taking it away together, sitting next to somebody else, that’s the experience.”
Stern has conducted some of the greatest orchestras in the world, from Budapest to Boston and everywhere in between. Consistently, his work displays grace, intensity, and an attention to melody and emotion: He is an eminently intelligent and accessible artist, eager to share his love of music with us. It is an honor to have him here in Stamford. But Stern quickly corrects me: it’s not just Stamford. “We are serving all of Fairfield County. I think music is service. So you have to make your case for art, culture and music in as broad a way as possible. I love this music. I want you to love it too. Some of it will be familiar to you, and some of it will be totally new; but I promise you, if you come with open ears, maybe you'll know why we love it.”
True, many people associate the word “Lumos” with the Harry Potter series. Stern asserts this was accidental: When the Stamford Orchestra was renamed Orchestra Lumos in 2022, “I didn't know that it had any connection with Harry Potter. When we started the conversation, we thought, ‘It is light, it is energy.’”
But maybe the Harry Potter meaning isn’t too far off: In the Potter books, “Lumos” is a charm that allows a wand to cast light into darkness. And as we embark on the voyage of discovering the power and grace of classical music, we are bringing an amazing light into our lives, one that can illuminate a magical voyage of emotion, sensation, and imagination.
Find out more about holiday events at Orchestra Lumos, visit: https://orchestralumos.org/
Tim Sommer is a former record company executive, MTV and VH1 News VJ, and
an author/journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and many national publications. His most recent book, a biography of Darius Rucker and Hootie & the Blowfish, appeared in 2022. He has two music and culture books that will be published in 2026.