A community of music makers and music lovers

Celebrating Over 50 Years of Bringing Great Classical Music to the Upper West Side

Welcome to our community of music makers and music lovers!

Since 1971, the talented musicians of the Riverside Orchestra have delighted thousands of classical music lovers through our regular Upper West Side concerts. We are a community of players who love music, a love shared by our loyal audience. We are proud to have served as the training grounds for so many emerging conductors and honored by our collaborations with amazing soloists, often members of the New York Philharmonic and other great orchestras.

Riverside Orchestra grew out of a chamber music series, organized by Dr. Ephraim L. Rubin, a scientist who loved to play the clarinet. The group started playing orchestra concerts in 1971 and was managed by its founder until 2017. Dr. Rubin died in 2020, leaving behind a remarkable legacy. On December 10, 2021, the orchestra celebrated its 50th Anniversary! That concert program (link here) highlights many of the orchestra's milestones and memories since its founding.

Read More About Our Founder Here

Although mainly a community orchestra with volunteer players, some of the members are professional musicians. Most players have — or are retired from — other careers, but enjoy playing the symphonic repertoire with other enthusiastic instrumentalists. There is a core group of players who have been in the orchestra since the 1970’s, and many of those who joined later quickly become equally committed.

Some of our concerts include a concerto or operatic performance with widely renowned soloists.

After playing in local youth symphonies or college orchestras, our members find in Riverside a rare place that affords them the simple joy of continuing to play in an orchestra. The camaraderie of rehearsing (and of sharing juice and cookies mid-rehearsal!) is as important to the members as making music.

The audience is as loyal. With a long term and friendly relationship to the Trinity School, one of the oldest private schools in New York City, Riverside has become an Upper West Side institution, attracting many classical music lovers who live not just there but come from all over the NYC metropolitan area. And they bring guests from all over the world!

One of Riverside Orchestra’s signatures is our post-concert parties, immediately following each concert! After the final applause, we celebrate with a reception for the orchestra and the audience (included with your concert ticket), where our music director, soloists, musicians, and audience enjoy a reception of light bites, desserts and drinks! It’s such a lovely way to end the evening and to be a part of our community of music makers and music lovers.

Some of our concerts include a concerto or operatic performance with widely renowned soloists -- many of whom are members of the New York Philharmonic. While this often provides them with a dress-rehearsal opportunity for a later performance with a more renowned orchestra, they are generous with their talents because of the welcome they receive from the orchestra and audience alike, and because of a shared conviction of the importance of bringing great music to a wider audience. In 2024, we announced our first student concerto competition giving young musicians from 12 to 20 the unique opportunity to perform with a full orchestra .

We’ve had a succession of wonderful conductors perform with us over the years! Many have moved on to “the big time” after their Riverside experience. Riverside provides a training ground for the up-and-coming, as well as the opportunity for conductors without their own orchestra to expand their experience. They, like our featured soloists, are committed to the orchestra’s mission — to be a community of music makers and music lovers.

In 2016, after several years as conductor, Reuben Blundell became the orchestra's first music director.

Here’s a list of some previous concerts - it’s expanding as we continue to perform, and look back into the orchestra’s archives.