QUO was founded in July 2009 as planning meetings started for NYC’s first orchestra specifically serving the LGBTQ community. Our first season kicked off with our Debut Concert on December 5, 2009, for which we began rehearsing on September 16, 2009. Since our inaugural concert our membership has grown to 60 musicians, and our collaborative effort with the Danspace Project have resulted in praise from the New York Times.

With its 2023-2024 season Chosen Family, Queer Urban Orchestra dedicates a full year to celebrating the liberating and healing power of kinship bonds rooted in friendship. QUO performs music written for and about friends, music that could only exist with the help of others, music that considers our relationship with the planet, and music to sing and dance along to with friends. New and longtime friends join the orchestra, including Ariadne Greif, Ryan Roberts, Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Andrew Yee, Empire City Men’s Chorus, and Youth Pride Chorus. Timeless works of Beethoven, Elgar, Price, and Tchaikovsky meet new and recent works by Jessie Montgomery, Caroline Shaw, and Derek Weagle. The whole season is performed by an orchestra that is itself an ever-expanding chosen family on a mission to create safe space for expression and love.

Queer Urban Orchestra's 2023-2024 Season!

Big, Queer Fundraiser!

Team Members