The Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn came from Germany to the East Coast in fall 2005 as part of the international festivities in conjunction with the transatlantic exhibition “Adolf Cluss: From Germany to America, Shaping a Capital City Worthy of a Republic.” Led by prize-winning conductor Ruben Gazarian, hailed as a “young Bernstein”, the orchestra performed at Zion Church in Baltimore, Founded by German immigrants in 1755, the Zion Church (Zionskirche) played host to Adolf Cluss’s marriage in 1859 to Rosa Schmidt, daughter of a teacher at the Zion Church School.   Founded in 1960 and considered among the best ensembles of its type, the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn travels throughout Europe and abroad yearly.  

The Program:

• Felix Mendelssohn                     Symphony No. 10 B Minor for string orchestra
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart        Concerto for violin and orchestra A Major KV 219

                                                               Soloist: Arabella Steinbacher

(Ms. Steinbacher is an award-winning Munich violinist who performs worldwide. She was taken on by Ana Chumachenko as her youngest student at the Munich College of Music at the age of nine.)

• Anton Bruckner                          Quintet F Major (arranged for string orchestra by Hans Stadlmair)

Adolf Cluss (1825-1905), an influential German-American architect, designed buildings in Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Alexandria, VA. A practical visionary, he played an instrumental role in giving a new, modern form to Washington, DC following the Civil War, designing numerous buildings such as the candy-colored Arts and Industries Building that flanks the Mall's Smithsonian Castle. His one Baltimore building was the Concordia Opera House, the major venue for musical events in the 1860s to the 1880s. The transatlantic exhibition celebrating his life and work went on display September 15, 2005 to February 28, 2006 at the Sumner School Museum in Washington, DC and in Heilbronn, Germany.

The orchestra’s Baltimore performance took take place on Sunday, October 16, at 5 pm at the historic Zion Church of the City of Baltimore (400 East Lexington Street at City Hall Plaza), celebrating its 250th anniversary year. Founded by German immigrants in 1755, the Zion Church (Zionskirche) played host to Adolf Cluss’s marriage in 1859 to Rosa Schmidt, daughter of a teacher at the Zion Church School.

The program was offered free of charge. 

 zionbaltimore@verizon.net, or www.zionbaltimore.org. 
For more information about the exhibition, visit www.adolf-cluss.org  or www.goethe.de/cluss  or email washington@adolf-cluss.org .

Planning for the exhibition is a cooperative effort among           Planning for this project has been made possible

many institutions in the United States and Germany                    thanks to grants from:

Charles Sumner School Museum                                                             Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany

Eastern Market                                                                                        (European Recovery Program)                                               

Goethe-Institut/German Cultural Center                                                  MARPAT Foundation

German Historical Institute                                                                     Kiplinger Foundation

Historical Society of Washington, D.C.                                                   National Endowment for the Humanities

The Smithsonian Institution’s Office of                                                   Humanities Council of Washington, DC

    Architectural History and Historic Preservation                                  Wagner Roofing

Stadtarchiv Heilbronn                                                                              Douglas Development Corporation