Working from the beginning without a conductor, c/o takes its name from the idea of stewardship and responsibility. A letter addressed with “c/o” does not arrive directly, but is passed on in the care of another. A composer puts pen to paper, but it only becomes music when brought to life by musicians – each and every performance anew.

Making music together means that collaboration is at the heart of our work. Our guest artists, such as Nils Landgren, Fransisco Lopez Martin, and Alban Gerhardt and Gergana Gergova, are not just soloists who drop in to play the next stop on their tour, but are part of the creative process from the very start.

c/o takes the idea of being a “chamber” orchestra seriously. Chamber music means being both clear and flexible, leading and following, knowing when to step forward and when to step back. The musicians come from throughout Europe, East and West, from over a dozen different countries. Without one leader providing a singular vision, the voices and personalities of each musician combine, negotiate, struggle and forge a distinctive way forward together.

It is the result of that process that makes c/o special. In concert, you hear 30 voices working together to capture something unique. The repertoire is as diverse as the orchestra itself: chamber music and symphonies, baroque and world-premieres, but whatever the music is, the experience is unmistakably c/o.