Orchestra Next is a training orchestra and the resident orchestra with the Eugene Ballet Company. Since 2012, Orchestra Next has become a fixture in Eugene, having played every performance of Eugene Ballet’s The Nutcracker since 2012 and collaborated with the company on premiere productions such as The Great Gatsby with music by Wynton Marsalis, Grieg’s Peer Gynt, Stravinsky’s The Firebird, and Kenji Bunch’s The Snow Queen.
Orchestra Next has also performed live national anthems for the World Indoor Track & Field Championships medal ceremonies, performed for Cirque Musica, and collaborated with the University of Oregon Opera, Eugene Concert Choir, Soromundi Lesbian Choir of Eugene, and UO Theatre Department. Orchestra Next has managed to capture the hearts and minds of the region by remixing the orchestral model – providing live music for staged productions and much-needed experience for aspiring professional musicians. Resurrecting the tradition of the mentor-apprentice relationship, Orchestra Next combines Eugene’s creative and vibrant professionals with the region’s most talented protégés. Orchestra Next’s debut recording – Kenji Bunch’s The Snow Queen – was released on Innova Recordings.
Conductors
Brian McWhorter
BRIAN MCWHORTER is Music Director for Orchestra Next and Eugene Ballet and Professor of Music at the University of Oregon. As an orchestral musician, Brian performed with the Eugene Symphony, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony and the American Sinfonietta among many others. McWhorter’s discography spans many genres—from contemporary chamber to orchestral, improvised music to pop and rock. To date, McWhorter has recorded on more than 50 albums. His work with chamber music groups like Beta Collide and Meridian Arts Ensemble has taken him all over the world as a specialist in contemporary music. He has composed music for feature documentaries, silent film, theatrical productions, and regularly works with dance. Born in Portland, OR, McWhorter is a graduate of the University of Oregon and The Juilliard School.
Rodrigo Gonzalez-Jacob
Argentinian/Spanish conductor RODRIGO GONZALEZ-JACOB was the youngest artist ever promoted to the position of conductor at the National University of Arts String Orchestra (formerly known as the National Conservatory of Music) in 2008. Rodrigo was the director of orchestras in the National University of Arts academic program from 2015–2022. Currently he studies Orchestral Conducting at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance under the tutelage of Dr. David Jacobs. Recent collaborations include: Assistant Conductor, Oregon Mozart Players with Maestro Kelly Kuo; Assistant Conductor, Eugene Opera, Puccini’s La bohème with Maestro Andrew Bisantz; Eugene-Springfield Youth Orchestra coach, and Guest Conductor, Eugene-Springfield Community Orchestra.
