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Updated 9/26/2024

Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Performing Group

1 name, 3 formations: 

Quintet: Story-Driven Global Jazz & Chamber Music 

"engagingly unique"–Boston Globe 

In the same way a chef de cuisine runs a kitchen, percussionist Brian O’Neill leads a team of five musical creators who deftly collaborate on instruments foreign and domestic to form modernist delicacies for hungry, curious listeners. From the high arts of jazz and chamber music to adaptations of mid-century exotica and pop art, the quintet version of Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica renders O’Neill’s original compositions and curious arrangements of Bach, Gershwin, Shostakovich and John Adams into cinematic, layered music for armchair travelers ready to journey off road. 

Esquivel Megaband: Reviving the Lost Space-Age Pop Music of Esquivel

"…exquisite attention to details…" - Sunday Times London 

Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica is the world's only big band dedicated to performing the lost space-age pop music of Juan Garcia Esquivel. The 22-pc group has rescued the king-of-space-age-bachelor-pad's arrangements via meticulous transcriptions of Esquivel's original stereophonic recordings of crime jazz, easy-latin, and hi-fi music, shaken and not stirred, on a trip to the moon.

Czarna Wolgastar - Intergalactic Balkan Surf Jazz Trio

Czarna Wolgastar ("charnuh volga-star") is the world's only intergalactic balkan surf jazz trio. Whenever the space ship Wolgastar 1 returns to Earth, three non-corporeal Wolgastarian entities embody three members of Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica's quintet: Tev Stevig (guitar), Michael Harrist (bass), and Brian O'Neill (drums). Together, the trio – or sextet, depending on how you think of it – release a strange, other-worldly cocktail of Balkan beats and Milky-Way mischief crossed with the American songbook, Hollywood film soundtracks, and more. 

Testimonials

I recommend the [Esquivel Megaband] on behalf of the Montreal Jazz Festival. Our massive crowds loved  their shows, and the band was very easy to work with. 
MARC-ANDRÉ SARAULT, MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL  

By the end of the concert, our audience had given the quintet a standing ovation, with some calling it 'a blast; terrific presenters with excellent musicianship.'
SHEREE OWENS, CAPITOL CENTER (NH)

We had a wonderful turnout with 90% of our survey respondents giving the concert the top rating. The quintet is an exciting, unique group, and the audience really loved the music as well as all the background the group gave from the stage about the instruments and repertoire.
GLENN TOMLINSON, NORTON MUSEUM (FL)

Find Me

Brian O'Neill
Job Title: Artistic Director
Phone: 347-482-1775
Address:
7a haskell st
Cambridge, MA 02140

Social Media:

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

2008

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

2008

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Music - Jazz

Additional Disciplines:

  • Music - New

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Public Art Projects (In Free, Public Spaces)
  • Residency - Other
  • Arts Instruction / Lessons
  • Residency - In School
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 5

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Businesses
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • Nonprofits
  • School Groups
  • Teens
  • Youth-At-Risk

Languages Available:

  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
  • English

Geographic Reach:

  • National
  • International
  • State
  • Multi-State Region
  • Multi-County Region
  • County
  • Town / City

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • 2012 Best World Music Act (Boston Phoenix Readers' Poll)
  • 2024 NEST 1 Recipient
  • 2024 Recipient of $15k SouthArts JazzRoad Tours

Awards

Awards:

  • 2012 Best World Music Act (Boston Phoenix Readers' Poll)
  • 2024 NEST 1 Recipient
  • 2024 Recipient of $15k SouthArts JazzRoad Tours

Special Designations

Special Designations:

  • NEFA Grant Recipient

Artist Info

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Afterschool Program
  • Arts and Cultural Center / Venue
  • Community Site / Center
  • Corporate Business
  • Healthcare Facility
  • Private Studio
  • School / University

Ages Served:

  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults
  • Seniors

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Foreign Languages
  • Arts Integration - Science / Technology / Engineering
  • Design
  • Music

Fee range:

No extra fee; these are priced into any engagement we do.

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Afterschool Program
  • Arts and Cultural Center / Venue
  • Community Site / Center
  • Corporate Business
  • Healthcare Facility
  • Private Studio
  • School / University

Ages Served:

  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults
  • Seniors

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Foreign Languages
  • Arts Integration - Science / Technology / Engineering
  • Design
  • Music

Fee range:

No extra fee; these are priced into any engagement we do.

Touring Artist

NEST Eligible Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • For Quintet: http://orchestrotica.com/presskit/files/orchestrotica_quintet_press_kit_bundle.pdf
  • For Esquivel Megaband: http://orchestrotica.com/presskit/files/orchestrotica_bigband_press_kit_bundle.pdf
  • For trio: https://cwtrio.com

Fee Range:

$3,000 - $38,000 (the large range is due to our 3 different ensemble formations and the various engagement models in each).

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

5

Maximum Number of Performers:

22