Press

“Dreamed up in a living room and now touring around the world, The Knights have evolved from an informal meeting of friends to a premier US-based chamber orchestra. Known for its diverse and adventurous programming that features a wide range of collaborators, The Knights have surprised and delighted audiences on the world’s iconic stages and in neighborhood parks, plazas, and bars. With a unique structure that empowers members to steer the group artistically, the ensemble delivers distinctive performances that captivate fans of classical music and beyond.”

— Carnegie Hall (2025)

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“I’m loving this new piano concerto by Gabriel Kahane…He wrote this concerto, ‘Heirloom,’ for his dad, infusing it with family history and weaving in quotes from one of his own best-loved songs. The music is dressed in a colorful post-romantic style, echoes of Rachmaninoff.”

— Tom Huizenga for NPR’s All Songs Considered (2025)

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“Composer/singer/songwriter Gabriel Kahane's third Nonesuch album, Heirloom, is out now…the album features a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra by the same name, written by Gabriel Kahane for his father, the conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane.”

— Nonesuch Records (2025)

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“This form resonates personally for me because Tagalog, my mother tongue, is a Malayo-Polynesian tongue; the pantun—with its structured pattern of repetition—has been an ongoing source of inspiration for my own creative process,” said Barizo, a recipient of Opera America’s IDEA Residency for emerging librettists, per an official press release.”

— J. Mae Barizo, as quoted by David Salazar (2025)

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“The Knights always sound alive, and tonight was no exception. Their togetherness and verve complemented Wu Man’s enthusiasm as she seemed to invite them into her solo role, making it sound like a big chamber ensemble playing off one another rather than an orchestra providing accompaniment to a star virtuoso.”

— Ben Gambuzza, writing for EarRelevant (2025)

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“MetLive Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s performing arts series, will kick off its 2025-2026 season tomorrow night with a program featuring pipa virtuoso Wu Man…Colin Jacobsen, concertmaster and co-artistic director of the Knights, called the Harrison work ‘a piece of modern music that just attains this joyful, visceral, evocative sense. (And) you just love working with Wu Man.’“

— Jane Levere, writing for Forbes (2025)

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“One thing about The Knights is that they’re very young and passionate about music. The younger generation challenges themselves to embrace many different styles of music in their programming—not only Western classical, but also contemporary, pop, and world music. In the twenty-first century, every kid listens to all kinds of music—not like when I grew up in closed-door China, where we only knew ourselves. I think that’s an example for future generations of orchestral musicians.”

— Wu Man, speaking to Emery Kerekes for The Metropolitan Museum (2025)

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“Herrera had as her collaborators members of The Knights, the extraordinary chamber orchestra put together by Colin and Eric Jacobson, whose luscious string sound created a counterpoint and firm undergirding for her music.”

— Scott Gutterman, writing for The Brooklyn Rail (2025)

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“In Gabriel Kahane's words, “Heirloom is an aural family scrapbook, exploring, in its three movements, a series of inheritances.” The album also features “Where are the Arms,” the title track from Kahane’s sophomore LP, heard here in a new orchestral arrangement performed by Gabriel Kahane (vocals, guitar, electronics) with The Knights.”

— Nonesuch (2025)

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“The Knights are clearly ascendant at Carnegie Hall.”

— Seth Colter Walls, writing in The New York Times (2025)

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“I’ve never worked with an orchestra that actually felt like a band until I first performed with The Knights.

Sometimes you play with these large orchestras and it can feel a bit intimidating, but The Knights have always been so warm and welcoming. And they’re also really adventurous—they want to try anything and everything. It’s such a rare treat for a singer”

—Cécile McLorin Salvant, speaking to Carnegie Hall (2025)

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Chris Thile joins the New York City–based orchestra The Knights and conductor Eric Jacobsen to perform his piece ATTENTION! A narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra and Thile's transcription of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043, in the Venetian Theater on Sunday, July 20, at 4pm. Also on the program are Caroline Shaw's "And So" (which can be heard on the aforementioned Rectangles and Circumstance) and selections from Philip Glass's Symphony No. 3.

—Nonesuch (2025)

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“Clyne’s music seems to delight in leading listeners along a particular route before changing course with sharp and unexpected twists and gear-shifts.”

—Pwyll ap Siôn, writing for Gramophone (2024)

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“The Knights deliver the music with impeccable ensemble, and are perfect advocates of this music.”

—Jo Talbot, writing for BBC Music Magazine (2024)

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"WQXR is once again partnering with the New York Philharmonic to showcase music written by fourteen extraordinary composers between the ages of 9 - 17 and all participants in the NYPhil's Very Young Composers program. The compositions are performed by musicians from The Knights."

—WQXR, New York Classical Radio (2024)

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 "The Knights, led by Eric Jacobsen, is one of my favorite orchestras to work with. The musicianship is at the highest level and the care and attention that they bring to my music is evident throughout these recordings."

—Anna Clyne, writing for The Strad (2024)

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"I have focused on the greatness of these concertos largely because the performances did them such splendid justice."

—The Berkshire Edge (2024)

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"It’s a summer-ending musical tradition that plays out every Labor Day weekend at the Clark Art Institute."

—The Berkshire Eagle (2024)

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"There is simply no substitute for the joy of recording music by friends and with friends."

—Yo-Yo Ma, in an interview with Anna Clyne for Classical Music

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"Every piece here is vibrant and memorable."

—The Times

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