Our Mission
Gateway Chamber Orchestra enriches lives through innovative concerts,
distinctive recordings, and inspiring educational programs.
Our Story
Gateway Chamber Orchestra (GCO) is a nationally-recognized cultural institution based in Clarksville, Tennessee. ​The ensemble debuted in the fall of 2008 and has grown into a classically-modeled chamber orchestra comprised of leading symphony players, recording musicians, and college faculty who delight in bringing their shared passion for the world’s greatest music to the Middle Tennessee community.
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The GCO combines beloved masterworks, overlooked gems, and works by underrepresented composers to illuminate a vast range of music. Whether you are a lifelong concert-goer or just exploring the world of orchestral music for the first time, GCO is your gateway to discovering music you love.
About Us
Our History
October 2008: The Gateway Chamber Ensemble was founded in Clarksville, Tennessee. The first performance included Arnold Schoenburg's Chamber Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 9, which has become one of the ensemble's signature works.
2010-11: This season marked the first subscription series. The Gateway Concert Experience debuted, bringing musicians to public school classes for hands-on programs and giving students the opportunity to attend a concert at no charge.
2011-12: The ensemble was renamed the Gateway Chamber Orchestra (GCO) to reflect its growing stature. It was registered as a not-for-profit organization with the State of Tennessee and the volunteer Board of Directors was established.
2012-13: A new children’s concert, the Family and Children’s Series, provided 1,200 students the opportunity to see a multimedia performance combining their own art with live music. The Winter Baroque program debuted at Madison Street United Methodist Church.
2013-14: The Clarksville subscription series expanded to include various historic Nashville venues. The Children’s program expanded to include a Family Concert that featured pre-concert activities for instrument exploration and crafts.
2014-15: The Children’s Concert expanded to a two-program series featuring a Sunday Family Concert and two performances for 4,000 elementary students on Monday. The volunteer Guild was established.
2015-16: The Nashville series relocated to the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee. GCO secured funding from the NEA to enhance audience engagement activities for the Family & Children's series.
2018-19: Sounds of Home (SOH) Chorus formed to engage the local military community in the arts. GCO established America's Haydn Festival, featuring a public performance by SOH. GCO embarked on first Clarksville-Montgomery Co. Schools Outreach Week, and the inaugural BBQ, Brews and Beethoven event held in Clarksville and Franklin.
2019-20: GCO debuted The Nutcracker with jazz band and chamber orchestra in the form of a children's concert with author Anna Celenza prior to the cancellation of the remainder of the live season due to the pandemic.
2020-21: GCO produced two virtual events, Beethoven@250: Humanity in 2020 and America’s Haydn Festival. This virtual edition of America’s Haydn Festival was hosted by Bill McGlaughlin and broadcast in a series of four programs. As part of the festival, GCO made history by releasing one of the first orchestral NFTs, Cristina Spinei's Prelude. GCO also created ‘Magical Music & Timeless Tales,’ a video series with coordinating lessons featuring children’s literature paired with music from a variety of cultures for use in school or remotely provided without charge to attend.
2021-22: GCO, in collaboration with Nashville Ballet, presented a new rendition of The Nutcracker combining music from the original Tchaikovsky score and the jazz rendition by Duke Ellington. The GCO presented La Pasión según San Marcos by Osvaldo Golijov as the first ensemble made up of almost entirely local talent with only three guest artists from the original cast. This forged the way for this historic work to be presented by other ensembles. The season closed with the launch of the 2008 Society.
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2022-23: GCO hired interim Executive Director, Summer Fuchs, as well as welcomed the internationally-renowned choral director Tim Sharp to direct the newly-renamed Gateway Chorale. Continuing the new annual tradition of presenting Tchaikovsky's and Ellington's arrangements of The Nutcracker with live dance, GCO welcomed featured artists from Nashville Ballet, Ballet West, and Dance Theatre of Harlem, the including the internationally-renowned dancer Ingrid Silva. With grant funding from Google, GCO created a virtual 3D spatial recording of an excerpt of Golijov's La Pasión según San Marcos to increase accessibility for patrons with limited means unable to travel to Clarksville for live performances.
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2023-24: GCO's 15th Anniversary season saw the organizations first Executive Director, Barbara Ozenbaugh. At the annual Winter Baroque program, GCO and the Gateway Chorale collaborated with the Clarksville Children's Chorus (CCC). In addition to their own performance, the elementary student musicians of CCC joined GCO's professional musicians for a performance of Zelenka's Gloria, ZWV 30. GCO also continued developing The Nutcracker program by commissioning additional Latin-infused arrangements of Tchaikovsky's music by the talented composer Vinicio Meza.
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2024-25: In April 2025, GCO released their fourth album, Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos – Live at 25, on Summit Records, recorded live during GCO's and Gateway Chorale's performance of Golijov's work in spring of 2023. Also in April 2025, GCO released La Pasión XR the Steam gaming platform. Set in a 3D point cloud theater environment, La Pasión XR is a showcase of powerful volumetric and 360 stereo recordings of GCO and the Gateway Chorale.
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