About Us

Photos courtesy of Bill Blackstone The Ottawa Chamber Orchestra (OCO) was founded in 1992. It is a dynamic "chamber-sized" symphony orchestra with activities taking place across the entire National Capital Region. Our fifty members include advanced music students, semi-professional musicians, and serious amateurs whose non-musical avocations and professions run the complete gamut. From teenagers to senior citizens, our musicians come from all communities within Ottawa proper and its periphery. Our concerto performances open the stage to some of the most accomplished professional musicians in our area. What OCO's members share is a love of music, a desire to learn together, and a passion to delight our audiences with masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire. The orchestra's music director is Maestro David Thies-Thompson. A viola player with the National Art Centre Orchestra and a part-time Professor at the Unversity of Ottawa, David became involved with the OCO, first in 1998 as string coach, and then as conductor in 1999. His leadership and musicianship are an exceptional benefit to the OCO and its public. All members of OCO look forward to the opportunity to enchant you with some of the best compositions for mid-size symphonic ensembles.