Brooklyn's Fort Greene Orchestra Brings Mozart to The Masses

On a recent late October night, a line wrapped around the block at the Co-Cathedral of Saint Joseph, as Brooklynites gathered for a night of Mozart at the historic Brooklyn church.

This was one of three sold-out performances by the Fort Greene Orchestra, which began offering seasonal concerts at the Co-Cathedral last year. The rotating ensemble has amassed a faithful following of fans thanks to the unique approach of its conductor – and catchy Instagram ads.

Daniel Zinn, 32, is the mastermind behind the operation. He’s a violinist by training, and started producing concerts a little less than a decade ago. As a conductor and artistic director of the orchestra, Zinn has made it his mission to create concerts for the classically curious. With short run-times, affordable tickets and moody set design, the orchestra has been attracting a diverse audience, he said.

“Classical concerts haven't really evolved in the past 100 years,” Zinn said. “It seemed a shame to me. We have a new generation of musicians, a new generation of producers and it's our job to take it further into the 21st century.”

The project started out small, as the Fort Green Chamber Music Society. In 2023, Zinn set out on an ambitious mission to turn it into a full orchestra – one totally dependent on ticket sales, rather than donors or grants. When an agreement with another local church fell through before the orchestra’s first performance, Zinn found a new home at the Co-Cathedral on Pacific Street.

“It’s probably the most magnificent church in Brooklyn,” Zinn said. “I was completely awestruck.”

Setting out to fill such a large venue was a gamble that paid off. The orchestra’s first two performances in October 2023 sold out, packing the pews with an estimated 1,200 attendees each night. The average age of the audience, Zinn said, is about 35.

The orchestra features a rotating roster of 30 to 80 musicians from across the city. This most recent concert also included the cathedral’s choir.

“I have an immense privilege to be working with the best of the best,” Zinn said. “So we start rehearsals, usually two to three days before our first performance.”

DJ Zentla began performing with the orchestra as a bass trombonist in its earliest days.

“We’re usually sold out, which is very rare nowadays,” Zentla said. “Even some of the smaller, more established orchestras have to give away seats for free.”

The more recent production in October marked the orchestra’s fourth concert series. It centered around Mozart’s Requiem, and attendees who arrived a bit too close to the 8:00pm start time found themselves shepherded through the aisles by harried ushers and squeezed into open spots along the pews.

Zinn said he aims to craft shows that his friends would like to attend. The resulting concert style is one he’s been developing for years, boiling down to short shows, just 60 minutes long, with no intermission.

Last year, Zinn began a collaboration with light designer Christopher Gilmore. Gilmore designed the October show around the style of the Great Hall as seen in Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Castle. Attendees poured into October’s concert to the sound of the church organ playing behind them, with electric candles strung overhead and a fog machine flooding the stage. The aim is to get audiences in the mood before the first note is played, Zinn said.

"We try to create an atmosphere that is more conducive towards deeper listening,” he added.

As promised, the performance lasted exactly 60 minutes, but it packed a punch, from stunning solos by the choir to a powerful rendition of Mozart’s famous Requiem.

Laura Folco, a Brooklyn resident who attended the concert last month, said she learned about the show from Instagram.

“I've always loved the Requiem, but I've never seen it live,” Folco said. “I figured it’s the perfect time of year for that kind of thing. I checked it out, and it was amazing.”

The Fort Green Orchestra's next performance will be a pre-Thanksgiving special concert on Nov. 21 and Nov. 23, featuring Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Notably, the orchestra’s website lists the concert’s vibe as “In love and extroverted,” and suggests a dress code of “Deep Autumn Colors.” For more information on tickets, click here.