The Orchestra of New Spain was founded in 1989 by conductor Grover Wilkins. The Orchestra's concerts feature 18th-century Spanish works, unpublished and found only in manuscript in the libraries of the Royal Court and cathedrals in Spain for which they were originally written and where they have lain dormant for the past two centuries. The impressive quality of these works%u2014for orchestra, soloists and chorus%u2014reflects the importance of the Spanish capital in the artistic life of Europe of the 18th century, and its direct artistic links to Vienna, Paris and the Italian states.
To more successfully address a larger and increasingly diverse public the Orchestra has, since the 1993 season, included works from the general repertory of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Played on period instruments, an essential factor in performance today, these concerts allow a comparison to be made between the Spanish works and the established period repertory.
