No-Name Orchestra unites musicians for one day – and a single performance

Get ready for a most unusual musical event in Waltham.

This Saturday at 1:30 p.m. the No-Name Orchestra will perform at Kennedy Middle School with the orchestra’s unusual style of practice and preparation —  meaning very little practice and preparation at all.

The concept behind the No-Name Orchestra, according to co-founder and conductor Marshunda Smith, who goes by her first name, is that musicians who wish to participate gather in the morning — their first time together — for a rehearsal, enjoy a potluck lunch and then perform.

For this spontaneous approach to playing music that is “very accessible,” Marshunda said she solicits interest from her list of Boston-area musicians, many of whom love to play but can’t commit to a lengthy schedule of rehearsals.

Yank’l Garcia, a Waltham Public Schools music teacher, is helping to organize the event.

The orchestra will play Margaret Bonds’ “Montgomery Variations,” composed in 1963 as a musical reflection on the events of the Civil Rights Movement and the continuing struggle for freedom. Bonds described her work as “a group of freestyle variations based on the Negro Spiritual theme, ‘I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.’”

Although the No-Name Orchestra, a designation that suggests fluidity and spontaneity, has previously gathered 18 times in the Boston area, the Waltham performance will be the first time the public has been invited. All previous performances have been held for the enjoyment of participating musicians, Marshunda said.

Founded in the fall of 2015, the No-Name Orchestra is a volunteer, noncompetitive orchestra that gives people an opportunity to play concertos with full orchestra accompaniment. 

The midday performance on April 12 will last about 45 minutes, and the musicians will be casually dressed.

“I want everyone to be comfortable,” Marshunda said. “Classical music doesn’t have to be stuffy.”

Kennedy Middle School is located at 655 Lexington St. in Waltham. Tickets are available at Marshunda.com.