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Orchidées

Event
Four green orchid flowers emerge from a white star on a green background.

Past eventSat., Oct. 18, 2025, 7–8:30 p.m.

Public: $20; Members: $15; Livestream: $10

Rothenberg Hall and Livestream

In-Person TicketsVirtual Livestream
Join us for the world premiere of “Orchidées,” a concert-length work composed by Nick Roth and performed by cellist Kate Ellis.

The piece traces the 100‑million‑year evolution of orchids by translating their DNA sequences into music accompanied by time‑lapse footage of blooming specimens from The Huntington’s orchid collection.

The concert will be introduced by Nick Roth, composer; Sean Lahmeyer, associate director of botanical collections, conservation, and research at The Huntington; Brandon Tam, associate curator of orchids at The Huntington; and Barbara Gravendeel, researcher at Naturalis Leiden, whose team sequenced the DNA that informed the work.

Learn more about the musical piece
Download the 2025 Poster Art
9th Annual International Orchid Show and Sale

Black-and-white portrait of a bearded person with curly hair and sunglasses resting on their head, looking toward the camera while leaning against a textured wall.

About the Composer

Nick Roth is a saxophonist, composer, producer, and educator. His work explores the ways in which we can “come to know” the world through music, which has led to collaborations with a wide array of international performers, composers, choreographers, visual artists, poets, theatre and film directors, festivals, and ensembles. He has served as artist-in-residence at institutions including the European Space Agency (ESTEC), California Academy of Sciences (CalAcademy), Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris (CCI), Casa da Arquitectura in Porto, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). 

Black-and-white photo of a cellist in a dark outfit tuning a cello with one hand while holding a bow in the other.

About the Cellist

Kate Ellis is dedicated to the performance and exploration of all things new in music, with collaboration at its heart. She is the Artistic Director of Ireland’s Crash Ensemble, cellist with Martin Hayes’ Common Ground Ensemble, and toured with Bono as part of his Stories of Surrender show from 2022 to 2023.

An orchid with white and rose petals is photographed in a focused light in front of a black background.
Orchids
Blooms of yellow and orange orchids photographed in front of a black background using a soft, overhead light source.
A single, yellow and orange-red orchid bulb and two leaves hang from a single vine.
Three yellow 5-star orchids shoot out from leaves in partial shadow.
A sprawling display of yellow, orange, and purple orchids inside a greenhouse.
1 of 6

Still taken from the time-lapse of Orchidées featuring Chysis limminghei. The Huntington, San Marino, California.

Still taken from the time-lapse of Orchidées featuring Stanhopea impressa. The Huntington, San Marino, California.

Still taken from the time-lapse of Orchidées featuring Lycaste consobrina. The Huntington, San Marino, California.

Still taken from the time-lapse of Orchidées featuring Coryanthes alborosea. The Huntington, San Marino, California.

Still taken from the time-lapse of Orchidées featuring Angraecum Sesquipedale. The Huntington, San Marino, California.

A portion of the orchid collection located in the Robert Weltz Greenhouse.

A group of bright pink Cattleya Orchid flowers stand against a backdrop of green foliage.

Now Blooming: The Orchid Collection

View a rotating display of blooming orchids, selected for their beauty and color, year-round in The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science.

Blooming Orchids
Cattleya Orchid

Orchid Collection

With more than 10,000 orchids, The Huntington houses one of the largest orchid collections in the United States, specializing in an array of genera including Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium, Cymbidium, Cattleya, Stanhopea, Lycaste, and various botanical species.

Orchid Collection