The UW Symphony Orchestra is the winner of an ASCAP national award, upholding a valuable part of culture through music and representing an art that is still very much alive.
The Symphony Orchestra is an ensemble made up of about 90 members. Membership is a unique honor, as all participants are required to audition to earn a spot. Music majors are not the only students who participate in the orchestra either, as just under half are majoring in a degree other than music.
Instruments included in the orchestra involve the strings, woodwind, brass and percussion families.
Michael Griffith has been the director of the Symphony Orchestra since 1989, making this his 28th year of conducting for UW. Griffith said working with students is by far the best and most rewarding part of his position as conductor.
“Seeing progress in each rehearsal and watching as the music gets better and better,” Griffith said. “You can see it on the students’ faces, and there is a sense of pride in everyone by the time of the concert.”
Under Griffith’s instruction, the orchestra performs a wide variety of pieces. He emphasizes the importance of classical music in culture and his own appreciation for the genre by performing works from classic composers such as Mahler, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. Contemporary music and living composers, such as Grammy and Pulitzer prize winner Jennifer Higdon, are also integrated into concerts.
Eleanor Burns is in her sixth semester of being a Symphony Orchestra Member as a violinist.
“I think the orchestra is like a family,” Burns said. “One of the best parts of being a musician is making music with your friends.”
Griffith said music is hardly the beginning of all the orchestra has to offer.
“Because music requires a process unlike a simple online search that is so easy nowadays, there is a deep understanding of systematic and detailed work,” Griffith said. “All students in the orchestra develop a variety of skills that can be applied to anything and make them marketable to any major.”
Beyond other skills the orchestra also offers special opportunities for members. Specific to this semester is a chance for a small number of members to play in the pit orchestra for the Broadway show “Company” in April, presented by the theater and dance department.
The Dorothy Jacoby Student Soloist concert and competition is another exciting opportunity for Symphony Orchestra members. In this performance Mar. 2, students have the chance to perform as soloists for the orchestra. The best performance, as determined by judges, will receive a cash award.
The Symphony Orchestra not only creates music on campus, but across the state as well. In the spring of 2016, the Symphony Orchestra embarked on a three-day tour of Wyoming, performing across the state and visiting schools.
The Symphony Orchestra has rehearsal every week on Tuesday from 7:00-9:30 p.m., and Thursday from 4:10-6:00 p.m. Every six weeks, the symphony puts on a concert that offers rich music and culture to the Laramie community and the university.
The Symphony Orchestra has three performances this semester, with their first one Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The orchestra will be one of three large ensembles performing including the Wind Symphony and Colligate Chorale.
“This concert is special because it features music for large ensemble written by guest composer Libby Larsen,” Burns says.
Griffith said, “If you have never come to a concert, do! They are for you.”
