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| American University Orchestra |
< AU Music Program Home | ||
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About AU Symphony Orchestra
Welcome to the American University Symphony Orchestra! Conducted by music director Jesus Manuel Berard, AU Symphony Orchestra has more than sixty accomplished members from the entire AU community: undergraduate and graduate music majors and non-music majors from every college at AU, music and non-music faculty and staff, and members of the Washington, D.C., community. AU Symphony Orchestra not only represents the Music Program and the Department of Performing Arts, but is a major artistic organization of, and ambassador for, American University. The beautiful Abramson Family Recital Hall at AU's new Katzen Arts Center is home to AU Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra rehearses onstage in its Recital Hall performance space on Monday and Wednesday evenings, 8:15–10:15 PM. Periodically, the ensemble is also lead in special sectional rehearsals by members of AU's stellar Instrumental Music Faculty, with whom all orchestral students — music majors and non-majors alike — have the opportunity to study. AU Symphony Orchestra plays at least three major concert programs per season, each in repeat performances. The orchestra's repertoire consists of the major masterworks from the Baroque through the Twentieth Century. An all-Beethoven program in 2004 launched AU Symphony Orchestra's Beethoven Cycle, a project of performing all of the composer's works for orchestra. Recent concert programs have included Beethoven's Symphonies 1, 3, and 6, Consecration of the House Overture and Leonore Overture No. 3, as well as Mendelssohn's Hebrides and Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage overtures.
AU Symphony Orchestra frequently collaborates with the American University Choral Ensembles in performances of major works for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra. Recent combined programs have included Haydn's The Creation and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 ("Lobgesang"). The 2006-2007 season will include Mozart's Requiem. AU Symphony Orchestra also serves as a lab orchestra for conducting students in the Department of Performing Arts. Auditions for AU Symphony Orchestra are held the first week of each semester for new
players. Special, late auditions may also be arranged. Members of the
orchestra also have the opportunity to audition each semester for promotion
within the organization. For more information about auditions or AU Symphony Orchestra,
please contact the orchestra manager at orchestra@american.edu
(202-885-3477), or Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities Jesus
Manuel Berard at jmberard@american.edu
(202-885-3431). |
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Each
year, AU Symphony Orchestra hosts a major event on campus, the Concerto and Aria Competition,
in which undergraduate and graduate student instrumentalists and singers
compete for the opportunity to perform in concert with the orchestra.
First, second and third place winners from a field of more than a dozen
competitors are selected by a distinguished panel of judges from the
Department of Performing Art's music faculty. Recent performances by
winners of the competition have included the Mendelssohn, Bruch and
Sibelius violin concertos, and Beethoven's Triple Concerto
for violin, cello, piano and orchestra. Slated for the 2006-2007 season
are Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Ibert's Concerto
da Camera for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra, in addition
to other works.