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2003-04
Meeting in Daniels Hall, the group rehearsed Mendelssohn’s Trio for Violin, Viola, and Piano in C minor. In the final days of spring quarter 2004, Richard Wang placed fliers looking for those interested in creating a larger ensemble for the campus community. 2004-05
Over the summer of 2004, various contacts were made, and interest for a campus orchestra grew among students and community members. Both Professor Mark Gibson of the Orchestral Studies Department at the UC College-Conservatory of Music and Dr. Terren Frenz of the UC Bearcat Bands expressed their support for the creation of such a group. Professor Gibson granted access to the CCM Orchestral Library, and Dr. Frenz allowed the group to use the band program's percussion instruments, music stands, and chairs. Angela Santangelo, a doctoral conducting student of Professor Gibson, took on the vital role of music director, while architecture student Nicole Desender, philosophy student Alex Noel, and band veteran Adam McCormick filled out the student leadership of the newly founded UC Orchestra Club with university librarian Les Vuylsteke as its advisor and Richard Wang as its president. After several weeks of planning, the University Orchestra held its first rehearsal in the last week of fall quarter 2004 in CCM and began rehearsing across campus in Zimmer Hall the following quarter. During this first year, the equipment crew helped transport chairs, stands, and timpani each rehearsal night from the UC Bearcat Bands' band room to Zimmer Hall. After much hard work and dedication, the orchestra presented its inaugural concert to a standing ovation on Wednesday, March 2, 2005. The orchestra's brass and percussion sections also began a tradition of performing brass ensemble works with a piece composed by Richard Wang specifically for the inaugural concert. The small ensemble later performed for the American Heart Association's Mini-Marathon. The orchestra ended its first year with a joint concert featuring selections from operas with the UC Men's and Women's Choruses. 2005-06
In 2005, the orchestra was renamed the UC Symphony Orchestra and welcomed Jackson Warren as its assistant conductor. With the construction and opening of a new band room for the UC Bearcat Bands, the UCSO found a new home as well. In autumn, the group held a concert at Old Saint George. Sadly, Sarah Grant Barber, an academic advisor at DAAP who was both the principal cellist and university advisor of the orchestra passed away a few weeks prior to the concert, and the night was subsequently dedicated in her honor. In winter quarter, the orchestra performed its first symphony, Schubert's Eighth, the "Unfinished." For spring, the orchestra presented a joint concert with the UC Men's and Women's Choruses, featuring works by Copland and Bernstein. In his final achievement as president of the group, Richard Wang worked with Professor Mark Gibson to secure the UCSO's place at the university as the newest official ensemble of the UC College-Conservatory of Music for the following year. 2006-07
2006 marked the first major changes in leadership for the ensemble with Jackson Warren and Joannah Lynch taking on the responsibilities of music director and orchestra president respectively. The orchestra, now an official ensemble and class of the UC College-Conservatory of Music, presented the works of Russian composers, waltzes, and selections from various opera works over the course of the year. 2007-08
In 2007, Angela Holt took up the baton as the UCSO's third music director. In its fourth season, the orchestra grew substantially, reaching nearly a hundred members. The group rehearsed regularly in the UC College-Conservatory of Music and gained the assistance of CCM student interns. In addition to traditional orchestral favorites such as Finlandia, Night on Bare Mountain, and Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, the group also performed Carl Nielsen's Helios Overture and featured its small ensemble percussion and brass groups. 2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please send an e-mail to us at orchestra@uc.edu. Joining the Orchestra | Rehearsal Schedule | Concert Schedule | The Orchestra Roster |
