Orchestras

The CSU Orchestras strive to invite everyone within and beyond our CSU community to create, experience, and respond to performances that enrich and deepen our ties to humanity and one another.

Events

University Symphony Orchestra Concert: <em>In Pursuit of the Sublime</em>

University Symphony Orchestra Concert: In Pursuit of the Sublime

March 10, 2026 at 7:30 PM

In Pursuit of the Sublime Journey into the sublime as the University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by assistant conductor and graduate teaching assistant, Sam Cooper, illuminates the beauty hidden within nature’s power. The evening begins with Florence Price’s The Oak, a work that unfolds gradually, revealing its strength through steady, evolving motion. Franz Doppler’s Fantaisie pastorale [...]

Concert Orchestra Concert: <em>The Birds and the Bees</em> / FREE

Concert Orchestra Concert: The Birds and the Bees / FREE

April 26, 2026 at 7:30 PM

The Birds and the Bees The concert theme grew out of suggestions from orchestra members, many who represent disciplines beyond music, including the sciences. Together, we explore how music can illuminate the vital roles of birds and pollinating insects in sustaining ecosystems. Through works inspired by flight, song, and the rhythms of nature, the program invites audiences to reflect [...]

University Symphony Orchestra Concert: <em>Virtuoso Voices</em>

University Symphony Orchestra Concert: Virtuoso Voices

May 7, 2026 at 7:30 PM

The Ralph Opera Program at CSU, under the direction of Dr. Tiffany Blake, with the University Smphony Orchestra, led by Dr. Rachel Waddell, unite for an evening that celebrates the artistry of CSU’s vocal and instrumental performers. The program features Amy Effinger, winner of the annual Concerto Competition, performing the first movement of Édouard Lalo’s [...]

News

Director of Orchestras Dr. Rachel Waddell named 2026 Recording Academy and GRAMMY® Museum Music Educator Award Semifinalist

By School of Music, Theatre, and Dance | Oct 16, 2025 | Comments Off

CSU University Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dr. Rachel Waddell

Following reviews by a panel of national music educators, Dr. Rachel Waddell, Colorado State University Director of Orchestras, was named one of twenty-five semifinalists for the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum’s Music Educator Award. Dr. Waddell was chosen from a national pool of 2,000 initial nominations and is the only semifinalist from the state of […]

Ensembles

University Symphony Orchestra
(MU 302)

Our Symphony Orchestra serves as a model for the 21st-century orchestra and is CSU's premier orchestral ensemble. We strive to celebrate the talents of our diverse student body, including music majors, minors, and non-majors. We offer a variety of performance experiences, including opera, dance, theatre, Colorado All-State, and other interdisciplinary collaborations. Our programs explore and expand the existent canon with new music and music by historically under-programmed composers. Recent performances include Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Jerod Tate's Ghost of the White Deer bassoon concerto with Cayla Bellamy, and Englebert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.

Auditions for all instruments are held at the beginning of the fall semester. Winds, brass, and percussion must reaudition in the spring. String players who participate in symphony in the fall are not currently required to re-audition for the spring; however, new string players are welcome to audition at the start of the spring semester.

Audition required
Rehearses: T/TR, 2:30–5 p.m., UCA G 106 (Griffin Concert Hall)
Course Code: MU 302
Director: Rachel Waddell

Repertoire

The University Symphony Orchestra at CSU performs works from across the periods and standards of orchestral repertoire. Here are works performed since 2018:

Keiko Abe (b.1937): Prism Rhapsody for Marimba and Orchestra
John Adams (b.1947): Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67; Symphony No. 6 in F Major (Pastorale), Op. 68; Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92; Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125; Piano Concerto, No. 5 in E‐Flat Major, Op. 73 “Emperor Concerto”
Béla Bartók (1881-1945): Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869): Harold in Italy
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990): “Three Dance Episodes” On the Town
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Symphony No. 1 in C‐minor, Op. 65; Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
Anton Bruckner (1824‐1896): Symphony No. 5 in B‐flat Major (Original Version: 1875‐1878)
Ricardo Castro (1864-1907): Menuet Pour Ochestra D’Achet
Julius Conus (1869‐1942): Violin Concerto in E Minor
Aaron Copland (1900‐1990): Concerto for Clarinet
Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Nocturnes
Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904): Symphony No. 5; Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, “From the New World” Op. 95
Percy Grainger (1882-1961): Molly on the Shore
Gustav Holst (1874-1834): The Planets: Suite for Large Orchestra, Op. 32
Ulysses Kay (1917-1995): Six Dances
Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986): Concertino for Trombone and String Orchestra Op. 35, No. 7
Mathieu Lussier (1810-1856): Odd Bird Concerto for Bassoon, Strings, and Percussion, Op. 37
Cindy McTee (b.1953); Einstein’s Dream
Gustav Mahler (1850-1911): “Adagietto” Symphony No. 5; Symphony No. 3 in Six Movements for Large Orchestra
Arturo Márquez (b.1950): Danzón No. 2
Colin Matthews (b. 1946): Pluto, The Renewer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Divertimento in D, K. 136
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020): Anaklasis;
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004): Grass
Florence Price (1887-1953): Symphony No. 3 in C Minor
Leanna Primiani (b.1978): 1001 for Orchestra and Pre-Recorded Electronics
Sergei Prokofiev (1891‐1953): Piano Concerto No.3 in C Major, Op. 26
Arthur Pryor, arr. (1870-1942): Blue Bells of Scotland
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937): Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2
Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940): Le Noche de los Mayas “The Night of the Mayas”
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908): Scheherazade, Op. 35
Albert Roussel (1869-1937): Symphony No. 2
Jonathan Russell (b.1979): Double Concerto for Clarinet, Cello, and Orchestra
Charles-Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921): Symphony No. 3 “Organ” in C minor, Op. 78
Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
Rodion Shchedrin (b.1932): Carmen Suite
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957): Valse Triste, Op. 44/1; Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884): Die Moldau
Fela Sowande (1905-1987): African Suite
William Grant Still (1895-1978); Serenade, for Orchestra
Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Don Quixote; Horn Concerto No. 1 in Eb Major, Op. 11
Jerod Tate (b. 1968): Ghost of the White Deer
Samuel Coleridge Taylor (1875-1912): Novelletten No. 1; Danse Negre, Op. 35, No. 4
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Symphony No.3 in D Major, Op.29 “Polish”; Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826): Concerto for Clarinet No. 2 in Eb Major, Op. 74
Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): ‘Five Variants of ‘Dives and Lazarus’; Fantasia on a Theme by Tomas Tallis

Concert Orchestra (MU 206)

Our Concert Orchestra provides performance, educational, and collaborative opportunities for all CSU students in a supportive and nurturing environment. This is an excellent ensemble for music minors, non-performance music majors, music majors on secondary instruments, and students in other degree programs interested in continuing orchestra performance for leisure and personal fulfillment. All are welcome!

Please register for the class. At the start of the semester, you will receive further instructions from the instructor via email.
Rehearses: M/W, 1-2:30 p.m., UCA Organ Recital Hall
Director: Rachel Waddell