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>Awakenings</em>

University Symphony Orchestra Concert: Awakenings

October 16, 2025 at 7:30 PM

Awakenings The CSU Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Rachel Waddell, presents a powerful program celebrating reflection, renewal, and new beginnings. Our journey begins with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, a stirring tribute to courage and resilience. Next, George Walker’s Lyric for Strings showcases the expressive beauty of our string section, led by graduate teaching assistant [...]

University Symphony Orchestra Concert: <em>Sorcery and Spectacle</em>

University Symphony Orchestra Concert: Sorcery and Spectacle

December 4, 2025 at 7:30 PM

Sorcery and Spectacle Prepare to be spellbound as the CSU Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Rachel Waddell, conjures an evening of magic and adventure. Our journey begins with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture, setting the stage with a balance of grandeur and whimsy. Next, acclaimed vocalist and faculty artist John Lindsey joins the ensemble [...]

Concert Orchestra Concert: <em>Rocky Mountain Rhapsody</em>

Concert Orchestra Concert: Rocky Mountain Rhapsody

December 8, 2025 at 7:30 PM

Rocky Mountain Rhapsody: Poetry and Music for Colorado Soundscapes Experience the breathtaking landscapes of Colorado through a harmonious fusion of music and poetry. The CSU Concert Orchestra, directed by Dr. Rachel Waddell, presents an all-Colorado composer program, weaving together works by Kevin Poelking, Chris Pilsner, Susan H. Day, and others. Each piece is accompanied by [...]

News

Announcing Dr. Rachel Waddell as the new director of orchestras at CSU

By Jennifer Clary | Jun 6, 2023 | Comments Off

The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance is thrilled to introduce Dr. Rachel Waddell as the next conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra and director of orchestras at Colorado State University. Dr. Waddell comes to CSU from the University of Rochester where she has served as the director of orchestral activities. She is the co-founder […]

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