Colorado State University Orchestras are open to music majors and minors, as well as to non-music majors, creating the opportunity to participate in various ensembles and experiences while performing in a well-respected organization.
What a fine concert last night! We loved the Beethoven, of course, but we hadn't heard the Sibelius [Symphony No. 2, Op. 43, D Major] in a long time and were blown away. You have another fine group of players this year and we're looking forward to more. ~ David Lindstrom, patron
Events
Concert Orchestra Concert: Ancient Airs and Echoes / FREE
University Symphony Orchestra Concert: Propulsion!
News
For a seventh year, the music faculty at Colorado State University brings you All-State Instructional Videos to help prepare your High School student instrumentalists for their upcoming auditions. Dedicated to its land-grant heritage, the music faculty at CSU are committed to promoting music and pedagogy of the highest quality, serving music education through actions that […]
CSU director of orchestras, Wes Kenney, selected as an HONORED ARTISTS of The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts Jan. 7, 2021, Danbury, Connecticut—The American Prize is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the musical arts. The American Prize is nonprofit, unique in scope and structure, and is designed to evaluate, […]
It was an emotional moment when the University Symphony Orchestra (strings and percussion) took the Griffin Concert Hall stage and played the first concert at the University Center for the Arts in six months. The concert was conducted by Wes Kenney and graduate conducting student, Andrew Mendizabal. Maestro Kenney spoke several times during the concert, conveying how […]
Ensembles
University Symphony Orchestra
(MU 302)
The 65–90 member University Symphony Orchestra performs repertoire heard on the stages of the world’s great orchestras. It is an introduction and training ground not just for a professional orchestral career but allows music educators to become steeped in the science of how a large ensemble works. Recent performances include Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 “Pastorale” and Symphony No. 9, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3 “Organ,” Bruckner’s Symphony No. 5, Barktok’s Concerto for Orchestra, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. The orchestra plays four concerts a year and collaborates with CSU choral ensembles, CSU dance ensembles, and the department’s concerto competition.
The orchestra rehearses twice a week; membership is by audition only with auditions taking place the weekend before the first week of classes.
- Audition required
- Rehearses: T/TR, 2:30–5 p.m., UCA G 106
- Director: Rachel Waddell
Concert Orchestra (MU 206)
The Concert Orchestra is open to all CSU strings students who wish to continue participating in music after high school and serves as a working laboratory for students pursuing a Music Education degree. The Concert Orchestra allows music education majors the opportunity to perform on a secondary instrument, develop effective rehearsal techniques, and gain knowledge of the standard string orchestra repertoire. Concert Orchestra also provides additional conducting and operations experience for students.
- No audition required: register and come to class
- Rehearses: M/W, 1-2:30 p.m., UCA Room 202
- Director: Rachel Waddell