Visiting the Symphony

I was really upset this fall to discover that being involved in another performing group would prevent me from performing with the symphony this quarter. Luckily there are no hard feelings between me and the Symphony Officers, so they let me visit this week on the condition that I take some pictures and make a new blog post. So, here I am.

Last weekend, the Symphony had their first performance of the year, teaming up with Dr. Terry Spiller to play the first movement of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor to a very impressed audience. The group spent their rehearsal Tuesday focusing on another piece, Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.

The Symphony has filled out a bit this year, which gave them a great healthy sound. They have a big concert hall to fill with it!

Kevin gets the best view of rehearsal

I’m excited to see the results of their efforts! The big concert is Saturday November 19 at 8 pm in Harman Hall. You can buy tickets here.

The bass players have a lot of endurance! In addition to playing very large instruments, they stand through most of our two-hour rehearsals.

Early Arrivals

Michelle and Amber were first to arrive for our dress rehearsal with Robert Thies. It’s always fun being the first to arrive in Harman Hall — you get to make the first notes!

Concert this Saturday at 8 pm! Don’t miss it!

Rehearsals Underway

Rehearsals at the beginning of the quarter are… interesting. We’re given a whole new set of music to learn and rehearse. Sight-reading, while exciting, produces some of the Symphony’s most, well, unique harmonies. We also get a chance to welcome new talent to the group.

This quarter we have some really great music for our performance in May. The first piece is a luscious piece by Howard Hanson, Symphony #2, Romantic (Some of us might remember playing another piece of his, Mosaics, back in 2007). Our other piece is a piano concerto by George Gershwin, Piano Concerto in F. This piece gives the symphony a chance to loosen up and play some jazzier themes, not something we get to do very often in an orchestral setting.

This weekend is the Open House concert, so we’ll be revisiting our film scores during rehearsals this week. If you didn’t get a chance to see us perform these in March, this is a great show to see! It combines the talents of several Cal Poly Music Department ensembles, and our pieces are quite juicy, both beautiful and powerful. Can’t wait to play them again!

Milly Tunes

Revving up for concert day

Jake Wise warms up in Harman Hall before rehearsing with the Symphony

Dress rehearsals are my favorite. There’s nothing more exciting than walking out on the stage in Harman Hall, an immense and beautiful space that we musicians delight in filling with sound.

-Tyler Whipple, Principal 2nd Violin, Facilities Manager