Once a week, a group of musicians congregates in one of Glidden’s fourth floor recital rooms. Some are years past their college days, some haven’t even left high school, others are Ohio University students and they all make up the Campus Orchestra.
Tuesday night, the ensemble will be having its final concert of the spring semester and the year.
Campus Orchestra is a one-hour-credit class and director Elizabeth Braun said anyone is welcome to audition for the ensemble.
This year, she said the members of the group remained consistent throughout the year, which allowed the ensemble to play pieces of music at the symphony orchestra level, but Braun said she wants the group to be a welcoming environment for all who want to play good music.
“Mostly, I just want them to be happy and enjoy making music together,” Braun said. “We spend plenty of time laughing at ourselves, at each other, so it is not meant to be a stressful situation at all.”
Even with that being the case, the quality of selections like Mozart’s Divertimento or selections from West Side Story, which will both be performed at the concert, is never comprised, she said.
The orchestra is a group that Amelia Thornton, graduate assistant and concertmaster of the ensemble, said is diverse because of the range of skill sets and experiences of each member.
“The fact that we have people who are more on the beginner side, but who are really solid players and can play through this pretty difficult repertoire (is unique),” Thornton said. “That’s actually been quite fun to see.”
One member, cello player Kevin Lin, said he enjoys being a part of the orchestra because it breaks up the day-to-day routine of a college student.
Lin, a junior studying engineering, had experience playing in orchestras since beginning in fourth grade, including time in the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, and said he was also happy being able to continue playing music throughout his college career.
“It had just been a part of my whole life,” Lin said. “It is sort of like the culture of music had been embedded in me at that young age … I wanted to keep playing in whatever capacity that I could for as long as I could.”
ds834910@ohiou.edu
