The Middlebury College Orchestra is a full symphony orchestra, under the direction of conductor Troy Peters. The orchestra strives to include as many Middlebury College students who play orchestral instruments as possible, but an audition is required for admission and placement. The orchestra’s goal is to bring students together to present great orchestral music at the highest possible standard of performance — and to have a wonderful time doing it!
SCHEDULE
Rehearsals take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall throughout the fall and spring semesters. Consistent rehearsal attendance and individual practice are central expectations of orchestra membership. The spring concert will take place on the evening of April 25, 2008.
The Middlebury College Orchestra
2008 Alan and Joyce Beucher Concerto Competition
The Competition took place on Tuesday, February 12, with seven Middlebury College students competing. Judges were Troy Peters, director of the Middlebury College Orchestra and Joseph Pepper, a fine pianist who teaches at the University of Vermont and plays with the Burlington Chamber Orchestra. Both judges were impressed with the level of the auditions. We are pleased to announce that violinist Emily Kim Goldsmith is the winner of the 2008 Alan and Joyce Beucher Concerto Competition. She will receive a $200 cash award, have her name engraved on a plaque in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, and appear as a featured soloist with the Middlebury College Orchestra on its spring concert on Friday, April 25, 2008, playing the first movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.
In addition, clarinetist Kevin Ng was awarded Honorable Mention. He will receive a $100 cash award and will be invited to be a featured performer on a spring chamber music recital (details TBA).
Chamber Music at Middlebury College
The Middlebury College Music Department fosters the creation of chamber music groups on campus by offering coaching and performance opportunities, as well as a chamber music competition (more details of which will be announced later in the fall semester). Students who want to play in the chamber music program are required to audition, in order to ensure placement in an appropriate group.
Chamber music groups are offered free coaching by the Music Department’s applied faculty. Schedules will be designed around the availability of the students in each group, and participating students will be asked to commit to attending at least eight coachings during the semester and to practicing individually to master their own parts.
Middlebury College Chamber Music placement is open to pianists and to players of all orchestral instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
Interested students should contact Troy Peters — tpeters@middlebury.edu