The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra will present a concert in Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall on Saturday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m. Under the direction of Dr. Ruth Lin, the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra’s home concert concludes a collaborative, weeklong tour of Minnesota high schools, churches, and arts centers. The concert is free and open to the public.
The Symphony’s tour included day trip performances beginning with Wayzata High School in Wayzata, MN, on March 24. The Symphony’s tour continued with performances at the Chatfield Center for the Arts in Chatfield, MN on March 25, St. Phillip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN on March 26, the Fairbault High School in Fairbault, MN on March 27, Kennedy High School in Bloomington, MN on March 28, and Irondale High School in New Brighton, MN on March 29. The final performance of the tour was at Duluth East High School in Duluth, MN on March 30.
The concert program features composer Ferde Grofé’s Mississipi Suite (Tone Journey) and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, popularly known as the New World Symphony.
The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra has a membership of around 60 student musicians, of which only a quarter are majoring in music. As the official touring orchestra ensemble from the Department of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College, the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra has toured internationally to the British Isles, the People’s Republic of China, and South Africa, Greece and Macedonia. The Symphony Orchestra will have its next international tour in January of 2020.
The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra regularly performs with faculty and guest soloist, as well as other campus ensembles, at events such as the Christmas in Christ Chapel and the internationally recognized Nobel Conference. Notable performances include the Nobel Symphony by Steve Heitzeg, commissioned by Gustavus Adolphus College in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the awarding of the first Nobel Prize and Faith and Perseverance, by Dr. Chen Yi, a Pulitzer Finalist composer, commissioned by the college to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the College. The Symphony Orchestra was a finalist for the 2015 American Prize in the College/University division, and was also featured at the 2016 Minnesota Music Educators Association conference.
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