MSM 126 Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Are there more people who play in a student or university orchestra? I have been playing in one for 5 years.For who is interested: here's some videos of our University Orchestra Mira performing Shostakovitch 9th Symphony.Part 1: Part 2, 3 and 4: Part 5: I want to apologize beforehand for the bad quality of the recording. Comments are welcome.(P.s. Please note I am the concert master ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Brausam 214 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I'm 4th horn in the TCNJ orchestra, except this semester where we don't need a 4th horn.I don't have any videos or audio of us though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry B 50 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I'm playing in a pit orchestra for a high school production of Beauty and the Beast right now. This is my second gig with an orchestra; the first was a triangle part for Dvorak pieces! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Brausam 214 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I played horn for that show my senior year in high school. I loved it, wonderful horn parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QMM 4 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Played all through high school as well as in a University Youth Band. Played with the campus band last year but I found it too easy and the harder bands don't fit with my current schedule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent B 337 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I played clarinet in junior high...I still have it but it's been years since I've picked it up. I was signed up for some weird reason to play band in high school but I quickly changed so I didn't have to go into it. I didn't want to play band any more after junior high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I'm playing in a community band right now, which is fun, but I'd love to play with an orchestra. Especially a pit orchestra - I'd imagine that the urgency and pressure of playing to a live show would be thrilling. Actually, I almost played horn for a local theatre production a few years ago, along with a keyboardist and two friends who played trumpet and trombone. But the house was so small that our sound carried too well and we were told that the singers were ruining their voices trying to sing above the instruments. So we were paid for our services and they used a recording instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry B 50 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Oh, that sucks, Ray. Were there no microphones available for the actors? Then again, that's a really curious choice for an orchestra. Three brass and a keyboard? No wonder the actors were having trouble projecting over you. If you're going to hire a four-part orchestra, it should consist of piano, bass, drums and a wind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Yeah, it was an odd setup, and it became pretty clear that it was the result of a director who had an idea in his mind of what he wanted, but very little musical sense. I was actually relieved that we didn't have to go through with it, as frustrating as it had become. But I'd still love to do it properly, as it sounds like you're doing with the high school production...are you playing keyboard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry B 50 Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 What show was it, incidentally? Other than Man of La Mancha, I can't think of any show in which that instrumentation would be feasible (and besides, Man of La Mancha needs several woodwinds, if I remember correctly).The orchestra we have is awesome! We have all the major instruments save a trombone. The string configuration is great: we have a violin, cello and bass and I back them up with string synths (in addition to keyboard instruments like harpsichord and accordion). At some points it actually sounds like you'd expect a professional production to sound (and we're still in rehearsals - a harpist is coming in for the performance!). When I was in high school I certainly liked the orchestras, but sometimes it seemed like they were playing completely different music from what I'd heard on CDs. Strings are key! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 That sounds awesome, I hope you have fun with it!The show we were doing was Once Upon a Mattress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxbabe 28 Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 MSM, your orchestra sounds great on the Shostakovich. I do play in my university wind ensemble, this is my last year though. I hope to play in a community wind ensemble wherever I end up after graduating!Our most recent recordings haven't arrived yet from performing at state convention, but here are two pieces from our fall concert I uploaded:Shostakovich again, his Festive Overture: http://www.mediafire.com/?klnindnmdhzFrank Ticheli's Blue Shades: http://www.mediafire.com/?pt9v2ddjtljWe had only rehearsed a month at that point! But they came out pretty well I think, especially the Overture. Well, minus some horn fatigue here and there LOL! Both of those pieces I really loved playing. The Ticheli has a lot of jazzy stuff going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Brausam 214 Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 When I was in high school we attempted Blue Shades for 3 years straight, failing miserably each time. With that said - very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violin123 0 Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I was the concertmaster for my school's orchestra. I also play for an orchestra outside of school and I hopped between first, second violin and viola. I'll probably audition for one of the orchestras in my university in september.I love shostakovich's festive overture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSM 126 Posted April 12, 2008 Author Share Posted April 12, 2008 MSM, your orchestra sounds great on the Shostakovich. I do play in my university wind ensemble, this is my last year though. I hope to play in a community wind ensemble wherever I end up after graduating!Shostakovich again, his Festive Overture: http://www.mediafire.com/?klnindnmdhzThanks! Your ensemble sounds very good as well, almost professionally. Rythmically that piece is quite tricky Congratulations, I'm really impressed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maglorfin 196 Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 I play timpani in the local music school symphony orchestra. Two weeks from now, we'll be performing in Slovenian Philharmonic hall, playing Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto and Mozart's Die Zauberflöte Overture and Missa Longa in C (with a great Italian Coro Citta di Roma mixed choir) amongst other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSM 126 Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 I play timpani in the local music school symphony orchestra. Two weeks from now, we'll be performing in Slovenian Philharmonic hall, playing Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto and Mozart's Die Zauberflöte Overture and Missa Longa in C (with a great Italian Coro Citta di Roma mixed choir) amongst other things.I love Addinsell, it's quite like Rachmaninoff but even more relying on melody. Besides it isn't as difficult as Rach to play so more fun for hobbyist pianists Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maglorfin 196 Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 I really like the bombastic piano/timpani introduction. Yeah, I expect it's going to be lots of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxbabe 28 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 That sounds like a fun concert!And thanks for the compliments on our ensemble, we also recorded a CD this spring but that will take a while to be made.Right now, we are focusing on conducting symposium, which I am taking part in, where we conduct something and are critiqued, which takes place this weekend. I am a bit nervous, but excited!The piece I am doing is the 2nd mvmt "Horkstow Grange" from Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy, so gorgeous, but kind of challenging to conduct. It feels a lot different to be on the other side! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Composer_Fan 2 Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 I love Blue Shades! I played the bass drum (exciting, I know...) on that piece my freshman year.Besides playing percussion in my college's Symphonic Band, I played in the pit for Man of La Mancha. That was a fun show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyO 62 Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 I play second trombone in a community band and first trombone in a community orchestra, both with big gigs coming up.The orchestra are teaming with a choir for a concert. There's some awesome pieces, including selections from Nabucco, The Marriage of Figaro, also some Wagner and Borodine's Prince Igor. All stunning stuff, with reasonable trombone parts. We do a Christmas Concert at the end of the year that is basically all movie music, including Harry Potter Suite, The Chronicles of Narnia Suite, Forrest Gump Suite, Jurassic Park Suite and Pirates of the Caribbean Suite.The band is more commercial stuff, this upcoming performance doesn't have much to pique my interest, but our last gig included some Disney pieces, Back To The Future Medley, Best Broadway Marches (including Seventy-Six Trombones!), Highlights from Hook (my favourite piece ever!), amongst other things.I love both of these ensembles and the music is really quite an excellent selection for two community groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maglorfin 196 Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 That sounds like a fun concert!It was great, I can't wait to hear the recordings, there's even a possibility that a live CD will be made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Brausam 214 Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 I just finished playing 2nd horn in New Jersey's first intercollegiate band. Aside from conductors that included various proffesors from NJ colleges we were all conducted by Colonel Arnald Gabriel (amazing guy - and he knew Jerry Goldsmith and Elmer Bernstein!) and also performed with saxophone soloist Dale Underwood. Among the pieces we played were...Symphonic Dance #3 by Clifton WilliamsGeorge Washington Bridge by William SchumannA Gershwin Fantasy - this was for band and solo saxophone, with Dale UnderwoodLord of the Rings Symphony, Mvt 1: Gandalf by Johan DeMeijAnd a few other pieces. We'll have a cd, so I hope to share it with you all when it arrives! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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