Symphony selected for prestigious conference
By Julie Rausch
Wichita State’s Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Palmer, will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in Miller Concert Hall.
The performance will include Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1.
WSU’s Symphony Orchestra was chosen from about 50 orchestras auditioning to perform in Chicago Dec. 19-23 at the Midwest Clinic, an annual international band and orchestra conference. This is the first time in four years a university orchestra has been invited to play at the conference.
The Sept. 28 concert will be a fund-raiser to help with the expenses needed to take the 90-member student orchestra to the conference. The orchestra’s second concert of the fall season on Nov. 7 also will be a fund-raiser. The estimated cost of the trip is $50,000.
"The 20,000 people that attend this conference annually are the real ‘movers and shakers’ in the field, so they are very discriminating at analyzing performances they hear," said Jacquelyn Dillon, assistant professor and director of WSU’s string department. "Our students will benefit greatly for playing for an exclusive audience of instrumental performers and conductors."
The orchestra also was chosen by audition to perform for the Kansas Music Educators annual conference in February in Wichita.
For more information about assisting the orchestra for the Chicago trip, contact WSU’s School of Music, 978-3500.
Call 978-3233 for reserved tickets. Prices start at $4 with discounts for the WSU community.
