THE BROWN UNIVERSITY ORCHESTRA, founded in 1918, is recognized as one of the finest university orchestras in the United States. Led by music director Paul Phillips since 1989, its membership consists of approximately 100 student musicians from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. In December 2006, the Brown Orchestra became one of the first US collegiate orchestras to tour China, performing a two-week New Year’s concert tour of Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Suzhou, Changzhou and Ningbo produced by the Dalian Yilong Performance Company. Other highlights of the 2006-07 season include performances of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in C# minor, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 in G major, Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, Michael Abels’s Global Warming, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G (with Concerto Competition Winner Bonni Brodsky ’09), William Kraft’s Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra (with Concerto Competition Winner Vinay Parameswaran ’09), and Stephen Sondheim’s musical Merrily We Roll Along (stage directed by Curt Columbus, Artistic Director of Trinity Repertory Company). Guest artists in 2006-07 include pianist Christopher O’Riley, host of From the Top on National Public Radio; soprano Kathryne Jennings, voice instructor in Brown’s Applied Music Program and soloist for the China tour; Portuguese conductor António Baptista; and conductor-pianist Daniel Barenboim, who led an open rehearsal with the Brown Orchestra during his residency at Brown in December 2006 with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Altogether, the orchestra’s 2006-07 schedule comprises 26 performances: ten orchestral concerts in Providence, eight concerts in China and eight performances of Merrily We Roll Along.
Itzhak Perlman, Navah Perlman ’92, Pinchas Zukerman, Eugenia Zukerman, Isaac Stern, Sergiu Luca, Mstislav Rostropovich, Laurence Lesser, Masuko Ushioda and Joseph Kalichstein are among the many renowned musicians who have appeared as soloists with the Brown University Orchestra in past seasons. Actors Barry Bostwick and Brown alumna Kate Burton ’79 performed Peter Boyer's multimedia composition Ellis Island: The Dream of America with the orchestra in 2004 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence. Composers-in-residence hosted by the Brown Orchestra include Steve Reich, Steven Stucky, Michael Torke, Lukas Foss and Samuel Adler. Notable events in the orchestra’s history include trips to New York for concerts in Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall and to Montreal for a concert and recording sessions with choruses from McGill University; a 2006 concert in Boston’s Faneuil Hall; and concert exchanges and collaborations with orchestras and choruses from MIT, Tufts and Wellesley.
The Brown University Orchestra, a member of the American Symphony Orchestra League, has won the prestigious ASCAP Award for "Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music" six times since 1994, including 1st Prize in 2005 in the Collegiate Orchestra Division. Each fall the BUO sponsors an orchestra retreat (usually held at Brown’s Haffenreffer Grant in Bristol, RI, or at Camp Canonicus in Exeter, RI) and its annual Concerto Competition, whose winners (usually 2-3 per year) perform full concertos with the orchestra. In addition to student soloists, numerous student conductors and composers have performed with (or had their works performed by) the Brown Orchestra. The orchestra’s alumni include current and former members of the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, New World Symphony and other outstanding orchestras.
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What is the audition process like?
Auditions for the orchestra are typically held during the first week of classes in the fall semester. Each audition lasts approximately 10 minutes. Come prepared to play a three-minute excerpt of a work of your choice — a piece that displays your best playing. You may bring a second contrasting piece, but this is not required. Most people who audition play excerpts of concerto or sonata movements. In addition, you may be asked to play scales and sight reading. Students who play both primary and secondary instruments (i.e., flute and piccolo, oboe and English horn, B flat clarinet and E flat and/or bass clarinet) are strongly encouraged to prepare auditions on both instruments.
How many members are selected?
The Brown University Orchestra has an annual membership of approximately 90 members. Generally, the numbers of members accepted in each section are: 4–5 students in each woodwind section, 5–6 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba. There are no set limits on timpani/percussion, harp, keyboard, and strings.
Are returning members required to reaudition?
Yes. Auditions are conducted annually during the fall semester. Students are not required to reaudition in the spring.
I’m not a Brown student. Can I join the orchestra?
All students at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, undergraduate and graduate, are eligible to audition, as are members of the faculty and staff of both institutions. Community members, students from other colleges and university, and talented high school students are also welcome to audition for the Brown Orchestra with the understanding that Brown and RISD students will be given first priority for membership.
Does the orchestra provide any instruments?
The Brown University Orchestra possesses an inventory of high-quality instruments which are available for the use of orchestra members. These include a pair of clarinets in A, clarinet in E flat, bass clarinet in B flat (all Buffet instruments), English horn (Loree), bassoons (Fox, Polisi), contrabassoon (Polisi), harp (Lyon & Healy) and several double basses. The orchestra also possesses a full range of percussion instruments, including marimba.
Is it possible to join the orchestra mid-year?
Yes, in some cases. Contact Paul Phillips for more information.
When do rehearsals take place?
Rehearsals are held in Alumnae Hall on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:15–9:45 PM.
How many concerts does the orchestra perform each year?
The orchestra generally plays 2–3 different programs per semester, typically performing each program twice. In addition, special events are added to the schedule almost every year. These can include tours, recording, children’s concerts, musicals, dance performances, and opera.
Can I be a member of the orchestra without registering for the course (MU63–64)?
Yes, but if you have space in your schedule, you should register for the course. If you don't have room in your schedule to register for Orchestra, you are strongly encouraged to sign up for MU63-64 as an "Audit".
Are there opportunities to play concertos or other solo pieces with the orchestra?
Yes. The orchestra sponsors its annual Concerto Competition each fall. It is open to all members of the Brown University Orchestra. Also eligible to enter are pianists, vocalists and players of mainly non-orchestral instruments, including saxophone, guitar, and organ. Usually there are 2–3 winners chosen each year, and there is no limit to the number of times that students may enter and win the competition.
Who can I contact with other questions?
Send an e-mail to orchestra@brown.edu.
PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT PUBLICITY STAGE MANAGERS | PERSONNEL MANAGERS CONCERT MANAGERS SOCIAL MANAGERS |
LIBRARIANS NEWSLETTER EDITOR Liz Connolly
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updated February 2008