The string orchestral talents of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students and faculty will help audiences bring in the spring on Thursday, April 4.
The SIU String Orchestra will perform the works of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, Edward Elgar and Edvard Grieg at 7 p.m. in Shryock Auditorium. The orchestra features about 30 students and includes Michael Barta, professor in the SIU School of Music as concertmaster.
Rossana Cauti, upper strings faculty director of strings orchestras in the SIU School of Music, said the ensemble, which includes SIU undergraduate and graduate students and strong pre-college musicians, “is developing its unique voice, aiming at becoming a fully professional orchestra.” The works performed will include masterpieces by classical and romantic composers.
The repertoire is:
- Divertimento in D major, K. 136 by Mozart.
- String Symphony No. 10 in B minor by Mendelssohn.
- Serenade for String Orchestra in E minor, Opus 20 by Elgar.
- Holberg Suite, Opus 40 by Grieg.
SIU Youth Orchestra performs April 21
On April 21, the SIU Youth Orchestra will feature musicians from throughout the region as young as 10 years old and prodigies on violin, viola, cello and bass and are students of School of Music faculty. The “energetic and passionate orchestra” will bring on stage string symphonies and light, entertaining compositions by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Gyula Beliczay. More than 25 students are involved in the youth orchestra, the pre-college division of the SIU String Orchestra. The ensemble, founded by Cauti in 2021, receives instruction from SIU string faculty and performs regularly. Auditions are open twice a year, and applicants are encouraged to inquire for more info at rossana.cauti@siu.edu or music@siu.edu.
Both concerts are free and open to the public.
