University orchestra performs in Italy

T he University of Rochester Chamber Orchestra is making its third appearance abroad with a 10-day sojourn in Italy that began on May 17. Thirty River Campus students are scheduled to perform four public concerts and hold workshops with local students at a conservatory in Arezzo in Tuscany. David Harman, professor of music and director of orchestral activities in the College Music Program, is conducting the orchestra, which he founded in 1993.

"The trip to Europe will be an opportunity for student players to experience a different cultural context than on previous tours," said Harman before the trip. "It gives us a chance to focus on a slightly different kind of music, too. Part of what we're doing is, of course, pure fun. But there is an educational component as well, because it really helps one to understand the context of the music if you've got a chance to actually be in the place where it was written."

This year the group also released its first studio recording, a compact disc with performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major as well as a composition by Eastman School graduate Jeremy Gill. Produced by Harman and Gill, the CD was recorded at ESM's Recording Arts & Services studios and is the first such project by a River Campus orchestra.