The University of Rochester Symphony Orchestra, a 100-member group composed of students as well as musicians from the greater Rochester area, will give a free concert for the community at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, in St. Andrew's Catholic Church, 923 Portland Ave.
The ensemble, under the baton of David Harman, professor of music and director of orchestral activities at the College, was invited to perform for the parish's new series of music outreach programs.
The hour-long concert features "Roman Carnival Overture" by Berlioz, "Jupiter" from Holst's The Planets Suite, and Brahms's "Symphony No. 2 in D Major, opus 73."
Formed in 1956, the University of Rochester Symphony Orchestra has a repertoire of standard symphonic masterworks as well as contemporary compositions. Auditions are held each fall and the group practices weekly. The student members represent a range of studies across the College on River Campus, from the humanities to the sciences, with most majoring in non-music disciplines. The group presents four free concerts—two each semester—during the academic year in Strong Auditorium on the River Campus. The concert at St. Andrew's Church is in addition to the orchestra's regular performance schedule.
Harman, who is also music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Penfield Symphony Orchestra, is in demand both as a guest conductor of professional orchestras and as a music educator. He has appeared with the Louisville Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Tucson Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestra of the Spring Festival of Contemporary Music in Slovenia, and has served as guest conductor of the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony and the Jamaica Orchestra for Youth.
For more information, contact the Department of Music, (585) 275-2828.