The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra
Welcome to the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra! Follow us on twitter @gustieorch.
Please join the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra on tour and also on campus for the home concert on Saturday April 8th at 1:30 PM in Bjorling Recital Hall. The symphony orchestra will be performing Grofe's Mississippi Suite and Dvorak's Symphony no.9 "From the New World." The concert is free and will also be streamed live.
We are proud to announce the winner of the first Concerto/Aria Competition for High School Musicians, Rebecca Tank. Rebecca will perform the Glazunov Saxophone Concerto with the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra on a concert on Saturday April 22nd at 1:30 PM in Bjorling Recital Hall. The first half of the concert will feature the Gustavus Trio. The concert is free and will also be streamed live.
The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra will present its final concert on Saturday May 27th at 8:00 PM, featuring the winners of the Gustavus Concerto/Aria Competition: Jessica Backes, John Baron, and David Nelson. The concert is free and will also be streamed live.
Along with the Gustavus Choir, the Choir or Chapel Christ, and the Lucia Singers, the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra performed at the 2016 Chirstmas in Christ Chapel Services.
During our 2015-2016 season of music making, the Gustavus Symphony toured Greece and Macedonia with the Gustavus Jazz Lab Band. Check out our our blog! Our program included music of Aaron Copland, Leroy Anderson, Morton Gould, and John Williams. The concert also featured Ella Fitzgerald arrangements of Jazz standards and a combine piece for Symphony Orchestra and the Jazz Lab Band written specifically for the ensembles by our Jazz Director Dave Stamps. We performed our International Tour Home Concert on Sunday February 14th at 3:30 p.m. in Bjorling Recital Hall. The concert is archived here, just click on "on demand" and scroll to the Febrary 14th date.
The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra is an integral musical contributor to Gustavus Adolphus College, the city of St. Peter, and beyond. Featuring talented and dedicated students from diverse majors, the orchestra performs a variety of symphonic repertoire and is a vital part of the Christmas in Christ Chapel performances. The Symphony Orchestra was one of the finalist for the 2015 American Prize in the College/University orchestra division and was featured at the 2016 MMEA Midwinter Clinic on Friday February 12th at 7PM in the Minneapolis Convention Center. Recordings of the Symphony Orchestra could be found here, and video recordings of recent performances such as the Season Finale on May 30th, the Spring tour home concert on April 12th, and the 50th Anniversary Nobel Conference Concert on October 7th could be found "on demand."
The orchestra rehearses Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:20 p.m., with string sectionals from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. We invite any interested perspective students to join us for a rehearsal. Please contact Dr. Lin to make the arrangements.
As the official touring orchestral ensemble from the Department of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College, the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra tours three years out of a four year cycle, and tours internationally once every four years. Our next international tour will be in January of 2020. The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra has toured internationally to the British Isles and the People's Republic of China, South Africa, and most recently to Greece and Macedonia.
Some instruments are available as rentals through the Department of Music. Students are encouraged to contact IMA (Instrumental Music Assistants) at ima@gustavus.edu for more details.
If you should have any questions concerning auditions, the orchestra, or the music department, check out our FAQ page and please do not hesitate to contact the conductor Dr. Ruth Lin, rlin@gustavus.edu.