The Yale Symphony Orchestra (YSO), an ensemble composed mainly of musicians from Yale College, will perform with special musical guests from the wider Yale and New Haven communities in a March 28 concert celebrating the orchestra’s 60th anniversary.
The orchestra, with the Greater New Haven Community Chorus, guest soloists from the Yale Opera program at Yale School of Music (YSM), and special guest conductor John Mauceri (who served as YSO’s music director from 1968 to 1974), will perform Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.”
The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on March 28 in Woolsey Hall. Tickets are available here.
“The performance of Mahler’s second symphony is a rare and grand undertaking, involving an orchestra twice the standard size, offstage brass, vocal soloists, and a full choir,” said Brian Robinson, the YSO’s manager. “The work’s magnificence combined with its themes of resurrection and hope made it a fitting choice to celebrate the orchestra’s anniversary.”
The Yale Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1965 by a small group of Yale College students who were eager to perform large ensemble works. Since there is no performance degree for music in Yale College, the orchestra was created solely for the passion and joy of creating music, Robinson noted, rather than the fulfillment of a class obligation.
The YSO is made up of more than 100 Yale College undergraduate musicians.
Over the past 60 years, the YSO has premiered numerous new works, toured around the world, and performed in some of the best concert halls in the U.S., said Kathryn Krier, associate dean for the arts in Yale College, “all for no reward other than the creating and experience of making great music.”
“The 60th anniversary celebration is doubly special, as it will also be a celebration of Maestro Mauceri’s 80th birthday,” Robinson noted, adding that as the YSO’s longtime music director, Mauceri is largely responsible for its character and mission: heralding new music and underperformed works, and utilizing the unique situation as a non-professional, volunteer orchestra to take risks.
Bernstein and Mauceri at YSO premiere of “MASS” in 1973.
During Mauceri’s time with the orchestra, the YSO gave the European premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s “MASS,” under the guidance of the composer, at the Vienna Konzerthaus in 1973; performed Russian composer Alexander Scriabin’s theatrical opus “Prometheus, Poem of Fire,” complete with fog, incense, and lights pouring through Woolsey’s edifice; and delivered a performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Anthems” that resonated across the entire Yale campus, including a parade, projections on the exterior of the Beinecke Library, and an airplane flyover by the Yale Aviation League.
For the anniversary performance on March 28, the YSO will be joined by soloists Rosario Armas and Laura Miah, who are graduate students from the Yale Opera program at YSM.
The YSO has performed with several local choirs in their 60-year history, including the Elm City Girls’ Choir, the New Haven Chorale, and Trinity Church Boys’ Choir. This is the first collaboration between the orchestra and the Greater New Haven Community Chorus, directed by Alysoun Kegel ’03.
Tickets, which range from $10 to 15, can be purchased at this link. Yale College students can register for free tickets on the day of the concert.
CONTACT: Brian Robinson (203) 215-8080 or brian.s.robinson@yale.edu
