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Tuesday begins President Dan Weiss’ series of student receptions connected with all three Orpheus Chamber Orchestra performances at Lafayette.
“I will be hosting these student receptions in connection with Orpheus’s performances at Lafayette so that we can broaden student familiarity with this fine music ensemble and enhance the array of connections between the Williams Center performances and our campus life program,” says Weiss. “Additionally, I will take special pleasure in getting to know groups of Lafayette students in the social and cultural settings of music, dinner, and good conversation.”
Selected students will gather in the Williams Center for the Arts at 6 p.m. for brief introductions about the evening program – in this case, an all-Mozart program featuring two piano concertos with guest soloist Emanuel Ax. Students and attending faculty will then join the orchestra in the auditorium for an open rehearsal of the evening program.
The open rehearsal will be followed by a light meal in the Wilson Room of Pfenning Alumni Center, with the concert beginning at 8 p.m. After the performance there will be time to visit with the players at a lobby reception.
“Orpheus is a wonderful ensemble to have at Lafayette. In addition to the concerts they’ve performed here for almost two decades, their management structure and their unique manner of musical process is an exemplary way for Lafayette students to learn about organizational dynamics and creative management practices,” says Ellis Finger, director of the Williams Center. “Our students can watch Orpheus rehearse a Mozart symphony and learn so much about the challenges of teamwork, leadership, and dialogue in performing music and in running an organization.”
Recognized internationally as one of the world’s great chamber orchestras, Orpheus takes a unique approach toward chamber music in that the ensemble works without a conductor. It is a self-governing organization, making the repertory and interpretive decisions ordinarily assumed by a conductor through a collaborative effort.
Other performances this school year will include Orpheus with Jeremy Denk: Brandenburg Redux Wednesday, Nov. 29, and Orpheus with Ian Bostridge: Serenades Sunday, Feb. 4.