Orchestra

students playing violin

  • 2025-2026 Season

    Labor Day Pops

    Dr. Neal Smith, guest conductor

    Monday, September 1, 2025 6:00 p.m. | The Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater

    Labor Day Pops marks the official start of the School of Music鈥檚 concert season with a family-friendly event at the Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater. Join us for an exciting evening of music from the theater stage, movies, and patriotic favorites. 

     

    Masterworks I: Apotheosis of the Dance

    David Cook, clarinet

    Saturday, October 11, 2025 7:30 p.m. | Kirkland Fine Arts Center

    The first of three finalists for the MDSO鈥檚 music director position joins soloist David Cook for a dance-inspired program featuring Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Slavonic Dances, Weber鈥檚 second clarinet concerto, and Beethoven鈥檚 venerable Symphony No. 7. Dancing in the aisles encouraged!

     

    Masterworks II: Symphonic Colors

    Isidora Nojkovic, cello

    Saturday, November 8, 2025 7:30 p.m. | Kirkland Fine Arts Center 

    The second finalist for the MDSO鈥檚 music director position joins soloist Isidora Nojkovic for a concert exploring a rich tapestry of orchestral colors. Program includes works by Edward Elgar, Bed艡ich Smetana, and Dmitri Shostakovich. 

     

    Masterworks III: A Mosaic from Heaven and Young Artists

    Saturday, February 7, 2026 7:30 p.m. | Kirkland Fine Arts Center 

    The third finalist for the MDSO鈥檚 music director position leads a concert showcasing one of the pillars in 20th-century symphonic repertoire in Sibelius鈥檚 innovative Symphony No. 5 alongside the student winners of the School of Music鈥檚 annual Concerto/Aria Competition. Hear some of the best and brightest from the School of Music and witness the conclusion of the search for the next MDSO music director! 

     

    Masterworks IV: A German Requiem

    Dr. Benjamin Hawkinson, guest conductor 

    Tickets: $25, $30, $35 

    Saturday, April 11, 2026 7:30 p.m. | Kirkland Fine Arts Center 

    Ben Hawkinson leads the MDSO鈥檚 season finale in a choral/orchestra performance featuring the combined 麻豆约拍 choirs and Opus 24. This epic, seven-movement, 鈥渞equiem for the people鈥 remains one of Brahms鈥檚 most beloved works amid his widely varied output

     

    Mainstage Opera: Cinderella

    麻豆约拍 Opera Theater

    Libretto & Music by Pauline Viardot

    English Translation by Rachel M. Harris

    Aubrey Hawkinson, Director 

    John Massaro, Guest Conductor

    Friday, May 1, 2026 7:30 p.m. | Virginia Rogers Theatre (Center for Theatre and Dance)

    Saturday, May 2, 2026 7:30 p.m. | Virginia Rogers Theatre (CTD)

    Sunday, May 3, 2026 2:00 p.m. | Virginia Rogers Theatre (CTD)

    This charming French salon opera from 1904 originally boasted prolific operatic mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot as both its composer and librettist.  Experience a Cinderella tale like you鈥檝e never seen before with the revitalized English translation sure to appeal to a wide audience of musical theatre and opera lovers alike. Co-produced by the School of Theatre & Dance, School of Music, and 麻豆约拍-Decatur Symphony Orchestra.

     

    About

    The 麻豆约拍-Decatur Symphony Orchestra is comprised of School of Music faculty members, hired professional musicians and students who successfully audition for the School of Music. The 麻豆约拍-Decatur Symphony Orchestra generally performs three concerts per semester including Masterworks and Chamber Music series concerts, Labor Day Pops and collaborations with the 麻豆约拍 Opera Theatre and the School of Theatre and Dance. Membership in the 麻豆约拍-Decatur Symphony Orchestra places a high demand on students gaining hands-on experience playing alongside School of Music faculty and other professional musicians. For more information, visit .

     

    Admission Information

    Membership in the 麻豆约拍-Decatur Symphony Orchestra is open to all students playing string and orchestral woodwind, brass and percussion instruments via audition, regardless of major. Students playing orchestral woodwind, brass and percussion instruments must be recommended by their applied instructor after completing an audition. 

    For the 2025鈥2026 season, auditions will take place on Sunday, August 24 from 4鈥5 p.m. in KFAC Room 136. Auditions consist of prepared excerpts and sight reading.

    Click here for audition excerpts

     

    Watch and Listen

     
     May 3, 2025: a Dvorak Celebration

     
    February 22, 2025: For the Young and Young at Heart!