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Get Involved - Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra


KSO Performance

Conductor: Milton Olsson

Course: FA3400 Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra

Semester: Spring and Fall

Rehearsals: Tuesday evenings 7:00-9:30 Rozsa 208

Admission: Membership is by audition.

KSO concerts offer symphonic experiences, accomplished guest artists, innovative programming, fruitful collaborations, and exciting premieres. The orchestra's cosmopolitan programs feature new work by living composers as well as living works by composers from every period of history.

The KSO makes its home in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, nationally known for its acoustics and beauty.

Tickets

MTU Ticketing has ticket information, including season tickets.

Information about the Keweenaw Symphony, including auditions, is available by contacting Dr. Milton Olsson, music director, at 906.487.2207 or miolsson -at- mtu.edu.

Broadcasts of the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra can be heard on Public Radio 90, WNMU-FM, Marquette.

Auditions

An audition is required of all musicians seeking admission to the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra. Wind and percussion auditions double as auditions for the Michigan Tech Wind Symphony. If you are a wind or percussion player you will be asked during your audition which ensembles you wish to be considered for.

Auditions take place during the first and second weeks of the fall semester and by appointment at all other times in the year.

All musicians interested in performing with the Keweenaw Symphony are invited to attend the orchestra's first rehearsals each semester. You will be provided with information about openings, auditions, and schedule. Students enrolled at Michigan Tech also receive a syllabus with course requirements.

General requirements for auditions:

  1. Solo of your choice
  2. 3-octave major and minor scales in keys up to 4 sharps and 4 flats
  3. A chromatic scale across the full practical range of your instrument
  4. Prepared excerpts (available at the first rehearsal or from the Arts Office)
  5. Sight reading
  6. 2-minute excerpt from a solo of your choice that exhibits slow tempo and lyrical playing; a 2-minute excerpt from a solo of your choice that exhibits a quick tempo and technical facility

Auditions for percussionists are analogous to those for other instrumentalists: solo excerpts, sight reading, scales (where applicable). Specifics are determined by the characteristics of your instrument of specialty. Contact the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.