A famous old orchestra of young students, the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra (UCBSO) is throwing a party for the community.
This will be the first time in recent memory the orchestra holds an open house when it welcomes audiences to its opening concert program on Sept. 28, beginning at 2 p.m. in Hertz Hall.
The event will allow audience members to meet the musicians and will include information about rehearsals and a reception with food and drink. Ticket prices range from $5 (for UCB students and children) to $30 for the general public. The first concert will be performed on Sept. 26 at 8 p.m.
Conducted by David Milnes, the orchestra’s music director since 1996, the concerts will offer
Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Symphony No. 3, Toru Takemitsu’s A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden, and Aram Khachaturian’s Flute Concerto with soloist Nathan Haghgoo.
UCBSO, formed in 1923, continues its century-long tradition of adventurous programming. The orchestra has premiered dozens of contemporary works, including several commissions from Berkeley faculty such as Edmund Campion and Carmine Cella, whose work uses electronic music processes developed at Berkeley’s Center for New Music and Audio Technologies.
The orchestra has also performed nearly all the symphonies of 20th-century masters such as Gustav Mahler, Dmitri Shostakovich, Jean Sibelius, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky, and Sergei Prokofiev.
The UCBSO is a training ground for younger musicians, composers, and scholars. Its members have gone on to receive graduate degrees at top conservatories, achieving careers with orchestras nationally and internationally as well as renowned new music ensembles.
The orchestra’s high musical standards have been further bolstered in recent years by its collaboration with Cal Performances, which has led to its participation in masterclasses with the likes of Ricardo Muti, Marin Alsop, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Gustavo Dudamel. Musicians of the UCBSO are coached by members of professional orchestras like the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera orchestras, as well as by visiting bands such as the Vienna Philharmonic. The orchestra has taken successful tours — to Prague, Budapest, and Vienna in 2014 and 2022, and to four cities in Spain in 2017.
When asked if recent fiscal and other constraints on universities are felt by UCBSO, a Music Department spokesperson responded:
“These events thankfully have not had an effect on UCBSO’s policies and practices in any way. UCBSO is fortunate to receive support from the university, but that support is in line with how virtually all universities support arts and humanities.
“News about funding is more relevant for sciences and technology, where universities spend significantly more than on arts and humanities.”
The orchestra is a melting pot of people with different interests and backgrounds, open to students across campus who “demonstrate themselves to be the highest caliber of musicians.”
Principal cellist Sarah Kave said, “This is my fourth year in the ensemble, and it is a privilege to return in the first chair. I remember my first year vividly; I was thrilled to see that the ensemble was very warm and welcoming. The cello section is very tight knit, we look out for each other and stick together. I've made some of my closest friends in the orchestra. It's hard not to, since we rehearse twice a week for two-and-a-half hours, plus the additional sectional that I lead before rehearsals on Tuesdays.
“We fly through repertoire, as we perform around three concert sets a semester. I recall performing a piece by one of our faculty composers, Ken Ueno, in my first year here. It was unlike anything I had ever played before, and it made me excited about new music and all the possibilities that have yet to be discovered and utilized in an orchestral ensemble.
“I felt the same way when we performed Du Yun's Kraken, also in my first year. Reading music with irregular time signatures and extended technique, and leading a section, was exhilarating, [as was] performing the [solo part in] the Schumann Cello Concerto last November. I couldn't have learned and experienced playing such wonderful repertoire month after month anywhere else.”
Kave singled out the summer’s European tour as a high point. “I had experiences I will cherish forever, like sitting in contemplation in Volkspark-Friedrichsain, exploring the Old Town of Prague with friends, listening to Verdi's Requiem in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and getting caught in the rain at Wawel Castle in Kraków.”
First violinist Momoka Florence Yanagisawa wrote in email: “I joined UCBSO last year as a freshman, and it has become an integral aspect of my time at UC Berkeley.
“Performing new music composed by professors of UC Berkeley’s Department of Music, such as Reflets de l’ombre by Carmine-Emanuele Cella was truly a memorable experience and I feel honored to stand at the forefront of musical research. Being able to collaborate with living composers was eye-opening, because the symphony was able to receive live feedback directly from the composers to better align with their vision of the piece.
“I believe UCBSO is one of the few orchestras in America that incorporates the traditional European setup, where first violins are on the left of the stage, and second violins are on the right. In my youth orchestras, the second violins were placed next to the first violins, which is a common American orchestra setup. It is interesting to see how the European setup better emphasizes the relationship between first and second violins as we often have complementary parts.
“This semester, I am especially looking forward to our concert in December, when we will be performing The Planets by Gustav Holst and selections from the Star Wars Suite by John Williams.
“I am excited to showcase the musical connections between these works which are both dealing with the theme of space and universe. I am grateful to all of my mentors and department’s supporters for providing me with such valuable learning experience to elevate my performance to a more professional level.”
