In addition to practicing and coursework, they are also searching for auditions for potential ?music performance jobs.
The Cleveland Orchestra will perform at 8 p.m. today at the IU Auditorium in addition to teaching master classes and rehearsing alongside Jacobs School of Music students.
This is the third time the Cleveland Orchestra has performed at IU as part of the residency that ?began in 2011.
The program is aimed to partner the Cleveland Orchestra with Jacobs School of Music students in a workshop setting.
Not only does the Cleveland Orchestra’s residency at IU include performing, it also helps the Jacobs School of Music students prepare for auditions from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22.
The orchestra will perform ‘Jealousy’ by Janácek, ‘Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53’ by Dvorák and Ravel’s arrangement of ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ by Mussorgsky, Jennifer Barlament, general manager of the Cleveland Orchestra, said in an email.
“Jakub Hruša will be the special guest conductor, and Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster William Preucil will be featured as violin soloist,” Barlament.
Director of the IU Auditorium Doug Booher said in an email that it is an honor to feature the orchestra.
“We hope all patrons and program participants are inspired by the orchestra’s talent and artistry as they generously share their gift with us and look forward to seeing music lovers of all ages in the audience,” ?Booher said.
Stephen Wyrczynski, a professor and String Department Chair for the Jacobs School of Music, said the Cleveland Orchestra teaches orchestral master classes to the students.
“Students will play mostly orchestral repertoire or complex orchestral excerpts,” Wyrczynski said. “They teach them and give their opinions on them in preparation for students taking auditions for orchestras.”
Students selected by Jacobs will play for a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, and then they give pointers, he said.
Jacobs students will also have the opportunity to work side-by-side with the Cleveland Orchestra for two separate rehearsals during the orchestra’s residency, Wyrczynski said.
Getting the opportunity to work with members of a professional orchestra in person gives students a better perception of what it’s really like to be a ?professional musician.
“Students get to see what it’s like once you get into an orchestra, and what kind of commitment and passion it takes once you’re already there,” Wyrczynski said.
Wyrczynski added that the rigor of playing an instrument professionally, and the passion it takes, doesn’t end once you are in a professional orchestra.
“It’s not that once you get in you’re home free on easy street,” he said. “It’s a really life-long discipline to be in such a renowned group.”
Barlament said the Cleveland Orchestra residency is as much of a learning experience for the orchestra as it is for the students.
“It provides the orchestra with the opportunity to deepen their teaching experience, connect with the next generation of musicians and speak to the orchestra’s long-term commitment to education and community engagement,” Barlament said.
Wyrczynski said he feels the residency has been successful due to personal and professional relationships maintained between the orchestra and the Jacobs ?faculty.
“So I know these people personally, and I hold them in high regards,” Wyrczynski said of the Cleveland Orchestra. “There are alumni in the Cleveland Orchestra that went to IU, so it’s a real homecoming in a way.”
The arrival of the Cleveland Orchestra does not only influence students but also the Bloomington community as a whole, ?Booher said.
“For the community, it’s a rare opportunity in a small city such as ours to hear one of the world’s top orchestras perform in a local hall,” Booher said. “Beyond the performance, connecting students and the community with artists like those of the Cleveland Orchestra has been an auditorium tradition for generations, and is something in which we take extreme pride.”
