Skule™ Orchestra
About the Orchestra
Welcome to the orchestra! Skule™ Orchestra is a 60 member symphonic orchestra of string, wind, and percussion instrumentalists. The orchestra is a place for students to have fun performing challenging repertoire ranging from Mozart to Mahler. We hold weekly rehearsals and various exciting events during the year, including concerts, a clinic, trips to local music events, socials, and Moment, the Valentine's Ball. There's a lot of opportunity to meet fun people with a shared interest in music - we have members from all around the university community. If you played an instrument in high school, this could be the ensemble for you!
Joining the Orchestra
The orchestra rehearses on Mondays from 6:45 to 9 PM in GB 204. Join us for our open rehearsal and auditions in September. For more information, contact us!
Events
If you don't play an instrument, but enjoy music, make sure you come to our exciting events during the year, including:
- Pops Concert, our lighthearted season debut
- Skule Music Concert, our joint concert presented with the other Skule Music ensembles
- Moment, the Valentine's Ball. Featuring live waltzes, a dance lesson, and delightful desserts, it's an event not to be missed!
- Symphonic Boom, our year-end concert, a spectacular finale to the season
See you there!
Recordings
A selection of recordings are available online. Special thanks to Multimedia Producers, Videographers, and Editors Diklah Frishman-Mimee and Duris Jackson, for creating the recordings of Symphonic Boom 2010.
History
The orchestra was founded in 2006 as the Skule™ Chamber Orchestra by Geoffrey Siu, Walter Chan, and David Lee, as a place for students who played a wind or string instrument in high school to continue their musical pursuits. With help and financial assistance from the Engineering Society, the Alumni Association, the Division of Engineering Science, and the office of the Vice Dean Prof. Evans, the orchestra came to life. Over forty members showed up to the first rehearsal - and kept coming back - forcing the name of the ensemble to be changed to Skule™ Orchestra.
The orchestra's first event was Skule™ Music Concert at the J.J.R. MacLeod Auditorium in the Medical Sciences Building, which attracted hundreds of students, staff, and faculty. Later in the year, Dr. Wayne Jeffreys, a professional musician from Vancouver, visited the orchestra to conduct a clinic, and the orchestra finished the year with a spectacular Symphonic Boom.
In its second year, the orchestra looked to integrate itself more into the engineering community by hosting a unique new event called Moment, the Valentine's Ball. Held in Hart House Great Hall, Moment featured live waltzes from the orchestra, sumptuos hors d'oeuvres, and professional dance instruction, and was a grand success. In 2009, the orchestra performed with world-famous soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and acclaimed conductor Julian Kuerti in the Engineering Science 75th Anniversary Concert.
As the orchestra progresses, we look forward to playing more exciting repertoire, hosting exciting new events, and helping engineers meet each other and enjoy making great music.
Naxos Music Library
All U of T students have free access to the Naxos Music Library, a huge online collection of thousands of CD's of mostly classical music. Check it out!