CJ Day – Staff Writer
No one in the University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra seems to be nervous about their first performance.
“The nerves haven’t kicked in yet,” said Sophia Helmkamp, who plays the violin in the ensemble. “But ask me again an hour before the show Thursday night.”
The UW Symphony Orchestra will hold its first performance at 7:30 p.m. today in the Buchanan Performing Arts Center concert hall. This concert will feature two pieces by classical composers, as well as a more modern piece to commemorate 150 years of women’s suffrage.
“We’re hoping that everyone who comes has a good, enjoyable experience,” said Michael Griffith, the director of orchestral studies and the conductor of the symphony orchestra. “We’re hoping that this will open a lot of people’s eyes to classical music.”
This year, the Orchestra is trying out new strategies to attract students who may otherwise skip classical music if it came up on shuffle. Griffith said that he no longer cared how people dressed to go to performances, because he’d rather see students in casual dress in the audience than no students at all. Also new this year are what Griffith is calling “tweet seats,” dedicated seating for people who would rather not put their phone away during a performance.
“Some people, they can’t put their phone away for the entire performance, and rather than keeping them out of the concert hall, we’re reserving the last two rows of the audience just for them,” said Griffith. “As long as they keep their phone on silent, of course.”
The Symphony Orchestra is mostly made up of University of Wyoming students, all of whom have other commitments and responsibilities outside the orchestra. Sophia Helmkamp is a junior who plays violin in the ensemble. She said between rehearsals and solo practice, it can be hard to find time to do anything else. Even so, music is not something she would give up lightly.
“I do this because it makes a nice contrast to all the math and science I do for my other classes, it’s just completely different vibes,” said Helmkamp. “Even though I practice a lot, it still ends up feeling like a break.”
One of the highlights of playing in a symphony orchestra rather than smaller ensembles, Helmkamp said, is that there’s less pressure to play perfectly. With dozens of other musicians, one missed rhythm or one sour note tends to get lost in the noise. This year, there are 80 musicians in the ensemble, and all of them made it through a rigorous audition process to get the chance to play.
“The audition for the orchestra wasn’t as hard as some other auditions I’ve done,” said Helmkamp. “Even so, it was still a challenge, and it’s still a big achievement for me.”
After this performance, the orchestra will be going on tour, holding clinics at high schools all across the state and performing at the concert hall in Jackson Hole.
“These people, they pay just as much taxes for UW as we do, and they deserve to reap the benefits like we do.” Griffith said.
The ensemble’s next performance in Laramie won’t be until December, so anyone interested in checking out a performance should pick up tickets at either the Wyoming Union, the Performing Arts Box Office, or through calling 307-766-6666. Tickets cost 12$ for the public, 8$ for senior citizens, and 6$ for students.
