University City Symphony Orchestra

Last updated
University City Symphony Orchestra (UCSO)
Orchestra
Founded1960;63 years ago (1960)
Location University City, Missouri
Principal conductor Dr. Leon Burke III
Website www.ucso.org

The University City Symphony Orchestra (UCSO) is a non-profit community orchestra, established in 1960, giving amateur musicians in the St. Louis, Missouri area the opportunity to play orchestral literature. Though drawing on musicians from throughout the surrounding area, it rehearses and holds the majority of its free concerts in University City, Missouri.

Contents

Under the direction of Dr. Leon Burke III since 1997, the orchestra sponsors the William Schatzkamer Young Artists Competition, partners with other area musical organizations and plays throughout St. Louis area and surrounding counties though the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) is home to most of its performances.

History

The University City Symphony Orchestra was established in 1960, in part to provide summer employment for the musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Its first President, Lily Kaufman was wife of then-Mayor Nathan Kaufman.

People

Music Directors

See also

University City Symphony Orchestra – Programs by Season

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Symphony Orchestra</span> American symphony orchestra in Boston, MA

The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO performs most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at Tanglewood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis Symphony Orchestra</span>

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony orchestra in the United States, preceded only by the New York Philharmonic. Its principal concert venue is Powell Hall, located in midtown St. Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore Symphony Orchestra</span> Symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (Baltimore SO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it began regular performances at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda.

Lincoln Portrait is a classical orchestral work written by the American composer Aaron Copland. The work involves a full orchestra, with particular emphasis on the brass section at climactic moments. The work is narrated with the reading of excerpts of Abraham Lincoln's great documents, including the Gettysburg Address. An orchestra usually invites a prominent person to be the narrator.

The music of Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland, can be documented as far back as 1784, and the city has become a regional center for Western classical music and jazz. Early Baltimore was home to popular opera and musical theatre, and an important part of the music of Maryland, while the city also hosted several major music publishing firms until well into the 19th century, when Baltimore also saw the rise of native musical instrument manufacturing, specifically pianos and woodwind instruments. African American music existed in Baltimore during the colonial era, and the city was home to vibrant black musical life by the 1860s. Baltimore's African American heritage to the start of the 20th century included ragtime and gospel music. By the end of that century, Baltimore jazz had become a well-recognized scene among jazz fans, and produced a number of local performers to gain national reputations. The city was a major stop on the African American East Coast touring circuit, and it remains a popular regional draw for live performances. Baltimore has produced a wide range of modern rock, punk and metal bands and several indie labels catering to a variety of audiences.

Christopher Chapman Rouse III was an American composer. Though he wrote for various ensembles, Rouse is primarily known for his orchestral compositions, including a Requiem, a dozen concertos, and six symphonies. His work received numerous accolades, including the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He also served as the composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic from 2012 to 2015.

The culture of St. Louis, Missouri includes a variety of attractions located within the city of St. Louis, Missouri, and in surrounding communities in Greater St. Louis, such as local museums, attractions, music, performing arts venues, and places of worship.

The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra located in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016, the orchestra's Summer Festival concerts took place at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri Theatre (Columbia, Missouri)</span> United States historic place

The Missouri Theatre, is a concert and entertainment venue in downtown Columbia, Missouri, occupying most of a city block between 9th street between Locust and Elm Streets. It was designed after the Opéra Garnier by the Boller Brothers, built in 1928, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is Columbia's only surviving pre-Depression movie palace and vaudeville stage. In 2011, the University of Missouri began a three-year lease of the facility. The Missouri Theatre is the resident home of the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, and is also frequently used by University of Missouri and civic groups. As of July 1, 2014, The University of Missouri took over ownership of the Missouri Theatre. It is one of the main performance venues for the University of Missouri School of Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Burke III</span> American singer

Leon Burke III is an American musician, singer, and conductor from St. Louis, Missouri. He began his musical studies at age 12 and by age 16 was conducting orchestras.

Stanislav Ioudenitch is an Uzbekistani-born American pianist, known for winning the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001, jointly with Olga Kern, as well as the Steven De Groote Memorial Award for Best Performance of Chamber Music. He has also won top prizes at the Busoni, Kapell, and Maria Callas Competitions, as well as at the 1998 Palm Beach Invitational and the 2000 New Orleans International. His win at the Van Cliburn Competition led to a recital debut at the Aspen Music Festival and a European tour, highlighted by appearances at summer festivals in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Symphony</span>

The Kansas City Symphony (KCS) is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The Symphony performs at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 1601 Broadway Boulevard.

The University City Symphony Orchestra is a non-profit community orchestra located in the St. Louis area. This is a partial listing of its programs during its 40+ year existence:

The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1947, is an orchestra located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The orchestra performs at the Theater for Performing Arts in the Baton Rouge River Center.

The Dubuque Symphony Orchestra is a non-union, fully professional orchestra located in Dubuque, Iowa. It serves the residents of Dubuque and its surrounding tri-state area which includes 12 counties in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. Under Music Director William Intriligator, over 75 professional musicians perform a repertoire of classical, chamber, opera and pops concerts each year. The DSO performs an average of 12 different concerts a year with a total of 25 performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quad City Symphony Orchestra</span>

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) is a United States symphony orchestra based in Davenport, Iowa, and representing the Quad Cities area. The current music director and conductor is Mark Russell Smith. Established in 1916, the orchestra has a full season, performing six Masterworks series concerts, three pops concerts, and five signature series chamber concerts. The 96-member orchestra principally performs at two venues: the Adler Theater, located in Davenport, Iowa and Centennial Hall on the campus of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. The Riverfront Pops Concert in early September is held at the W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion in LeClaire Park on the Davenport riverfront. Its Holiday Pops Concert is performed at the Adler Theater. The signature series concerts are held in a more intimate setting, often at the Figge Art Museum. It also maintains four ensembles for local youth and conducts extensive outreach in area schools.

The Missouri Chamber Music Festival and Adult Chamber Music Intensive (ACMI) was founded in 2010. The goal of the MOCM Festival concerts is to present the fine art of small ensemble music to a wide audience through an accessible, community-based festival. The ACMI workshop is the educational portion of the festival, placing adult instrumentalists in chamber ensembles with Festival artists for coaching and performance.

Fredrick Kaufman (1936) is an American composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Missouri School of Music</span> School of Music within the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri

The School of Music is an academic division of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Its focus is the study of music, awarding baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees as part of the College of Arts and Science. The institution's programs encompass composition, performance, conducting, music education, music history, musical theatre and musicology. Established in 1917 as the Department of Music, the school continues to play a prominent role in the cultural life of Missouri and is located in the Sinquefield Music Center, on the university's flagship campus in Downtown Columbia. The Fine Arts Building also houses classrooms, studios, and a recital hall. Its major performance venues are Jesse Hall, the Missouri Theatre, and Whitmore Recital Hall. The Missouri Tigers marching band, Marching Mizzou, performs at Faurot Field for Southeastern Conference football games. The school's ensembles have performed worldwide and can be heard weekly on the university's own KMUC 90.5 FM Classical, Mid-Missouri's classical music radio station. Alumni include singers Sheryl Crow and Neal Boyd, Canadian Brass founder Gene Watts, and jazz artist Mike Metheny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Henry Galloway</span> American organist

Charles Henry Galloway was a St. Louis, Missouri church and concert organist, choral conductor, educator, and composer.