Welcome to the home-on-the-web of the Wesleyan University Orchestra. The orchestra is open to members of the Wesleyan community, including students and faculty, as well as residents of Middletown and surrounding areas. People interested in joining the orchestra should refer to the auditions page. Members of the community who wish to hear and see the orchestra live should check out the upcoming events page for an updated listing of concerts. Orchestra members will find useful information such as rehearsal schedules and the attendance policy on these pages. Finally, don't forget to check out the fun pages of pictures, sounds, newspaper articles, and links to other sites of interest around Wesleyan.

     The Wesleyan University Orchestra has been a vital institution of the University's Music Department for many years, however the orchestra began giving regular performances upon the completion of the Center for the Arts in 1973. The 1980's saw the rise of a strong orchestral program, first under Roger Solie and then Melvin Strauss. The 1988 John Cage at Wesleyan Festival was a high watermark for orchestral accomplishment, featuring a performance of Atlas Eclipticalis with nearly a hundred performers, with distinguished visitors including the Arditti Quartet. The Henry Brant Meteor Farm event of 1984 was another classic, involving players from all traditions of the department's worldwide forces.

     The orchestra and its members have played with many major artists under a program that brings the performers from the Crowell Concert Series to give master classes and perform with students. Among these have been Igor Kipnis, the Lydian String Quartet, Jaap Schroeder and Pedro Carboné. Since 1998, under the direction of Angel Gil-Ordoñez, the orchestra has reached new artistic heights. Orchestral collaborations have included performances with Wesleyan's Theater and Dance departments, as well as with other groups within the music department.

     The orchestra and Theater department produced Tom Stoppard's "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor", featuring music by André Previn in the Spring of 2001, and the opera production "The Countess III" in the Fall of 2003. Within the music department itself, the orchestra initiated the "Millenium Concert", Spring 2000, which incorporated commissioned works with the Jazz Orchestra and Gamelan, as well as premieres of works by Wesleyan composers. Under the baton of guest conductor Zheng Xiao-ying, China's first female conductor, the orchestra performed the U.S. premiere of Liu Yuan's Symphony "Echo of Hakka Earth Buildings" as a part of the Chinese Music Festival "Echoes of the Earth" in the Fall of 2002. As a forum for contemporary music, the orchestra has created an annual Symphonic Workshop to premiere works by Wesleyan Composers and other prominent composers in the US. The Wesleyan University orchestra holds annually a Concerto Competition among its members but also open to outside players.