Campus Symphony Orchestra Timline
(Built upon research by past CSO conductor, Robert Boardman, and long-time CSO violinist Michael Chang)
1973: First concert of the “University Campus Orchestra” (UCO) is cataloged in University of Michigan, School of Music (UMSOM) programs.
Tuesday, Dec. 11, 1973, 8:00pm
Hill Auditorium
Charles Gabrion, Conductor
Kalinnilow: Symphony No. 1
Handel/Ormandy: Concerto for Orchestra
Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture
For the second concert during winter 1974, the University Arts Chorale (UAC) collaborated with the *UCO on April 5, 1974 in a performance of:
RalphVaughan Williams: Toward the Unknown Region
*It should be noted that there was a regular, yearly collaboration with UAC and the Campus Orchestras program until 1994, with the last choral/orchestral work being performed:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9.
1976: Gustav Meier joins UM Faculty as Director of Orchestras, and Professor of Orchestral Conducting. His conducting students conduct the UCO.
1982: Zuohuang Chen becomes first minority conductor to conduct UCO.
1987: First concert of a separate “University Campus Chamber Orchestra” (UCCO), apart from the UCO is cataloged in UMSOM programs.
Sunday, Dec. 6, 1987, 3:00pm
McIntosh Theater
Yves Cohen, Conductor
Schubert: Symphony No. 5
Ravel: Pavane for a Dead Princess
Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals
UCO continues in tandem with UCCO, giving concerts separately and occasionally sharing concerts. Concerts are performed 3-4 times per year by both orchestras.
1987: Elizabeth J. Stoyanovich becomes first woman to conduct UCO.
1993: Name changes
UCO becomes “Campus Symphony Orchestra” (CSO)
UCCO becomes “Campus Philharmonia Orchestra” (CPO)
Both orchestras perform three times per year. At least one of the three concerts is a shared performance between CSO & CPO, each orchestra providing about half of the evening’s program. The name change seems to be initiated out of a desire to achieve consistency of nomenclature with regard to the hierarchy of orchestras within the School of Music:
1.) USO – University Symphony Orchestra
2.) UPO – University Philharmonia Orchestra
3.) CSO – Campus Symphony Orchestra
4.) CPO – Campus Philharmonia Orchestra
USO & UPO are referred to as the “University Orchestras”, comprised of mostly music majors. CSO & CPO are referred to as the “Campus Orchestras”, comprised of mostly non-music major students, faculty, staff, and community members. All four orchestras rehearse at the School of Music, and are official School of Music Ensembles.
First and only appearances of 2 concert programs cataloging the “Campus Symphony Orchestra: Chamber Ensemble Series.” Programs included 6 chamber works per concert. Performers are drawn from all different instruments within the orchestra. Highlights of those programs include:
Beethoven: Grosse Fugue, Op. 133 (String Quartet)
Schubert: Octet (Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and 5 Strings)
Gabrieli: Canzone e Sonata (for Brass)
1995: Kenneth Kiesler succeeds Gustav Meier as Director of Orchestras and Orchestral Conducting at U-M. His students continue to lead the Campus Orchestras program.
The Michigan Pops Orchestra is created during the Fall semester as a student organization separate from the School of Music, further providing expanded playing opportunities for the student body. The fully student-run orchestra performs each semester at the Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor.
1996: Both orchestras (CSO & CPO) reduce the number of performances to once per semester.
1997: Conductors’ names begin to appear as “Conductor” or “Music Director” in concert programs with “Assistant Conductors”. Previously, multiple conductors on a program were all named “Conductor”, with division of conducting duties being split somewhat evenly.This change reflects more of a University/Professor or Symphony/Music Director model where one conductor functions in a Music Director capacity.
2000: Life Sciences Orchestra (LSO) is created during the Fall semester for musicians and artists of the University of Michigan Medical School and University Health System. The orchestra performs in Hill Auditorium.
At this point there exist four primarily non-music major orchestras on campus (CSO, CPO, Pops, and LSO) in addition to the two music major orchestras, the USO and UPO, for a total of six orchestras at the University of Michigan.
2003: Musicology Professor and CSO Bassoonist, Mark Clague (2004 CSO Concerto Competition winner; Jolivet Bassoon Concerto) posts first ever CSO/CPO website.
2005: A new campus orchestras website is constructed by DMA conductor Robert Boardman (2005-2007 Helen Wu Graduate Fellowship Award Winner) within the University’s sitemaker.
2006: CSO gives Ann Arbor premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s “blue cathedral”, Winter 2006.
2007: CampusSymphony.org website established.
2008: CSO and CPO add an extra, third concert to their roster this year. The two orchestras combine forces in a January concert of Dvorak Symphony No. 9 with four conductors– one conductor for each movement of the symphony.
The Ann Arbor Repertory Orchestra (AARO) debuts under past CSO conductor Robert Boardman. The repertory orchestra consists of players in the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor communities. Music majors, non-music majors, and community players join forces weekly during the summer to play through an extensive repertoire. At the end summer semester, a concert is given in McIntosh Theater to close out the season.
The CSO Committee, formed by CSO players and conductor Yaniv Dinur, is established in the Fall 2008 semester. The CSO Committee is the leadership group within CSO. Weekly meetings are held before rehearsal to discuss matters of the orchestra, including publicity, player recruitment, repertoire, and social activities.
2009: The CSO Committee extends to the CPO ensemble and makes a joint effort to recruit for Campus Orchestras at FestiFall 2009.