This past Sunday, the Marquette Orchestra walked on the stage of Varsity Theatre to perform its final concert of the school year.
April 6 was the orchestra’s first time this year performing as a symphony orchestra — a large ensemble consisting of musicians who play strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion — for the three-song concert.
In previous orchestra concerts, the performances have included only a string orchestra, which refers exclusively to string instruments such as the viola, violin, cello and double bass.
The show began with Sinfonia Veneziana by Antonio Salieri, a three-movement piece composed for chamber orchestra before transitioning to Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony.” The concert ended with a performance of Mozart’s 38th Symphony, “Prague.”
The program music was selected by Erik Janners, a professor of practice at Marquette and the director of the Marquette Orchestra, who also directed and organized last week’s band concert.
Janners selected the works to highlight three musical pieces from the most influential composers of the late classical period, which refers to the period of classical music made between 1790 and 1820.
“It will be my first time conducting the Mozart Symphony, so that’s always exciting, when you get to perform a piece for the first time,” Janners said.
Sofia Stenberg, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, plays the viola with the Marquette Orchestra. As a first-year, Stenberg was not sure if she’d be able to manage both orchestra and her studies, she said.
But, after a lifetime playing in different orchestras, Stenberg realized she missed music and reached out to Janners to join at the beginning of her sophomore year.
“My favorite part of being a member of the Marquette Orchestra is that we are all in it together,” Stenberg said. “No matter what instrument you play, the level that you’re at, we are telling a story, not in words, but interpreting the notes into emotions and feelings.”
The Marquette String Orchestra began rehearsals after its winter concert. They met every Tuesday and Thursday for an hour and 15 minutes. Seven days before the show, wind and percussion players from the band program came in, and the group began rehearsing as a full symphony orchestra.
“Bringing in the winds and percussion the week of the concert to join them up with the strings is always a challenge, but they did great with it,” Janners said.
Stenberg said that the inclusion of a symphony orchestra helps elevate the songs.
“These pieces wouldn’t be complete or have as much of a dramatic effect without them,” Stenberg said. “I am very excited for those that have come to our previous performances to see the dramatic effect all instruments have to offer and not just us strings.”
Stenberg said she hopes students walked away from the concert feeling more connected to the Marquette community.
“I think that live music is especially important nowadays as it’s so easy to watch or listen to music online,” said Stenberg. “I feel that live music connects you on a more personal level to what you are listening to as you are truly in the moment, not on a phone, but simply just feeling it and seeing it.”
This article was written by Allison Scherquist. She can be reached at [email protected].
