Welcome to the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra! Follow us on twitter @gustieorch.
The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra is an integral musical contributor to Gustavus Adolphus College, the city of St. Peter, and beyond. Featuring talented and dedicated students from diverse majors, the orchestra performs a variety of symphonic repertoire and is a vital part of the Christmas in Christ Chapel performances. The Symphony Orchestra was one of the finalist for the 2015 American Prize in the College/University orchestra division and was featured at the 2016 MMEA Midwinter Clinic. Along with the Gustavus Jazz Ensemble, we will be touring internationally to Singapore and Malaysia in January of 2020. There is also a Companion Tour for parents and friends of the college.
The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra will be performing its next concert on Satuday April 27th at 1:30 in Bjorling Recital Hall. The concert will feature Schubert Symphony no. 8 "Unfinished," and the winners of our concerto/aria competition: Justin Taylor (trombone), Oran Clay (tuba), and Adam Lohr-Pearson (cello). This concert will be streamed live.
The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra performed its fall concert on Saturday November 3rd at 1:30 PM, performing music of Bach and Brahms. The concert featured John Snow principal oboist of Minnesota Orchestra and Peter McGuire principal second violin of Minnesota Orchestra and Gustavus violin faculty. This concert is "on demand." Just scroll to November 3rd.
During our 2015-2016 season of music making, the Gustavus Symphony toured Greece and Macedonia with the Gustavus Jazz Lab Band. Check out our our blog! Our program included music of Aaron Copland, Leroy Anderson, Morton Gould, and John Williams. The concert also featured Ella Fitzgerald arrangements of Jazz standards and a combine piece for Symphony Orchestra and the Jazz Lab Band written specifically for the ensembles by our Jazz Director Dave Stamps. We performed our International Tour Home Concert on Sunday February 14th at 3:30 p.m. in Bjorling Recital Hall. The concert is archived here, just click on "on demand" and scroll to the Febrary 14th date.
The orchestra rehearses Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:20 p.m., with string sectionals from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. We invite any interested perspective students to join us for a rehearsal. Please contact Dr. Lin to make the arrangements.
As the official touring orchestral ensemble from the Department of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College, the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra tours three years out of a four year cycle, and tours internationally once every four years. Our next international tour will be in January of 2020. The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra has toured internationally to the British Isles and the People's Republic of China, South Africa, and most recently to Greece and Macedonia. The orchestra will tour Singapore and Malaysia in January of 2020.
Some instruments are available as rentals through the Department of Music. Students are encouraged to contact IMA (Instrumental Music Assistants) at ima@gustavus.edu for more details.
If you should have any questions concerning auditions, the orchestra, or the music department, check out our FAQ page and please do not hesitate to contact the conductor Dr. Ruth Lin, rlin@gustavus.edu.