It was a beautiful day, mild temperatures and not sunny but not cloudy. After a long, rough week, I subconsciously yearned for an activity that would take my mind away from all of the stressful stimuli. Something that stimulated my senses and that helped me clear my head.

On this Sunday, it just so happened that the Cornell Symphony Orchestra was playing. As I walked there with the Rose Scholars group, I took in the refreshing views of Ithacan Spring, and breathed the fresh air. This was all a great appetizer to what was about to be the entree – the symphony’s performance.

It was exhilarating! As the musicians were preparing, my eyes remained glued to their concentrated faces. It was so impressive, I thought, how these students manage classes and other activities but still manage to come practice with the orchestra to prepare such beautiful, pleasing music.

The first piece was Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet piece. It took my breath away. As I sat in Bailey Hall with my eyes closed, I could see the images rise from the notes that were being played. Every single person on stage was in sync and it truly made seeing their precision entertaining in its own right. I had never been to see solely a symphony orchestra, but after this magnificent experience, I know that this will not be the last time.

I often go to the Cornell Orchestra concerts, in part to enjoy the music, but also to relive my own days in orchestra during my high school years. I always have a sense of nostalgia when I attend these student concerts.

The program included two well-known pieces, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and the Sibelius Symphony No. 2, but the first piece was unique. It started with what seemed to be the orchestra “tuning” to an A, but this was actually the beginning of a piece. At first I was confused, but reading the piece’s description in the program, I learned that this was the intentional beginning of this piece. I was glad that I hadn’t read the piece description, as I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, I enjoyed the remainder of the concert (particularly the harpist’s playing).

My suitemate, Osamu, has been playing Viola for six years and Violin for nine years. Last week I went to the Cornell Symphony Orchestra concert, and it was infinitely better than the Yale Symphony Orchestra concert I went to over Spring Break!

I was surprised to find out that the musicians don’t have to be at the concert hall until right before the concert starts as my other suitemate, Tom, and I left for Bailey before Osamu did — he was busy with his red bowtie. That being said, O and the other musicians are no slackers. They rehearse several times a week and had to get up at 8am to rehearse until 1:30pm the day of the concert.

One piece that really stuck with me was the first. It had a fantastic and powerful drum interlude towards the end, which awoke everyone in the audience.

Ultimately, it was great to see the culmination of O’s hard-work in an exciting performance.

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending Cornell’s Symphony Orchestra at Bailey Hall. As a performer, it’s always exciting for me to be on the other side of the curtain. Because I’m involved in dance community, I’ve seen many different shows at Bailey Hall, from dance showcases to Bill Gates, but I’ve never attended a Philharmonic Orchestra concert. I was amazed at how so many different sounds could be created by materials like strings and wood. It was incredible how I could hear emotion in the music, excitement, sadness, yearning, all of it. Not only was the show exciting to hear, it was also fun to watch. Every musician was in sync with the other in movement, forming their very own dance.

The program consisted of music composed by Tchaikovsky and Sibelius, two well known musicians of the 19th century. Tchaikovsky is very well known for his music to the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty, which are coincidentally all very famous ballets. I personally have had the privilege of both watching these ballets danced by professional ballet companies and dancing in these ballets myself. I was surprised that I could recognize the composer and tell the difference between ballads. While classical art hasn’t been very popular in recent history, it has maintained its presence as entertainment for well off or well educated folk. I think this is because both witnessing, or participating, in classical art forms are very costly. Wether you are attending a show in a fancy auditorium, paying for lessons, or buying that instrument or pointe shoes. For this reason, I am glad that the CSO opens up the show to the whole community for free and allows many people of all backgrounds to participate in classical culture.

I was impressed by the amount of passion all of the musicians seemed to have towards the art. You could see the passion in their faces and movements and thereby feel the emotion that the music brings. Classical music is getting more and more obscure as times progress, so it was very exciting to see that there are still many students that whole heartedly dedicate time towards.

Last Sunday I had the privilege of listening to the Cornell Symphony Orchestra in their final performance of the year. One of the main reasons I wanted to go was that I wanted to see my roommate O rock out on the viola one last time. While O said that the performance had a few hiccups along the way, I thought it was great. The only critique I have is that I wish the songs were played in a different order. The first piece was very good in that it had a lot of drums and had a decent pace. The second piece was Tchaikovsky’s famous Romeo and Juliet: Overture-Fantasy where I cant explain how it goes but if you heard it, you would recognize from other various TV shows and movies. The final piece was a Finnish piece about their independence from Russia and how people needed a national identity. Also just realized this but, they finished with a Finnish piece (bum, bum, tssh). I think the order should have been Tchaikovsky, Finnish piece, First one. The Finnish one dragged on at the end, not that it was bad, but that it seemed like it was never going to end. Putting that in the middle between the more enjoyable pieces would have made it more bearable. Also, ending with the more powerful drum piece would have brought the performance to a fever pitch. All in all it was a great performance and a nice way to relax before finals.

Sunday I attended Cornell Symphony Orchestra’s performance. Before learning of this performance I was unaware that our orchestra offered free concerts for the public. That being said, this was an amazing performance. The students in the orchestra must practice for hours and hours and hours every week to accomplish that level of perfection.

Sitting in the audience was an amazing experience. As I listened to the music generated by those on stage, it seemed unreal that such a beautiful piece could be created from all the different parts played by so many different people. It is absolutely amazing how students from so many places and backgrounds can come together to create such an astounding piece of music.

One thing I found fascinating was how in-sync everyone was, you could see the bows of an entire section moving as one. This says so much about the level of experience of each orchestra member and the conductor himself. I remember back in elementary school, I used to play viola in the school’s orchestra. The hardest part was not learning the music and my part but, simply being in-sync and playing at the right time. Attending this performance raised my appreciation for those who create music, they make it look so easy, even though I know they put countless hours into each piece.

I hope everyone can go attend some performances in their time at Cornell, and witness some of the amazing talent that is all around us.

Last Sunday, I attended the May concert by the Cornell Symphony Orchestra. The concert was free of admissions, but the musical experience was priceless. When I got to the concert, I took a quick look at the programme and I was nicely surprised at the number of chemistry major members in the orchestra. I recognized more than four names from laboratory classes that I have taken with them together. It was very cool to see some of my friends up on the stage and I am glad that I was there to support their hard work.

It was very interesting how the first piece, Fanfare for Sam by David Ludwig, started as if the members were casually tuning to a note, but the conductor seamlessly continued on with rest of the piece. It was fresh and this was my first time seeing the technique performed on stage. My favorite movement was Vivacissimo in Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius. The music was beautifully expressed by the players and the conductor highlighted the delicate melodies and bases in harmony.

Having been a part of wind ensembles and orchestras in the past, I enjoyed listening for each instrument throughout the concert. One thing I appreciate about the orchestra conformation is how the wind and brass instrument players often have solos since there are only a few people playing each instrument. With trained ears, I could hear individual person’s playing and could tell that they were very talented and putting lots of effort into their parts.

The music very much calmed me down and I truly enjoyed seeing the CSO concert. In freshmen year, I decided to audition for the Cornell Marching Band instead of the CSO. Listening to this concert made me wish that I had also tried out for CSO as well. If I were to learn a new orchestra instrument, I would like to learn to play the cello or horn in the future.

The Orchestra performance was a great way to relax before the start of finals. Mr. Sung and the entire Cornell Orchestra did an amazing job. I enjoyed all three of the pieces.

The first piece was relatively short, but featured a broad range of sounds. The second piece was a famous piece by Tchaikovsky. Some of the parts were easily recognizable from films and shows I’ve seen over the years. The last piece was by far the longest, and the story behind it is quite interesting. In the program pamphlet, it discussed the significance of the piece to the Finnish people when they were striving for independence. It is an important remainder of how music is interwoven into society, and that historical pieces offer good reflections of the people that lived then and the things they experienced. Although it may have been written a hundred, two hundred, or five hundred years ago, music is common bond shared through out the ages. It might be hard to imagine the day to day lives of our ancestors, but it isn’t as hard to imagine them enjoying music as we still do.

Overall, it was great to see a performance put on by such talented individuals.

Today I had the privilege of attending one of Cornell Symphony Orchestra’s performances in Bailey Hall. I was thoroughly impressed by the students’ abilities. Their dedication and passion for their craft shined through their repertoire. Today they played Ludwig’s Fanfare for Sam, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, Sibelius’s, and Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 43. My favorite piece was Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. The music was an accurate representation of the critical events of the play as well as the characters and their relationships. It began with a gentle chorale, which signified the voice of Friar Lawrence. The brash, hurried tempo that followed illustrated the feud between the Capulets and Montagues. As the piece began to wind to an end, the intensity began to wane, thereby exemplifying the play’s tragedy.

Overall, I left Bailey Hall with an increased appreciation for classical music. It reminded me of my own days as a member of the orchestra from elementary school to the end of my sophomore year of high school. Also, I highly admire the orchestra students – it was clear that they had spent a lot of time perfecting their performance.

This was a wonderful event and I look forward to attending more student performances such as this one.