On Thursday, March 6, Washburn String Orchestra performed at White Concert Hall from 6:30-7:30 p.m. This concert is a preview of “The Magic Flute” which will be presented next month featuring excerpts from the opera with strings and vocal performances. The event is scheduled for April 5 and 6.
Raffaele Cipriano, director of orchestras and assistant professor in music, describes the process of selecting musicians for an orchestra.
“The musicians for the orchestra are Washburn students of the department of music,” Cipriano said. “They have to audition every year. And if the vision goes well. Then they get into the orchestra. And it’s part of their requirement, being an orchestra for the degree in music.”
Cipriano also describes the role of each string instrument in shaping the orchestral sound.
“We have high instruments and low instruments,” Cipriano said. “Usually the violins have more melodic elements, while the viola and the celli are more supportive and harmonious. But composers kind of mix it up. Sometimes the melodies are in the violas and the celli while the band provides texture or harmony as well. So it’s the various instruments of the string dialogue with each other to provide the overall texture of the music.”
Teagan Kimble, junior music education major, explains a typical orchestra rehearsal.
“It’s usually about an hour and a half,” Kimble said. “Just under an hour and a half, and we go through songs, usually movement by movement, and then we just kind of work it by section. So we might section it out into like eight measures. If it’s good, it’s good, we move past it. If it’s not, we’ll just kind of really hardcore work on the spots we need.”
Michiko Snell, one of the violinists, has 50 years of experience in music. She explains the contribution of string instruments to the overall sound of the orchestra.
“Every instrument within the string sections has their own color,” Snell said. “The violin is the soprano. Viola is the alto, kind of like the big sister. The cello is obviously the tender voice, and we don’t have any basses this evening [so that was] carried out by the piano.”
The Washburn department of music is conducting scholarship auditions. To schedule an audition or for more details, call 785-670-1644 or send and email to joseph.desota@washburn.edu.
Edited by Stuti Khadka and Morgan Albrecht
