Orchestra
Audition for WSU Symphony Orchestra
August 20, 2012
Experienced string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players are invited to audition for the 2012-13 WSU Symphony Orchestra. The upcoming season includes opera, oratorio, and popular performances. Repertoire highlights include Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 ("Pathetique"), Sibelius' Symphony No. 3, and Haydn's Symphony No. 87. Soloists will include Michael Powell, tenor trombonist of the American Brass Quintet, as well as faculty artists Leonid Shuayev, cello, and Sarunas Jankauskas, clarinet. While the majority of orchestra members are music majors, students from all academic disciplines are welcome to audition. (Private lessons are also available to all instrumentalists regardless of major.)
Audition Information
Strings
WSU Symphony Orchestra auditions for string students will be held Monday, August 20. Students interested in auditioning for the WSU Symphony Orchestra need to sign up for an audition time on the orchestra audition schedule, located on the bulletin board outside of DFAC Room C104. The orchestra audition will consist of a major scale (two or three octaves) and requested passages from Sibelius' Symphony No. 3 and Haydn's Symphony No. 87 (available for download below). Violinists may choose to audition on either first or second part; some rotation of seating will occur from concert to concert. For further information, contact Dr. Mark Laycock, Director of Orchestras, at 316-978-6202 or mark.laycock@wichita.edu
Winds and Percussion
WSU Symphony Orchestra auditions for woodwind, brass, and percussion students will be held Friday, August 17. Students interested in auditioning for the WSU Symphony Orchestra need to sign up for an audition time on the orchestra audition schedule, located on the bulletin board outside of DFAC Room C104. The orchestra audition will consist of a major scale (two or three octaves), a prepared solo or orchestral excerpt(s) approximately five minutes in length, and a short passage of sight-reading. For further information, contact Dr. Mark Laycock, Director of Orchestras, at 316-978-6202 or mark.laycock@wichita.edu
Parts (PDF):
Wichita State University Symphony Orchestra
Eighty members strong, the Wichita State University Symphony Orchestra is an auditioned ensemble comprised of undergraduate and graduate students. The orchestra performed in Carnegie Hall in May
2011 and completed a concert tour of the Aragon region of Spain as invited participants in the 2008 International Youth Orchestra Festival; other notable performances include the Midwest
International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago and numerous appearances at the state conference of the Kansas Music Educators Association. Recent collaborations include performances with
the classic rock band Kansas and the arena multimedia concert Video Games Live. The orchestra presents a minimum of three major concerts each semester, together with opera productions,
oratorios, and an annual concerto-aria competition. Recent repertoire spans nearly 300 years of standard orchestral literature, including Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute,
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (“Choral”), Brahms' Third Symphony, Prokofiev’s Seventh Symphony, Copland’s Billy the Kid Ballet Suite, and Dean Roush's
Ars Poetica.
WSU College of Fine Arts and School of Music
Boasting the only comprehensive College of Fine Arts in Kansas. Wichita State University also supports one of the most respected schools of music in the nation, featuring an exceptional faculty
whose work is recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and national and regional symphonies, theatres and opera companies across the country. The size and international reputation of
the School of Music create an exceptional range of opportunities with faculty who, while internationally reputed in their own right, are intensely focused on the individual student. Located
in the largest city in Kansas, WSU offers students and faculty exposure to and participation in a stimulating variety of professional artistic and cultural endeavors. WSU students also have
extensive opportunities for internships with a myriad of organizations in the metropolitan area. The longstanding partnership with the professional Wichita Symphony Orchestra, whose
membership consists largely of WSU faculty, students, and alumni, is but one example. The WSU School of Music is a living laboratory for learning, where musicians explore the unknown, learn
how to develop their talent into professional skills, and discover first-hand the true meaning of artistry.
Dr. Mark Laycock, Director of Orchestras
Dr. Mark Laycock is an Associate Professor of Music at Wichita State University, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. He was recognized with the WSU
Excellence in Creative Activity Award (2012) and the College of Fine Arts Excellence in Teaching Award (2007). He serves as Director of Orchestras and Coordinator of Strings. WSU
Symphony Orchestra appearances under his direction include the 2008 International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Zaragoza, Spain, a May 2011 concert at Carnegie Hall, and multiple invited
performances at Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshops. Dr. Laycock is a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic; he was
recently appointed Chair of Orchestra Activities. His work as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator spans 22 states, including the leadership of all-state orchestras in Alabama,
Arizona, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, and Washington; upcoming engagements include the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and district and regional ensembles in Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Nevada, as
well as the Arkansas All-State Orchestra. He was an adjudicator for the 2011 National Orchestra Festival and a clinician for the event in 2012. His appearances with professional
ensembles include the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Wichita Grand Opera, and Opera Kansas, as well as orchestras in Slovakia and Canada.