Exotic. Pastoral. Looney. Priceless. 

In its 2012-2013 season, the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra presents an adventurous journey through some of the greatest programmatic works in the orchestral repertoire. For more details, please see our 2012-13 season. We are also continuing our Concerts for a Cause, in which donations will be accepted at the door for various charitable organizations. This season we will focus on children’s organizations. 100% of the donations will be given to the charities after each of our four main concerts.

The DCSO is an ensemble of approximately 50 student musicians, all of whom have diverse backgrounds and varying career interests but have a keen passion for music. With only about 4% of the orchestra being composed of music majors, the orchestra is an excellent place for students to rehearse and perform in a collaborative atmosphere while honing their technical skills and broadening their musical knowledge and experience. 

The Symphony Orchestra

• Past Repertoire
• 2012-2013 Syllabus

Rehearsals

• Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30-6:15 p.m. in Sloan 200
• Dress rehearsals on the days preceeding concerts

Audition 2012-2013

• Wednesday, August 29: woodwinds (no saxophones), and brass
• Thursday, August 30: classical percussion, saxophones, and jazz rhythm
• Friday, August 31: strings
• Sign-up sheets are posted on the bulletin board outside of Sloan 200
• DCSO Fall 2012 Audition Materials
• Contact Tara Villa at tavilla@davidson.edu for more information

Auditions Consist of:

• Audition for the First Time
  • Prepare one or two contrasting pieces that you feel comfortable playing. If you decide to only prepare one piece, it should contain both lyrical and more technical material. (It is best to choose selections that accurately reflect your ability, no matter what your level.) This part of the audition does not need to exceed five minutes total.
  • You will NOT be asked to play scales or arpeggios, and you will NOT be asked to do any sight-reading.
  • You will be asked to play some orchestral excerpts from music for the upcoming season. You can now download these excerpts in PDF format.
  • More emphasis will be placed upon your prepared pieces, but the orchestral excerpts will give you a sense of what the repertoire will be like for the coming season

• Audition as Returning Member 
  • You will only be asked to prepare excerpts from the repertoire for the upcoming season
  • You will have a wide selection of excerpts to choose from, and they will vary in difficulty (Some passages will be mandatory) 
  • You can now download these excerpts in PDF format.

Performance

• The DCSO performs two full concerts in the Fall semester, and two or three full concerts in the Spring semester.
• Other performance opportunities include concerts on the Davidson Town Green and a concert during Family Weekend.
• Programs span a wide range of genres and composers from the Baroque to the present.
• The week prior to the beginning of the spring semester is the annual tour shared with the Jazz Ensemble. Find out past and future tour destinations.
• Professional guest artists are occasionally invited to perform with the orchestra in concert. 
• Once a year, the orchestra features student soloists who are winners of the concerto competition held each fall.

Contact Professor Tara Towson Villa, Director, DCSO

Upcoming Concerts
Please refer to the Campus Calendar.