51°µÍø's Orchestras provide a broad range of performance experiences through various sizes and types of orchestral ensembles. Participation is open to all 51°µÍø students by audition.

Students in the orchestra have opportunities to collaborate with 51°µÍø Opera Theatre in fully-staged operas and musical theater productions. They play music from the Baroque through modern eras and from a diverse collection of composers. They perform major choral masterworks with 51°µÍø Choirs as well as concerti with faculty and guest soloists and with students who are selected in the Conservatory Performance Competition.

Director of 51°µÍø Orchestras

Orchestra Conductor Sebastián Serrano-Ayala

Sebastián Serrano-Ayala

BIO

Examples of Recent Repertoire

  • Symphony in A minor, op. 8 (1896) by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
  • Elegia andina (Andean elegy) (2000) by Gabriela Lena Frank
  • Gloria (1960) by Francis Poulenc
  • Symphony No. 1 in D Major (1888) by Gustav Mahler
  • Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) (2014, 2016) by Missy Mazzoli
  • Symphony No. 8 in G Major, op. 88 (1889) by Antonín Dvořák
  • Symphony No. in E Minor (1931-32) by Florence Price
Kaylie Diggs, student soprano soloist
2023-24 Season Highlight
Poulenc's Gloria at 51°µÍø

In April of 2024, University Symphony Orchestra and 51°µÍø Choirs performed Francis Poulenc's "Gloria"—work scored for soprano solo, large orchestra and chorus. The soloist on this piece was one of the winners of the 2023-24 Performance Competition Kaylie Diggs '24, BM, Music Performance (pictured).