All the music societies your heart desires: The three orchestras

Next in line are instrumental ensembles, the three orchestras: String, Wind and Symphony – showing off all the musical talent with numerous performance throughout the year.

STRING ORCHESTRA

Image: String Orchestra

The University of Warwick String Orchestra is a classical ensemble, with members playing the violin, viola, cello and occasional double bass. We are un-auditioned and open to musicians of varying ability. Our conductors are Roger Coull, from the Coull quartet, and our student conductor Andrew Huang; both provide us with useful techniques and a good laugh. We aim to perform roughly once a term, and in the past have played at events such as the Warwick Arts Festival, open days and the Creative Warwick Showcase, as well as in different venues including Butterworth Hall and St Johns Church in Kenilworth. We have an extensive music library containing suites, concertos, film music, popular music and much more; we aim to have a varied repertoire to appeal to different musicians.

Please feel free to like our Facebook page to find information about rehearsals and send us a message if you have any questions.

As a close-knit society we all know each other and are always pleased to find new members. Rehearsals are light-hearted and while we aim to sound as good as possible, there is no pressure to be perfect; we welcome people who want to learn and improve. Our vision is to inspire musicians who lack confidence and to show our audience the beauty of string music in all its forms.

WIND ORCHESTRA

Image: Wind Orchestra

At Wind Orchestra, we believe that music should be accessible to all, especially at university level where music is an important part of peoples’ social lives and provides a welcome break from studying. We have our main band, which welcomes people of all abilities, and Beginner’s Wind which allows people to learn an instrument from scratch or to develop their skills. We are completely un-auditioned, meaning there is a much more relaxed environment and there is a wide range of people involved; whether you have only just started learning an instrument or you have been playing since you were a child, we have an opportunity for you. If you prefer to play music with a smaller group of people, we also have our Small Bands which are currently available to clarinets, flutes and saxophones. These are great if you are looking to develop your skills or just meet a group of like-minded people. Many of our Small Band members are also in the Main Band, but there is no pressure to join both. Our Small Bands also play in our concerts and often go carolling in the local area during the Christmas period. The Small Bands play in our fundraising concerts, where our members choose a charity to support.

We have multiple concerts throughout the year, where we are conducted by our student conductors or a member of staff from the Music Centre. Although many of our concerts are held at the Warwick Arts Centre and the surrounding area, we also go elsewhere in the UK for the National Concert Band Festival (where we won Gold last year) and our mini-tours. Every two years we also go on tour to a place in Europe, and spend time playing concerts in lots of different locations, including the Votivkirche in Vienna. If you are interested in joining Wind Orchestra, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter. Alternatively, you can email us on wind-exec@windorchestra.co.uk We look forward to seeing you at our first rehearsal!

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Image: Symphony Orchestra

The University of Warwick Symphony Orchestra (UWSO for short) is one of the largest music societies on campus, and play a very wide repertoire. We hold three of our own concerts each academic year, playing alongside the University Chorus. Last year we played some huge and impressive works such as Mahler’s Symphony No.1, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Mozart’s Requiem. We also take part in several other concerts and events throughout the year, the most notable of which being Warwick Fused, where the symphony orchestra accompany other Warwick music groups representing music from all over the world. On top of these concerts, we host tours to destinations in Europe and around the UK and for Easter 2018, we will be playing two concerts during a week in Prague. Our vision of music at Warwick is for all students and societies involved to collaborate to ensure that each performance is executed at the highest possible standard, helping Warwick to gain a reputation for being the finest University for music in the UK – without a Music Department!

To find out more about us, check out our website or come along to one of our rehearsals on a Tuesday evening at 7.30pm in the Avon Drama Studio in Westwood.