Combining the Past and the Present
Works played by the Symphony under Maestro Griffith include symphonies by Mahler, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Sibelius, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Dvořák, Franck, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Haydn, Hanson, and Borodin; Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Firebird Suite, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration, Respighi’s entire Rome trilogy, Rimski-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Mendelssohn’s complete A Midsummer Night’s Dream, de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, Grieg’s Peer Gynt, and much more.
Exploring the great variety of the orchestral repertoire, they have performed works by Samuel Akpabot, Francesca Caccini, Valerie Coleman, Duke Ellington, Carlos Gomes, Florence Price, Hu Sisi, Scott Joplin, Li Huanzhi, Arturo Márquez, César Guerra Peixe, Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Clara Schumann, Dame Ethel Smyth, William Grant Still, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Liu Tieshan, Mao Yuan, and many others. They have joined UW choral groups in large works such as Carmina Burana and the Brahms and Mozart Requiems, and played in the pit for a double bill of the ballets Petrushka and Afternoon of a Faun, La Traviata, The Magic Flute, The Nutcracker Ballet, Candide, Don Pasquale, Così Fan Tutte, Copland’s The Tender Land, The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, and Broadway musicals such as Into the Woods, South Pacific, Company, Guys and Dolls, and many more.
New works by fascinating, living composers are often found on UWSO programs, and the orchestra was a winner of a 2005 ASCAP/American Symphony Orchestra League Award for Adventurous Programming. In 2009 we were one of only three college orchestras invited to participate in the Ford Made in America commissioning program, and our 2000-2001 Premières for the Millennium season included four new works composed expressly for the UWSO. Other orchestral projects included residencies with composers Libby Larsen and Pulitzer- and Grammy- winner Jennifer Higdon, a 1999-2000 retrospective on 20th Century music, and 1998’s Hildegard’s Year, which saluted all women composers in honor of the 900th birthday of Hildegard von Bingen, a medieval German nun and composer. Important contemporary composers such as John Adams, John Corigliano, Joseph Curiale, Michael Daugherty, Anne Guzzo, David Maslanka, Gwyneth Walker, and Judith Zaimont have all been featured on UWSO programs.
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Auditions
Orchestra membership is by audition only. Players are drawn primarily from the university student body, including both music majors and talented musicians from other fields of study. Many of the members receive scholarship aid in return for playing in the ensemble. There are also a few Laramie residents who participate as community members.
Scholarship InformationConductor
Dr. Michael Griffith took over the podium of the UW Symphony in 1989. Since then the orchestra has grown significantly in size, playing level, and repertoire. He was named a UW “Top Ten” teacher by the graduating classes of 2006 and 2012, has served as a guest teacher at such institutions as the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, Shanghai University, and the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil. He has conducted on four continents, and is a past President of the International Conductors Guild.
Symphony Association
The Symphony Association for the University of Wyoming offers significant support to the orchestra. This Laramie-based organization funds scholarships, tours, equipment needs, commissions and other special projects. They also encourage community involvement in orchestra events, help with educational projects, and offer occasional social outlets for lovers of symphonic music.
Tours
Orchestra tours, including a 2007 week-long tour of Bolivia (view pictures) and a 2024 tour of Southern France and Spain, are funded by a combination of sources. These include the University, the UW Foundation, the Symphony Association, private donors, host communities, the Wyoming Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Click here to watch the full video of the 2024 tour of Southern France and Spain!
Alumni
Past UWSO members have served in top jobs all over the world, including:
- a first violinist in the Cleveland Orchestra
- the concertmaster of the Roanoke Symphony
- the co-principal trumpet of the New Japan Philharmonic
- the assistant concertmaster of Brazil’s Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais
- a violist in the Colorado Symphony
- a violinist in the Netherlands Philharmonic
- a cellist in the Symphony Orchestra of National Theatre of Brasilia, Brazil
- the keyboard player in the New World Symphony of Miami
- the Executive Director of the Wyoming Arts Council
- the cello professor at Guizhou Normal University, China
- a Programming Manager for the Los Angeles Philharmonic
- a trombonist in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe Band
- the Director of Fine and Performing Arts, Laramie County Community College
- the oboe professor at the University of Central Oklahoma
- Utah’s Music Educator of the Year for 2016
- the conductor of the San Francisco Philharmonic
- the conductor of the Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra
- the Executive Director of the Moab Music Festival
- the trumpet professor at Wright State University
- the Executive Director of Jackson Hole’s Center for the Arts
- the conductor of the Idaho State Civic Symphony
- a trumpeter in the national company of the Broadway show, The Book of Mormon
- a bassist in the jazz clubs of LA
- various cruise ship band members
- many highly successful music educators working all around the country
