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Review of concert on March 16, 2011:
"Hearing 'Les Preludés' again performed with such enthusiasm and honesty made it feel like a personal reconnection with an old friend. It was an outstanding musical experience."
Read the full review at the Classical Voice of North Carolina.
Review of concert on December 8, 2010:
"Duke Symphony Orchestra Music Director Harry Davidson can always be counted on for enterprising programs, and his selection of an all-Samuel Barber menu was no exception."
Read the full review at the Classical Voice of North Carolina.
Review of concert on April 21, 2010:
"Schumann sometimes gets a bad rap for murky writing but the key is orchestral balance, and Davidson and his musicians had the measure of this often exuberant work. At the end there was another big uproar in the form of a standing ovation, on this occasion richly deserved."
Read the full review at the Classical Voice of North Carolina.
Review of opera on March 18, 2010:
"Dedicated opera lovers anticipate the Duke Symphony Orchestra and music director Harry Davidson's annual presentation of an opera, in semi-staged concert form, in Baldwin Auditorium on Duke University's East Campus. The conductor never fails to assemble a cast of solid singer-actors and that was the case again. His choice, Così Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91), received a lively and stylish performance which balanced individual vocal achievement with the vivid give-and-take of ensemble interplay."
Read the full review at the Classical Voice of North Carolina.
Review of concert on December 2, 2009:
"The very well-known Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1808) by Beethoven was given a dynamic and vital interpretation by Davidson and his large orchestra."
Read the full review at the Classical Voice of North Carolina.
Featured in the Raleigh Downtowner Magazine "Bach on a Budget":
"The programming is interesting and innovative. For instance: Earlier this fall we attended an all-Mendelssohn concert in honor of the bicentenary of the composer's birth, and it included a guest artist performing a reconstructed Mendelssohn piano concerto never before heard in the Triangle."
Read the full article at the Raleigh Downtowner Magazine.
Review of concert on September 30, 2009:
"...two outstanding soloists, in two splendid concertos, augmented by two festive overtures, all played by a large orchestra (90+ musicians) led by a conductor whose skills in the training and development departments equal his artistic acumen."
Read the full review at the Classical Voice of North Carolina.
Written by Riva Das (President '07-'08), updated by Lee Hong (President '09-'10)
Baldwin Auditorium
(photo by Shelley Rusincovitch) |
The Duke Symphony Orchestra (DSO) has consistently recruited over 100 members each year, composed of musicians from the Duke student body (primarily undergraduates) and the surrounding university community. Under the direction of conductor Harry Davidson, the DSO seeks to create a dynamic and enlivening environment for concertgoers and performers alike.
2007-08 Orchestra Committee |
Members of the orchestra committee, a small group of elected students, endeavor to build and foster a greater sense of community among members of the orchestra and their peers who share a passion for music. The orchestra committee seeks to diversify Duke's musical community through the organization and publicizing of performances open to the public, as well as hosting orchestra-related social activities.
Violists during rehearsal
(photo by Shelley Rusincovitch) |
The orchestra's repertoire ranges from the seventeenth to the twentieth century and includes both well-known masterpieces and rarely-heard works. The DSO rehearses twice a week and hosts four regular season concerts in Baldwin Auditorium annually, averaging over 800 audience attendees at each concert. In addition, the orchestra can be seen performing at other university events, such as for the Parents' and Family Weekend Concert in Duke Chapel. The DSO features the student winner of the DSO Concerto Competition every spring and also performs a semi-staged opera biannually.
Orchestra cellists (photo by Anna Wu) |
For the past four years, the Duke Symphony has started its concert season with a special student-run pops concert held on East Campus Quad, which has evolved to become a Labor Day weekend tradition in Durham. This lighthearted event is performed after only one extensive Saturday rehearsal. As the DSO's first event of the year, the pops concert provides an intimate setting for introducing new members to the orchestra. All arrangements are coordinated by the DSO committee. By holding the event on East Campus, it also serves as a way for the symphony to welcome first-year students to East Campus life.
Orchestra musicians in Beaufort |
Each spring, the Duke Symphony Orchestra travels to Beaufort, South Carolina to perform a benefit concert for Beaufort Memorial Hospital's Keyserling Cancer Center. Over the past six years, the orchestra has raised more than $110,000 for this Duke-affiliated medical center.
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