Written by Riva Das

Over the past 10 years, the Duke Symphony Orchestra has grown from a small chamber group to an organization over 100 members strong. Musicians are drawn from both the Duke student body as well as the surrounding university community, consisting primarily of undergraduate student membership. Under the direction of conductor Harry Davidson, the DSO seeks to create an exciting and enlivening environment for concertgoers and performers alike. Members of the orchestra committee, a small group of elected students that serve as the ensemble's executive board, 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 planning of events, performances and orchestra-related social activities, all of which are open to the public.

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 and for the Prism Concert during Alumni Weekend.

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, and all arrangements are student-coordinated, from choosing and renting the music to be played to acquiring funding and resources for the event. As the DSO's first event of the year, the pops concert provides an intimate setting for introducing new members to the orchestra. By holding the event on East Campus, it also serves as a way for the symphony to reach out to first-year students.

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 four years, the orchestra has raised more than $110,000 for this Duke-affiliated medical center.

Mozart Symphony No. 41, Mvt. I, K. 551 (excerpt)
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Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Mvt. III, Op. 47 (excerpt)
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Wagner, Overture to Die Meistersinger (excerpt)
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