A high school student, a university student, a university professor and a local community member walk into a room and join their fellow musicians in the California Lutheran University Symphony as they continue their practice for the upcoming Symphonic Romance.

The Romantic-era concert will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 18, in Samuelson Chapel. It will feature selections from the Italian, Russian and French repertoire. Although the University Symphony has played for the Founders Day Concert for many years, this year’s repertory is hitting major high notes with its members. The 50 to 60-member ensemble has been around almost as long as CLU.

Senior Derek Andrzejewski, the principal (first) cellist in the Symphony, said that it is his “favorite [repertoire] so far,” adding that the late Romantic era features “slower music that you can emphasize more dynamics to actually really bring out the life of a song.”

Andrzejewski is not the only one excited about the new repertory. Principal clarinet player Hongsik Park, a Korean international student in his final year at CLU, said that “the list of repertoires is very unique to the program” and that he feels this is the strongest the symphony has been since he has been part of it.

Daniel Geeting, who has a doctorate degree in musical arts and has been the University Symphony Director for around 12 years, said that he likes to “run things on four-year cycles,” which means there has been music from the Romantic Era played before. Andrzejewski commented that the strength of the symphony comes from its players and their interaction with the music.

The ensemble includes students, CLU faculty and community members, all of varying ages and skill levels. Students mainly make up the principals in each section. Not all the students involved are music majors, however.

Geeting explains that the driving force behind the University Symphony is the students. While it is a class that can be taken for credit at CLU, its purpose is to expose students to what it is like to work in a formal symphony.

Andrzejewski has been playing cello in the University Symphony for eight years, beginning when he was a freshman in high school. However, Andrzejewski is not a music major, nor does he formally want to go into the music industry. Park, on the other hand, has been playing for the University Symphony since he arrived at CLU and is participating in other symphonies and planning to pursue a musical career.

The University Symphony is all about the members who comprise it and how they their passion for music and talents to create a unique experience for the audience.
“When we’re together, the music comes together,” Andrzejewski said.

Any faculty, students or community members who want to experience a little romance are encrouaged to attend. For more information, visit www.callutheran.edu/thehub.

Danya Migdali
Staff Writer
Published Oct. 16, 2013