University orchestra

Concert of the Strasbourg University Orchestra with Corinna Niemeyer

The university orchestra is - like the university choir and university sports - an institution at universities , colleges of music and technical colleges . Alternatively, there are the terms student orchestra, university orchestra, academic orchestra or university symphony orchestra . The establishment of the university orchestra is intended to give students who have learned an instrument the opportunity to be musically active during their studies. Like the university choirs and other musical ensembles, the university orchestras help shape social and cultural life at the universities and, with public concerts, make a contribution to the prestigious external impact of the universities. Some student orchestras were founded by students and, in organizational terms, are largely in the hands of the orchestra members, including the choice of conductor, while others were established by the university. Sometimes the orchestras are attached to the subjects of musicology or music education . In addition to orchestras with a tradition going back more than a hundred years, there are always new foundations.

The college orchestras at universities and technical colleges can largely be assigned to the field of amateur music . They are usually available to students from all faculties , often also to alumni and other university members.

In music colleges, on the other hand, the university orchestra is often part of the regular, sometimes compulsory, study program and prepares for the profession of orchestral musician or is involved in conducting courses . In 1974 the Young German Philharmonic was founded in Germany as a federal student orchestra , in which music students from all music colleges can take part after passing the audition . It is even more geared towards vocational preparation. In jazz departments, too, participation in formations of the jazz orchestra may be mandatory for the relevant students.

Some orchestras consist of music students and students from other faculties.

Recording and repertoire

At the general universities, interested parties register for the orchestra themselves and are accepted after an audition. In the music academies, admission is partly based on the instructions of the main subject teacher. Most of the university orchestras are symphony orchestras in terms of shape with the instrument group of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Their repertoire is based on the musical ability of the members. It is often given with the music of the classical , romantic and new music . In addition, orchestral versions of film music , musicals and popular music are also mentioned. The rehearsal work is geared towards concerts, the frequency is one or two concerts per semester with amateur orchestras, the frequency is often higher at the music academies. Some university orchestras also go on concert tours.

Wind orchestras and chamber orchestras can also be found as further orchestral forms .

List of university orchestras (selection)

The following list shows a selection of university orchestras that reflect the different forms mentioned above. The order is sorted by country or, within this, by city name.