The University of North Alabama’s band is composed of many ensembles that showcase the student’s specialties and talents. The UNA Orchestra is one of these ensembles that allows students from various departments to come together and play in a full symphony orchestra.
As stated on the orchestra’s page, featured on UNA’s website, over the course of the year, the orchestra performs 4 concerts, with programs that include “a wide range of repertoire,” including “symphonies, choral masterworks, concertos, and world premieres of new compositions.”
The UNA orchestra meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
The conductor of the UNA orchestra, Dr. Suren Petrosyan, works hard with his students to ensure that audiences have an engaging experience and are attentive throughout the entire concert. He said that the best way to keep an audience engaged is to “offer them the best possible music.”
He encourages everyone, but especially students, to come out and see their upcoming shows.
“Please come, please join,” said Petrosyan. “It is important for us, and it is important for the students. The concert is open to the public, especially for students. And for students, it’s free of charge. When we see our audience, we play better.”
Petrosyan works hard to ensure that his orchestra students are well-prepared for any upcoming performance.
“We practice slowly; we try to figure out how it works together, and we prepare our best version for the concert,” Petrosyan said.
Petrosyan has conducted orchestras at Arkansas State University, Creighton University and at Alma College, Mich., before coming to UNA to conduct for orchestra. He has also conducted in different countries, such as Armenia, Canada, France and Germany.
“One of [my] favorite things about being a conductor is reaching out to the community and audiences in new ways by connecting music to other fields: theater, dance, visual arts, and technology,” Petrosyan said.
There are other opportunities for students to reach out to the community and play in an orchestra outside of UNA, such as the Shoals Symphony at UNA. The Shoals Symphony is composed of students, music faculty, and professionals, who play alongside each other to form a professional ensemble.
According to https://shoalssymphony.org/, “The Shoals Symphony Orchestra at UNA enhances the cultural life of all residents of the Shoals area through musical performances and educational programs.”
The Shoals Symphony at UNA has played various famous musical pieces, such as Mozart’s Requiem, and movie scores from popular movies such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.
Students can audition for both orchestras by emailing Petrosyan at [email protected]. Petrosyan encourages students to join both orchestras.
“We have a variety of selections for each concert, for both orchestras,” Petrosyan said. “If we have anyone on campus who plays any instruments, who would like to join this class, please join us.”
There are benefits for students who join the UNA orchestra, as well, such as scholarships and the ability to play beautiful music with peers.
The UNA orchestra had a show on Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m., titled “The Royal Procession.”
“For this concert on Oct. 8, our theme is ‘The Royal Procession,’ and we have French music, Russian music and mythology,” Petrosyan said. “One of our final pieces [is] ‘Mountain King,’ which is kind of scary, Halloween themed music.”
The concert featured music from Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg, based upon Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt.
Petrosyan encourages audiences to get wrapped into the story being performed. He was excited for audiences to hear the piece “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” composed by Grieg for his incidental music to Ibsen’s Peer Gynt.
“’Mountain King’ is collected from mythology, from tales and as we all know,” Petrosyan said. “A lot of German tales are pretty scary, pretty dark, like ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and all the similar stories. And this is one of them. It’s a creature who lives in the mountains, and he scares people and does nasty things to people. [It’s] very spooky, very energized, [and] very fun.”
The program also had pieces from French composer Chevalier de Saint-Georges, whose historical importance is deeply interesting. Petrosyan said that the orchestra is not about history, however.
“We celebrate his music, which is wonderful, wonderful music,” Petrosyan said.
The Shoals Symphony at UNA also has an upcoming performance on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m., titled “Rhapsody in Blue.”
