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Philharmonia at Houghton College
The Houghton Philharmonia is a flexible group of 50-60 orchestral musicians, including strings, winds, and percussion. Both music majors and non-music majors participate in these ensembles, supplemented at times by players from the College communities. Student membership is open; seating assignments are made based on brief, low-pressure auditions. Several orchestral concerts are presented each year in the John and Charles Wesley Chapel on the Houghton College campus.
The orchestra rehearses and performs repertoire from all the major musical eras—works of Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Post-Romantic, and later Twentieth-Century masters, including music by living composers. Players are also sometimes exposed to further significant, high-quality orchestral music in repertory reading sessions. Typically, a bi-annual soloist competition is held; winners perform with the orchestra.
A typical week in the life of the orchestra includes four hours of full-ensemble rehearsal. The strings are also instructed during the week by Dr. Donna Lorenzo, Assistant Professor of Violin & Viola, in the Philharmonia Strings Lab. Prayer times and shared devotional thoughts are regular features of rehearsals, as well.
The Houghton Philharmonia is under the direction of Brian Casey (BA, Harding University; MM, University of Delaware; DA, University of Northern Colorado). Dr. Casey also teaches conducting and horn, as well as advising/teaching advanced and graduate conductors and coordinating chamber music programming.
Prospective students: Are you planning to visit the Houghton College campus? If so, we invite you to visit a Philharmonia rehearsal (Tuesday and Thursday afternoons) during your stay. Rehearsals are always open; please e-mail us for details.
Email the Music Director, Brian Casey
Dr. Casey’s Bio
Extended Professional Info Page
See additional Philharmonia photos on Dr. Casey's personal pages
CONCERT CALENDAR
The 2010-11 season featured two major symphonies by master composers Beethoven and Dvorak, plus significant excerpts from Haydn’s The Creation, performed with the Houghton College Choir. In addition, a family concert of all French music was presented in February, including the Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and the immortal Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns. Competition soloists J ennifer Curinga (voice) and Rachel Smith (flute) were highlighted in November.
The upcoming 2011-12 season will include three full-orchestra concerts, student keyboard and horn soloists, Professor Ernest Lascell, clarinet, and Professor Chisato Eda Marling, saxophone. Collaboration with choral ensembles in the fifth annual gala Christmas Prism concert will treat three audiences in early December. Programmed repertoire includes works by Weber, Mozart, Prokofiev, and Rimsky-Korsakov. The season’s schedule includes the following major concerts:
- Sat, Sep. 24 – KANSAS with Philharmonia
- Fri, Nov. 4 — Philharmonia and Camerata: Structure: Classics and Neoclassics
- Fri, Dec. 2, Sat, Dec. 3, Sun, Dec. 4 — 5th annual Prism
- Fri, Feb. 10 — Philharmonia: Movements and Motions III: A Few More Bs
- Sat, Apr. 14 — Philharmonia: Russians & Rhapsodies
Concerts are in Wesley Chapel at 8:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
CHAMBER MUSIC
The Camerata Chamber Orchestra is a smaller group of string, wind, and percussion players selected from within the Philharmonia for specific pieces. This season, the Chamber Orchestra musicians will perform two works (November and February).
Throughout the year, collaborating on other chamber music programming with smaller ensembles are Donna Lorenzo, Director of Strings; Paul DeBoer, Professor of Brass Instruments and director of the Houghton Brass Ensemble; Ernest Lascell, Instructor of Clarinet and Woodwinds, and additional studio teachers.
APPLIED MUSIC FACULTY
The string faculty at Houghton College consists of Donna Lorenzo, viola and violin and Director of Strings (BM Houghton; MM, Juilliard School of Music; DMA, Eastman School of Music), Rintaro Wada, cello (MM, Eastman), Brett Shurtliffe, double bass (MM, Duquesne University), Nan Richmond, harp (DMA, Eastman), and Anton Machleder, guitar (DMA, Eastman).
* For information on string scholarship auditions and applied study, please e-mail Dr. Lorenzo.
Houghton’s wind and percussion faculty consists of Euridice Alvarez, oboe (DMA candidate, Eastman); Brian Casey, horn; Paul DeBoer, trumpet, trombone, and euphonium (DMus, Indiana University); Chisato Eda, saxophone (DMA, Eastman); Ernest Lascell, clarinet (MM, Northwestern); Angela Kinney McBrearty, flute (PhD, Eastman); Abe Weiss, bassoon (MM); Craig Sutherland, tuba (MM, Julliard); and Jim Tiller, percussion (MM, Eastman).
