Strings will sing Sunday, as Baker University’s orchestra will take the stage in Rice Auditorium for its fall concert.
Adjunct Instructor of Music and Orchestra Director Lori McKinney said the group will play a total of six works, some of which have more than one movement. The show, which begins at 3:30 p.m., will last about an hour.
McKinney said in order to expose her students to different styles and composers of music, she tries to vary the literature from composer to composer and chooses literature from each historical period. The concert will include music from the baroque, classical and romantic periods and from the 20th century as well.
“We haven’t done much 20th century music until the last couple concerts, so we’re trying to involve more,” she said.
McKinney said the literature for this concert is more difficult than most fall concerts, the most difficult of these being a movement by Antonín Dvo?ák. The piece is part of a larger piece, which McKinney hopes the group will be able to expand on throughout the year.
“This is a very difficult piece and there is no way we could have done that for the first concert,” she said.
Junior Justine Greve said the Dvo?ák serenade is the piece she is most looking forward to performing, but also the least because it could potentially cause the most problems. She said the music doesn’t seem too difficult for the group to handle.
Freshman Megan Myrick said the Dvo?ák piece is her favorite piece because of the different technical elements of the song.
McKinney said the 19-member group is a little smaller than it has been in the past few years. There are five new members, including freshmen and transfers.
“It’s our first concert of the school year, so just to get the students out on the stage for the first time is exciting,” she said.
Myrick said she thinks that having a smaller group helps by making it easier to get everyone on the same page.
Greve said the group is doing a good job of working together as a smaller unit. Many leadership roles were left vacant by students who left recently, so many new people have had to take over those roles.
“People are filling those positions well, so that’s working out,” she said.
McKinney said she chooses music based on the strengths and weaknesses of the group. She said this year there is a variety of different skill levels within the group.
“The new leaders are rising to the occasion of their responsibilities and they’re working together nicely,” she said.
Myrick said she feels like it has been a productive semester and that she has learned a lot.
“I think I’m paying more attention to details than I have before,” she said.
Myrick said the orchestra here is more driven to good sound than her high school orchestra.
“They actually care about what they sound like,” she said.
McKinney said most of the people who attend orchestra concerts are friends, family members and music students trying to fulfill concert attendance requirements.
“I think the more students you have on the stage, the more people will be in the audience,” she said.
Greve said she’d like to see more people at the orchestra concert.
“We’ve put some time into rehearsing it, and it would be nice if more Baker students come to it,” she said.
Greve said she likes playing concerts because it gives her a chance to show off what she’s learned.
“Being able to come together with a group of people and play music together, I guess it’s just kind of like a sports team working for a common purpose,” she said.