Swarthmore College Orchestra

Swarthmore College Orchestra performs in Lang Concert Hall

The Swarthmore College Orchestra, directed by Andrew Hauze '04, rehearses once a week for three hours in Lang Concert Hall and performs a full concert at the end of each semester.  Made up of more than sixty musicians, most SCO members are Swarthmore students, supplemented by members of the faculty, staff, community, and local professionals.


The Orchestra is dedicated to bringing great orchestral music to the Swarthmore campus. We perform a wide range of music spanning over three centuries up to the present day. (Please read our full repertoire vision statement here. You can also find a list of our repertoire since 2006 here [pdf].)  

The Orchestra holds a student concerto competition each year: the winner of the competition performs a concerto movement with the orchestra at the spring concert.  We regularly welcome internationally renowned guest soloists and sometimes take field trips to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

 

2024-2025 Performance Dates

Sunday, December 8, 2024 @ 7:30pm in Lang Concert Hall 
Saturday, April 26, 2025 @ 8pm in Lang Concert Hall
 

Orchestra Auditions, Spring 2025

We welcome auditions for the Spring Semester of Orchestra! We have openings for all string instruments, clarinet, horn, and trumpet.

This semester we will be playing Dmitri Shostakovich's epic Fifth Symphony, plus a concerto with the winner of the 2025 Concerto Competition, and a new piece written for our orchestra by T Sallie '25.

If you're interested in joining, please prepare any 3-4 minute excerpt from your repertoire to play at a very low-key audition. Play anything that you feel comfortable playing and that will give me a sense of your current level. Please email me at ahauze1@swarthmore.edu to arrange a time to audition during the first week of classes.

Orchestra rehearses on Monday nights from 7-10 pm in Lang Concert Hall (though we sometimes have sectional rehearsals, so you are not always called for the full three hours of rehearsal time). Our first rehearsal will be on Monday, January 27. Orchestra can be taken for 0.5 credit or 0 credit. Please email ahauze1@swarthmore.edu with any questions.



 

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo by Laurence Kesterson

Swarthmore College Orchestra's Fall 2023 performance in Lang Concert Hall

Photo / Laurence Kesterson
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Swarthmore College Orchestra, Spring 2024

An excerpt from the Swarthmore College Orchestra's performance of Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade, movement 4 - Directed by Andrew Hauze

Swarthmore College Orchestra, Spring 2024

The Swarthmore College Orchestra performs Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto, movement 4, Allegro - Directed by Andrew Hauze, featuring concerto competition winner Seungmin Fruman ’24, cello

Swarthmore College Orchestra, Fall 2023

The Swarthmore College Orchestra performs Grace Williams' Penillion, movement 3, Andante con tristezza - Directed by Andrew Hauze

David Kim soloist with orchestra

David Kim, the concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Swarthmore College Orchestra in November, 2017. Mr. Kim is one of our 2017-2018 Featured Artists.

Sounds of Cinema: Cinderella

The closing scene of Cinderella (1922, directed by Lotte Reiniger), performed on April 1, 2017. The score was written for this performance by Swarthmore Professor Thomas Whitman and featured members of the Swarthmore College Orchestra and Orchestra 2001, conducted by Andrew Hauze.