Skidmore College Orchestra

Coached by Glen Cortese, MP 289 
Contact: Glen Cortese 

The Skidmore College orchestra is a semi-professional orchestra made up of Skidmore students and top players from several regional professional orchestras, including the Albany Symphony, Berkshire Symphony, Schenectady Symphony, and Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra. Skidmore's unique orchestral program emphasizes students in the most important orchestral positions and features students in the most important solos. Our professional members create a unique atmosphere where students participate in a living orchestral lesson each week with the top professional players assisting our students in each rehearsal. This combination of professional and student players creates an exciting synergy and an exciting concert atmosphere for players and audience members alike.

Student soloists are also featured each year as winners of the Orchestral Concerto Competition.

Students interested in Skidmore Orchestra should be prepared to audition at the beginning of the semester. The audition has three parts:

• playing one or two prepared excerpts (about 6 minutes total), one of which shows off your technical abilities (fast notes) and another that shows your more lyrical abilities (sustained slower notes, especially in various ranges). The most important part is that you prepare. The occasional wrong note is not important in this audition. The most important thing is the overall level of playing you demonstrate.
• sight-reading a brief orchestral excerpt.
• playing scales: you might be asked to play a few major and minor scales. If you are a little rusty on your scales, this is a good time to practice up a bit. Scales are not essential for passing the audition, but it doesn't hurt if you are fluent in them.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Music Department office at 518-580-5320 for assistance.

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Residency Detail