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The
Florida State University Orchestral Studies Program
has enjoyed a long and illustrious history. The Florida
State College Orchestra was formed in 1925 by violin
professor Ethel Maud and in 1947, with the change from
a college for women to a co-educational university,
the College Orchestra became know as the University
Symphony under the leadership of Robert Sedore. In 1949,
Karl Kuersteiner formed the State Symphony of Florida,
the predecessor of the FSU Chamber Orchestra. From 1967
until 1971 the Chamber Orchestra was led by former Boston
Symphony Orchestra associate conductor, Richard Burgin.
In 1972 Phillip Spurgeon became Director of Orchestral
Activities, a position he held until his retirement
in 2003. During that time FSU's orchestral program saw
dramatic growth artistically and in scope. In 2000,
the University Philharmonia was created under the direction
of Alexander Jiménez.
In 2004, Dr. Jiménez became Director of Orchestral
Activities.
Guest
artists who have appeared with the University Orchestras
over the years have included many of the world's best
known. Among them have been singers Lauritz Melchoir,
Lawrence Tibbett, and Denyce Graves; composers and conductors
Aaron Copland, Krystof Penderecki, Robert Shaw, Robert
Spano, Michael Stern, Pablo Casals; and instrumentalists
Joshua Bell, André Watts, the Kalichstein-Robinson-Laredo
Trio, Billy Taylor, and the Canadian Brass. In January
of 1975, Professor Spurgeon led the University Symphony
in a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
as a part of its Schoenberg-Ives Celebration. In 1991
the Chamber Orchestra presented a concert at New York's
Lincoln Center during the Mozart Bicentennial Celebration.
Recently, the USO completed a recording project of concerti
by Ellen Taafe Zwilich on
the Koch label with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson
Trio, and in 2002 the University Philharmonia performed
the world-premiere of Jeff Beal’s score to accompany
the great silent film classic, The General,
as part of FSU's Seven
Days of Opening Nights Festival.
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