Founded in 2015, the Stanford Collaborative Orchestra (SCOr) is Stanford’s first student-run, conductorless symphonic ensemble. We are committed to applying a democratic model of collaborative leadership to the orchestral setting. By tapping into the full creative potential of every musician, we engage in a novel process of music-making to deliver dynamic performances as an orchestra of the students, by the students, for the students.
Traditionally, chamber orchestras are directed by conductors who are in charge of leading rehearsals, making key musical decisions, and guiding the overall vision for the direction of the group. We want to invert this model of musical leadership by creating a musical group wherein the members will democratically and collaboratively engage in the process of music-making.
The inspiration behind our group is the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, a New-York based, conductorless orchestra with a current core membership base of 31 players. Established in 1972, the founders of the orchestra were inspired by various ideals present during this era, including the questioning of authority and the value of collective goals, which led them to create an ensemble based on the principles of shared leadership and responsibility.
We believe that a conductorless chamber orchestra has the potential to combine the intimacy and tight-knit community of a chamber ensemble with the expressive power of a larger orchestra. Our goal is to realize this potential—to create a community of musicians who will engage in a novel process of music-making that challenges us to develop not only as musicians, but also as leaders, teachers, students, listeners, and communicators.
We are generously supported by the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU), the Stanford Department of Music, and our faculty advisor Christopher Costanza.
Auditions happen at the beginning of each quarter. For Winter 2023-24, we have time slots Tuesday through Thursday of Week 2 (1/16-18)!
Braun Music Center (in case of change, we will email you).
The audition will consist of the following parts:
• A scale of your choice (except harps and percussion).
• 2~5 minutes of solo music.
• Orchestral excerpts for your instrument (provided below).
• A short sight reading segment provided during the audition.
In addition, we will talk about you and your musical (and non-musical) background. More details about the audition are in this Google document. If you have any questions, please reach us at stanfordcollaborativeorchestra@stanford.edu.
Note: if you do not currently have your instrument with you, but would like to audition - please reach out to us! We would be happy to make accommodations for you.
Note for Winter 2023-24: Unfortunately, we are currently not taking auditions for pianists.
SCOr hosted an open sightreading session for Stanford in Fall 2023! We read through the following pieces:
• Beethoven Symphony 6: "Pastoral"
• Dvorak Suite in A Major: "American"
Boba was provided with RVSP!