Orchestral Activities Information

Stanford Symphony Orchestra / Stanford Philharmonia

The Stanford Symphony Orchestra (MUSIC 160/160Z) and Stanford Philharmonia (MUSIC 160A/160AZ) provide outstanding opportunities for the practice and enjoyment of orchestral music, rehearsing and performing throughout the academic year. SSO rehearses on Monday and Thursday evenings in Bing Concert Hall from 7:00-9:30pm; SP rehearses in Bing on Tuesday evenings from 7:00-9:30pm. Most concerts are performed in Bing Concert Hall. Collaborative performances often take place with the Stanford Chamber Chorale, Stanford Symphony Chorus, University Singers, Stanford Wind Symphony, and Stanford Live. Membership, by audition, in SSO and SP is open to all Stanford students (undergraduate and graduate), Stanford staff and faculty, and members of the community of all ages, with priority given to Stanford students. Members do not have to major in music; in fact, fewer than 5% of SSO and SP members are music majors, with most orchestra members majoring in STEM fields. 

Anyone interested in auditioning for SSO and/or SP later this year should fill out the Orchestra Participation Form and send an email expressing interest to <orchestra@stanford.edu>. While most auditions take place in September, additional auditions are held later in the year for those wishing to join SSO or SP in Winter or Spring Quarter, depending on openings that may be available throughout the year. The 2022 Concerto Competition will take place on Saturday, 19 February. The deadline to enter the competition was 4 February 2022 and no more entrants will be accepted into this year’s competition.

In September 2021, 115 members were accepted into SSO following competitive auditions by over 200 students. The SSO performed its annual Halloween Concert in October in collaboration with the Stanford Wind Symphony, performing Pirates of the Caribbean, Theme from Jurassic Park, and other works. In November, the SSO performed a pair of Fall Concerts featuring Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi and Piano Concerto in A Minor by Edvard Grieg with Concerto Competition Winner Ethan Chi ’22 as soloist, plus works by Valerie Coleman, William Grant Still, and Paul Phillips. In March 2022, the SSO will perform George Walker’s Icarus in Orbit, Walton’s Viola Concerto with Concerto Competition Winner Addison Jadwin ’23 as soloist, and The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. And in May 2022, the SSO will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection”, with soprano Esther Tonea and mezzo-soprano Malin Fritz Walrod in collaboration with the Stanford Symphony Chorus.

The SP fall roster comprises 43 musicians – 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings (8 8 6 5 3) – with clarinet, harp, keyboard, and percussion to be added later this year. The SP Fall Concert in November included music by Mozart, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Haydn, Koechlin, and Britten. In December, SP performed music by Handel, Mozart, and William Grant Still for the annual Friends of Music Holiday Musicale. A concert tour of Bermuda by SP is planned for March 2022, with the orchestra performing at the Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts.

The vast majority of orchestra members play in SSO or SP, not both. However, in some cases, students may be allowed to play in SSO and SP during the same quarter; typically, there are about five students per quarter who do so. Students in SSO should register for MUSIC 160 (1 unit) or 160Z (0 unit). Those in SP should register for MUSIC 160A (1 unit) or 160AZ (0 unit). Registration codes, which are required to enroll in the zero-unit versions of SSO and SP, are distributed to all students who request them once the rosters have been determined. Students in SSO and SP should register for both courses.

Concert dress for most SSO and SP concerts is elegant black attire for women and tuxedo (or black suit) with black bow tie and white shirt for men, with black shoes for everyone. For some performances, the dress code is all black for everyone – sometimes black shirts and pants only for men, and sometimes black shirts with black suits or tuxedos. Generally, the dress code for Stanford Summer Symphony is white top and black bottom for women, and white shirts and black pants for men. The annual SSO Halloween concert is performed in costumes (by section) that are determined after the start of Fall Quarter.