F. Ludwig Diehn School of MusicOld Dominion University Symphony Orchestra

2023–2024: Making Connections

The Old Dominion University Symphony Orchestra infuses the power of connection building into a full season of exciting collaborations. Our first concert is part of ODU's Annual Campus Theme titled "Blue Connections," celebrating our coastal community and promoting its long-term preservation by bringing professors across ODU's campus together to share research activities related to coastal flooding and sea levels. We are pleased to invite guest composer Judith Shatin from Charlottesville, presenting her glacier-inspired electroacoustic work "Ice Becomes Water." November brings winners of the Virginia Music Teachers Association's Concerto Competition to collaborate with our orchestra, while also featuring new Diehn School of Music faculty pianist Zachary Deak as a soloist. We are excited in the spring to collaborate with the Visual and Performing Arts Academy in Virginia Beach, as well as to participate in a triple side-by-side concert, on stage with both the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Governor's School of the Arts Orchestra, performing Mahler's delightful and intimate Symphony No. 4. We hope you will experience and take part in the synergistic energy of our concerts this season!

About the Orchestra

Founded in 1977, the Old Dominion University Symphony Orchestra (ODUSO) performs works from the standard classical and contemporary repertoire for full orchestra. It is a fantastic opportunity to interact with other passionate student musicians who work together and challenge each other to make music of the highest quality possible.

ODUSO is open to all students, faculty, and staff at Old Dominion University by audition. Community members may also audition and are considered on an as-needed basis.

In addition to a diverse repertoire from all periods and styles, the ODUSO:

features faculty soloists from ODU and beyond
hosts a department-wide Young Artist Competition in the fall with the winners appearing in the spring
collaborates with leading high school orchestras in the region

Several concerts are performed each season featuring both symphonic and string orchestra literature, often in conjunction with the Concert Choir and ODU Opera. The orchestra also occasionally serves as a laboratory orchestra for composition and conducting students.

The following links below provide additional information about the ODU Symphony Orchestra. Please contact Dr. Paul Sanho Kim if you are interested in joining!

ODU Symphony Orchestra: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Ballade at Virginia Music Educators Association Conference 2022

ODU Symphony Orchestra: Bach Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2. mvt. 1. Andrey Kasparov, soloist; ODU Symphony Orchestra with the Governor's School for the Arts Orchestra, Jeff Phelps, conductor.

ODU Side by Side with the Virginia Symphony

The Old Dominion University Symphony Orchestra teamed up with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra for the first time in 2018 with a side-by-side "Russian Perspectives" concert. Works included Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture, led by music director Paul Kim; Shchedrin's Carmen Suite, conducted by percussion instructor David Walker and featuring the ODU Percussion Ensemble; and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, led by VSO's Benjamin Rous.