Join the MIT Symphony Orchestra for their first concert of the spring semester!
March 7, 2025 8:00pm | Kresge Auditorium
Repertoire
- Violin Concerto No. 2 'Return', Elena Ruehr
- Variations on an Original Theme ('Enigma'). Sir Edward Elgar
Adam Boyles, Conductor
Natalie Lin Douglas, violin
This concert begins with the world premiere of Elena Ruehr’s Violin Concerto No. 2 entitled ’Return’, and will be performed by Natalie Lin Douglas. The work was written as a response to a performance by Prof. Douglas during COVID, and it meant to convey a sense of returning both in physical presence and musical structure. Also featured is the "Variations on an Original Theme (‘Enigma’)" of Sir Edward Elgar, a series of musical portraits, both explicit and hidden, based on Elgar’s family and friends.
About the MIT Symphony Orchestra
The central mission of the MIT Symphony Orchestra is the cultural enhancement of education at MIT by promoting music performance at the highest level of artistic excellence among MIT students, by nurturing new works and young artists, by developing and sustaining the widest possible audience. The orchestra’s repertoire consists of works from the entire symphonic canon, spanning works of the early Baroque era to contemporary compositions, and including music for film and theatre.
Compositions by MIT faculty are also part of MITSO’s repertoire. The orchestra recently recorded Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique, and has participated in masterclasses with Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Roger Norrington, and Nicholas McGegan. Frequent collaborations with other ensembles such as the MIT Concert Choir, the theater program, with members of the faculty and performances by MITSOlite, a chamber orchestra comprised of MITSO members, are also part of MITSO’s activities.
The students in the MIT Symphony Orchestra come from a variety of fields including: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Biology, Mathematics, Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Nuclear Science and Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Management, Architecture, and Materials Science & Engineering.
This project is presented as part of Artfinity, an Institute-sponsored event celebrating creativity and community at MIT. Artfinity is organized by the Office of the Arts.
