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OU Symphony Orchestra

The OU Symphony Orchestra is one of the most exciting collegiate ensembles in American universities today. The orchestra has gained attention for its sell-out performances in Dallas’ Morton H. Meyerson Center and Houston’s Wortham Center, as well as for hosting the unique 4x4 Prizes for Composers and Conductors. The ensemble performs regularly at the University of Oklahoma, playing a wide repertoire of orchestral and opera music.

Highlights of recent seasons include performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Brahms’ Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1, George Walker’s Sinfonia No. 4, the Oklahoma premieres of Wang Lu’s Wailing and Anthony Brandt’s Making Perfect, Debussy’s La Mer, Strauss’ Four Last Songs with alumnus Julie Davies, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Haydn’s Symphony No. 44, Duke Ellington’s Three Black Kings, Anton Webern’s Passacaglia, Roger Sessions’ The Black Maskers, and staged performances of Lori Laitman’s opera The Scarlet Letter, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel, and Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte.

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Concert highlights during the 2022-23 season include a collaboration with composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate in a staged performance of his orchestral and theatrical work Clans, the Oklahoma premiere of Lera Auerbach’s Icarus, Stravinsky’s Orpheus, Franck’s Symphony in d minor, Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, a concert performance of Rossini’s opera La Scala di Seta and staged performances of Carlisle Floyd’s opera Susannah, Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber, Ravel’s Une Barque Sur L’Ocean, and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3.

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Jonathan Shames
jshames@ou.edu
Music Director and Conductor, OU Symphony Orchestra
Artistic Director and Conductor, OU Opera Theater
Director of Orchestral Studies, OU
Professor of Orchestral Conducting

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