Public invited to OU orchestra concert

You’re invited to Ottawa University’s orchestra concert this weekend.

“The  orchestra is made up of OU students and faculty, community members and guest musicians from area schools of music,”  Steven McDonald, assistant professor of music at OU and conductor of the orchestra, said.  

The concert, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at the chapel, 1001 S. Cedar St., Ottawa, is the orchestra’s first concert of the year. The event is free and open to the public.

The concert will feature music for string orchestra by British composers Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams and William Walton and Symphony No. 82 by Haydn.

McDonald said the orchestra will perform three other concerts this year.

“We do an orchestra concert in the fall, one on Christmas, one in winter and one in spring,” he said.

Sang Lee, a junior violin major and international student from South Korea, said she is excited about the coming concert as well as future concerts.

“I think the most interesting concert will be the Christmas concert,” she said.  

McDonald said the music department is trying to recruit more OU students for the orchestra.

“We’re right at the beginning of a rebuilding phase for the entire music department,” he said.