Black tuxedos and crisp bow ties replace musty tweed jackets. A grand symphony stage is substituted for a lecture hall. The pupils are transformed into a live audience, as the usual study on music theory is suddenly molded into a grand concerto, complete with blaring trumpets and rumbling drums.

No, this isn’t magic. It’s what Syracuse University students have to look forward to, courtesy of Daniel Hege, conductor of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

‘I think it’s really cool,’ said senior music industry major Abigail Ottenjohn. ‘If you’re developing a relationship with a professor, kids are going to be much more inclined to go (to the concerts).’

Hege, the conductor of the SSO for the past 10 years, will join the Setnor School of Music within the College of Visual and Performing Arts as a professor of practice. In the midst of its 50th year of operation, the SSO and SU are expanding and deepening their relationship beginning this season.

The SSO and the university have agreed to put on three on-campus shows every year through 2012, all free of charge. The SSO guest artists will also become more involved with the SU community, taking part in seminars, master classes and other special presentations. This new agreement has already started sparking student interest. Included in the previous artistic partnership were master classes, open auditions and one annual SSO concert.

‘I think it’s a very natural next step in the relationship we’re trying to forge between Syracuse University and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra,’ Hege said. ‘I’m hoping that my presence there will help us to come together more.’

Effort is one thing. For all the knowledge and expertise a practical professor may have, Hege thinks students need to be engaged professionally as well. Bringing out that interest in students is where the job becomes trickier, he said.

‘What would be great is to raise the profile of the symphony at the university so that more students know about it and get enthused about it,’ Hege said. ‘Students who are part of an educational institution get to learn technique, which is very important — but I think it’s very important to have a very direct relationship to the real world. I think that’s something that the SSO and I can bring to the table.’

Four years ago, Ottenjohn, along with most of her class, went to watch Joseph Downing, an SU associate professor of music composition, perform with the SSO. She said it was a positive experience that could become more frequent with the expanded agreement.

‘It’s definitely a relationship that could make a big difference,’ Ottenjohn said.

The six total on-campus concerts, which will take place during the fall, spring and summer of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, will be free of charge. The final goal is to bring jazz and concert music into the larger culture, both on campus and in the community, said Andrew Waggoner, co-interim director of the Setnor School of Music.

‘The Symphony and the Setnor School of Music have a long history of mutual support; this is only natural,’ Waggoner said. ‘Having Daniel Hege work with our students is just one part of what will be a broad and imaginative interaction between the school and the orchestra.’

akgould@syr.edu

 

Published on September 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm