Type of Ensemble: String Ensemble for violins, violas, cellos, and basses. 2018-19 enrollment: 53
Typical Symphonette Students: Symphonette are generally from the greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area and from as far as West Virginia and Ohio. While auditions are based on playing level and not age, most students are in between 7th and 12th grades, with some younger students and some older students.
Conductor: Andrew Wickesberg is the conductor of Symphonette. See Artistic Staff for more information about Mr. Wickesberg.
EQTeach Coaches: Students break out into periodic sectionals to focus on technique and their individual parts. Symphonette coaching staff is drawn from members of the Pittsburgh Symphony and other professional local teaching artists. See Artistic Staff for more information about Symphonette’s artistic staff. EQTeach is underwritten by the EQT Foundation.
Performances: Symphonette performs two to four concerts a year.
Rehearsals: Symphonette rehearses on Saturday mornings from 10:00am to 12:30pm at the Mary Pappert School of Music of Duquesne University.
Retreats: Symphonette has a season retreat day camp at the start of each season at the Mary Pappert School of Music of Duquesne University.
Travel: TRYPO large ensembles travel every three years. The 2014-15 season was a travel year for Symphonette, which had a day trip to the Chautauqua Institute. During the 2017-18 season, Symphonette participated in a dual exchange with the Youth Philharmonic from the DC Youth Orchestra program. All Symphonette students are expected and encouraged to travel with Symphonette during a travel season. However, with proper notice, permission to miss the trip may be granted without jeopardizing the student’s membership in the orchestra. The next travel season is the 2020-21 season.
Auditions: Symphonette has auditions every May/June for entry to the next season. See New Member Auditions for more information on how to join Symphonette and for current openings (if any).
Repertoire: Symphonette performs challenging repertoire for string orchestra according to their level of playing abilities. Recent repertoire selections have included:
- Finzi’s Prelude for Strings: 18-19 Season
- Warlock’s Capriol Suite: 18-19 Season
- Handel’s Concerto grosso, op. 6 no. 6 in G minor: 17-18 Season
- Elgar’s Serenade for strings in E minor: 16-17 Season
- Part’s Summa for Strings: 16-17 Season
- Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances: 16-17 Season
- Rutter’s Suite for Strings: 16-17 Season
- Grieg’s Two Elegiac Melodies: 16-17 Season
- Handel’s Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 7 in B flat Major, HWV325: 15-16 Season
- Janáček’s Idyll for String Orchestra: 15-16 Season
- Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 8 in D Major: 15-16 Season
- Telemann’s Viola Concerto in G Major, TWV 51:G9 (featuring Marylène Gingras-Roy, viola): 15-16 Season
- O’Conner’s Appalachia Waltz: 15-16 Season
- Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G major, BWV 1048: 14-15 Season
- Haydn’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Major (featuring Marta Krechkovsky, violin): 14-15 Season
Tuition: 2019-20 Tuition Fees are as follows. Visit our Tuition Assistance page for more information about scholarships.
| Symphonette Tuition Fees | Total Annual Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition | $700 |
| Symphonette Day Tuition (Mandatory) | $20 |