The concert calendar for the Seven Hills Symphony is now available by clicking on the “concerts” tab above. Season highlights include the addition of a third concert, a youth concerto competition, and even more great music including Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3 and Symphony No. 5, Sibelius’ Finlandia, and Copland’s Outdoor Overture.
click here to link to the article:
Friday, May 9, 2008
Healing art
Seven Hills Symphony orchestra emerges from UMass Medical School
By Richard Duckett TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
In 2005 an interesting flier was making its way around the campus of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
“UMass Medical School Orchestra Information Meeting …”
Music was about to make an infusion.
Joanna Chaurette, an MD/PhD student, was new to the medical school and new to Worcester. She is also a cellist and is married to a musician.
“It has a really great hall and really good orchestras coming through,” she said of Mechanics Hall and the Worcester music scene. “But I thought it should have a community music group.”
The information meetings proved to be well attended. Later that year the Seven Hills Symphony orchestra gave its first concert on the UMass Medical School campus.
At 7:30 tonight the orchestra will be at a larger venue as it presents a spring concert in Worcester Technical High School. The concert, titled “Romantic Masters,” will include Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, Berlioz’s Hungarian March, and Cello Concerto by Saint-Saens. Chaurette’s husband, Scott Chaurette, will conduct and also give a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m.
The Seven Hills Symphony consists of 50 musicians who are variously medical students, graduate students, UMass professors, medical doctors, as well as people from all walks of life from the community at large. True to Chaurette’s prescription of what a community orchestra should be like, it is open to musicians of all levels of ability, weak or strong. Similarly true to a community-minded spirit, all Worcester Public Schools students will be admitted free for tonight’s performance.
“We wanted it to be fun. We wanted to make sure this is nonthreatening and everyone’s welcome,” Chaurette said. “I think the success of it has justified it.”
The orchestra now gives two concerts a year, and is thinking of expanding that to three. Seven Hills Symphony also puts on several chamber music performances each year. Rehearsals are every Sunday at the UMass Medical School campus.
Joanna Chaurette is originally from Kansas and received her undergraduate degree from UMass-Boston. Scott Chaurette is from Salem and is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory with a master’s degree from the University of Illinois. After a spell living in Worcester the couple moved to Putnam, Conn. Scott Chaurette is studying conducting at the University of Connecticut, where he is also a member of the faculty. Additionally, he is orchestra director at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Conn. One other credit — he is music director of the Seven Hills Symphony.
“My husband is brilliant at picking music to play for the people we have,” Joanna Chaurette said of the orchestra programming to its strengths.
The first informational meetings were attended mostly by medical students and doctors. “And then they told their friends, and the friends told their friends.” Chaurette said she wanted a full orchestra, and soon had one. “It was mostly by word of mouth.”
The idea of forming an orchestra that would be based at a medical school is not quite the misdiagnosis some might think it to be. “A lot of orchestras are affiliated with medical schools,” Chaurette said. For example, the Longwood Symphony Orchestra was established in 1982 by members of the Harvard Medical School community. The dual mission of the LSO is to provide opportunities for musicians in the medical professions to perform works of musical diversity and artistic excellence while supporting health-related nonprofit organizations.
Is there a link between science, medicine and music?
“There is kind of an overlap. I think there is something,” Chaurette said.
But, as was mentioned earlier, the Seven Hills Symphony welcomes everyone. Auditions are performer friendly. “We encourage people to bring their own instruments for auditions and play so we know how you sound. Then you meet the conductor.” He’s good at “fitting people in.”
At the first public concert there were people on stage who had never played in an orchestra before. Others had not played in one for 20 or so years, Chaurette recalled.
“It was exciting for everyone.” Furthermore, the hall at UMass where they performed was packed. “That was amazing. I expected fewer people in the audience than playing.”
The Seven Hills Symphony has continued to grow, but appropriately enough for an orchestra, there are ringers.
“We shore up first violinist and second violinist,” she said of professional musicians who are brought in for public performances. The guest soloist for tonight’s concert will be renowned cello virtuoso Kangho Lee, who is professor of cello and chamber music at the University of Connecticut.
Meanwhile, “We have strong people in every section. It works out,” Chaurette said. “We have some weak players, but that’s part of the fun — to have something that everyone can participate in. The conductor is very good at leading the orchestra. He gives everyone a lot of confidence in themselves.”
Of course, Chaurette might be a bit biased in making that assessment.
But how good is the orchestra, really?
“For a community group they play some things really well. We play amazing music,” Chaurette said.
“And Dvorak is Dvorak. No matter who’s playing it, the music’s there and the music really does come through because of the beauty of the pieces. Dvorak is gonna be Dvorak, and it’s gonna be beautiful.”
And in this case perhaps, just what the doctor ordered.
1 Skyline Drive
Worcester, MA 01605
Coming into Worcester on 290 West
Take Exit 19 for Route 9/Lincoln Street. At the light take a right. At next light bear left for Route 9. At next light turn left onto Route 9 East. Follow Route 9 to top of hill past pond. At first light past pond, take a left onto Skyline Drive. School entrance is first open gate on the right.
Coming into Worcester on 290 East
Take Exit 17, Route 9. At the light take a right. Follow Route 9 to top of hill past pond. At first light past pond take a left onto Skyline Drive. School entrance is first open gate on the right.
Coming into Worcester on Route 9 West
Follow Route 9 past Shrewsbury Street. See signs for Greenhill Park. At light turn right onto Skyline Drive. School entrance is first open gate on the right.
Coming into Worcester on Route 9 East
Follow Route 9 through downtown past courthouse to top of hill past pond. At first light past pond take a left onto Skyline Drive. School entrance is first open gate on the right.
Travel time from the medical school is less than 5 minutes.
We are happy to announce our spring concert featuring cello soloist Kangho Lee performing the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto in a minor. This exciting concert will also include Berlioz’s Hungarian March and Dvorak’s spectacular Eighth Symphony. We will be venturing away from our venue on the Campus of UMass Medical School across the street to the brand new, beautiful auditorium at Worcester Technical High School. Please join us for this very special concert!
The Seven Hills Symphony is an orchestra comprised of 50 community members, students, faculty, and staff the University of Massachusetts Medical School and UMass Memorial. Directed by Scott Chaurette, the symphony will hold their spring concert on May 9, 2008 at 7:30pm.
Since its inception in the fall 2005 the symphony has grown from a small group of players to over 50 talented and dedicated amateur and professional musicians. Under the leadership of the symphony’s founder/president, UMass Medical School student Joanna Chaurette and her husband, music director Scott Chaurette the symphony reaches out to classical music lovers in Worcester and surrounding central mass. They present two yearly concerts with repertoire ranging from classic masterworks to contemporary pops.