The BYU Philharmonic Closes Out its Season With Conductor Kory Katseanes’ Favorite Pieces
BYU’s Philharmonic Orchestra is an auditioned orchestra made up of 95 student musicians, and is considered one of the most prestigious at BYU. They play symphonic compositions from all musical periods up to the 21st century, but their focus is the Romantic period. The orchestra regularly collaborates with opera and ballet at BYU. They play with “supreme confidence and a sense of total abandon” according to Robert Markow of Fanfare Magazine, and they are some of BYU’s finest musicians.
Professor Kory Katseanes has conducted for over 35 years and he joined BYU’s music program in 1999. The performances with BYU’s Philharmonic are the final concerts before his retirement. Under his direction, the Philharmonic will perform the Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss with soprano Jennifer Welch Babidge, and Mahler’s iconic First Symphony.
Katseanes received an award last December for conducting a 2019 performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. When he received the award, Katseanes said that Symphony No. 9 is “very rarely attempted by a university orchestra because of its complexity and difficulty,” but that BYU’s Philharmonic performed wonderfully.
Join the Philharmonic Orchestra at their inaugural concerts in the new Concert Hall. Tickets are not required, and seating is first-come-first-serve.
Performance Dates and Times: Friday, April 14 / Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 pm
Location: Music Building: Concert Hall
