Mission

Mission Statement
The ASU Orchestra program in the ASU Herberger College School of Music is dedicated to providing the finest musical and educational opportunities for those qualified individuals interested in studying and performing a wide variety of orchestral music.

As one of the country's foremost university orchestra programs, the faculty and administration are committed to the training and development of professional orchestral performers (instrumentalists and conductors), orchestral music educators and therapists, musicologists, theorists, composers, arts administrators and future arts supporters. The students share in this commitment, aspiring to the highest possible standards of musical excellence. Each ensemble strives for the highest standards of excellence in performance, promotes comprehensive musicianship and encourages the personal growth of each individual player.

Each performing organization – University Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta and Chamber Orchestra – possess the artistic integrity to present a variety of well-structured, entertaining, enlightening and challenging programs. The orchestra program is committed to performing all facets of the orchestral repertoire and to the development and performance of a contemporary American repertoire. The orchestra program strongly encourages the on-going study and performance of chamber music.

The program is committed to preparing students for an ever-changing cultural/musical environment including the many and complex roles of a professional musician in our society. Also, the program educates and develops new audiences for classical music.

In addition, the program supports the life and work of the School of Music as well serves the larger university community and the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Part of this service includes providing leadership and advocacy for music education in primary and secondary schools.

For more information about the orchestra program, please contact Timothy Russell, director of the orchestras.

"Walt Whitman's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd has been set to music before, though not, to my knowledge, with such inward sense of drama as in George Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning score, Lilacs…Lilacs, as performed by soprano Faye Robinson and the University Orchestra of Arizona State University under conductor Timothy Russell, was given its Arizona premiere Wednesday evening at Gammage Auditorium. The performance was a tribute to Russell's work with the orchestra over the past few seasons - it is now an ensemble that can master the sneaky intricacies of contemporary music and come off polished…the orchestra - in particular the brass - was full-voiced and inspired…the performance displayed a string section of uniformity and resilience."
- The Arizona Republic