UCI Symphony 

The UCI Symphony is one of Southern California’s premiere collegiate orchestral training ensembles. Situated within the Music Department at UCI’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts, the orchestra draws upon the university’s large and diverse population. Open to advanced performers by audition, it typically numbers 65-70 musicians. Approximately 50% of its members are music majors, many of whom concurrently major in a second field. The UCI Symphony is conducted by renowned conductor and educator Dr. Geoffrey Pope.

This orchestra is versatile and engaged in the vibrant performance landscape of Orange County and Los Angeles. It performs 7-9 concerts per academic year, including quarterly concerts held in the Irvine Barclay Theatre, and its Symphony Express concert series held in Winifred Smith Hall. Each spring, it supports the UCI Opera production and UCI Symphony Concerto Competition; collaborations with choral and dance programs also occur on a yearly or biennial basis. Other events include side-by-side learning experiences with professional ensembles, including the Pacific Symphony.

The UCI Symphony performs standard repertoire as well as recently created works and world premieres. Recent orchestra performances have included works such as Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, Louise Farrenc’s Symphony No. 3, Brahms’s Symphony No. 2, the Suite from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Britten’s opera The Turn of the Screw, Ethel Symth’s Overture to The Wreckers, and Juhi Bansal’s Songs from the Deep. In its primary role as an organization designed to prepare students for professional lives in music, the orchestra collaborates frequently with its outstanding faculty performers and renowned soloists such as Boris Allakhverdyan (Principal Clarinet, Los Angeles Philharmonic), fortepianist Daniel Adam Maltz, mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson, duo pianists Anthony and Joseph Paratore, violinists Lyndon Johnston-Taylor (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Nathan Olson (Dallas Symphony), Alyssa Park (Tchaikovsky Competition Prize-Winner), Trio Celeste, Cho-Liang Lin, and the AdZel Duo. Since its founding in 1966, the UCI Symphony’s past conductors have included Peter Odegard, William Fitzpatrick, Dr. Bernard Gilmore, Mehli Mehta, Alvaro Cassuto, Zelman Bokser, Dr. Thomas Cockrell and Dr. Stephen Tucker.

In addition to its on-campus performances, the UCI Symphony has been honored with concert invitations from the College Orchestra Directors Association, the Desert Visionaires in Palm Desert, and the Jewish Community Center of Silicon Valley, and has rehearsed or performed in venues including the stages of Segerstrom Hall and the Soka Performing Arts Center. The orchestra and its members also participate in community-building, entrepreneurial, and educational outreach throughout Southern California independently and through UCI’s Creative Connections program.

Student leadership in UCI Symphony matters is encouraged, providing students vital training in music performance and performance-adjacent work. Principal players lead sectionals twice per quarter, sometimes mentored by faculty or guest artists. Qualified student assistant conductors are appointed either for a full academic year or by quarter, and may sometimes conduct pieces in performance and lead portions of rehearsals. In production assistance, culture, and development, the newly-formed Orchestra Council and the Music Undergraduate Student Association (MUSA) provide students with opportunities to assist year-round. Periodic faculty and student input on programming and other initiatives with UCI’s vibrant community is welcomed.

The orchestra rehearses 7pm-10pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with some performances and additional commitments falling outside these days on occasion. Attendance and musical preparation are mandatory as a requirement for participating in performances.

Auditions are required. Though UCI students comprise 95% of the orchestra, auditions are also open to all faculty, staff, and community members. They take place during Welcome Week, just before the start of Fall Quarter, and are by signup only. Those interested should refer to the Auditions tab below for more information.