Northwestern University Orchestras

05/23/2025

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the 2025 Bienen School of Music Concerto/Aria Competition!

Marie Engle, Hiu Sing Fan, Angeline Ma, and Leigh Wang will perform with NUCO and NUSO in the upcoming 25-26 academic year. More information about those performances will be shared in the coming months.

Congratulations as well to the Wind Ensemble winners, Brian Kachur and Oliver Stark.

We look forward to all of these performances next year!

Congratulations to the winners of our 2025 Concerto/Aria Competition! 🏆 Winners will return next year to perform with one of our large ensembles.

𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬
Marie Engle, mezzo-soprano
Hiu Sing Fan, violin
Angeline Ma, piano
Leigh Wang, piano

𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬
Brian Kachur, saxophone
Oliver Stark, euphonium

06/20/2024

Donald Schleicher conducts the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2. (00:23) Lever du jour (08:09) Pantomime (13:24) Danse générale

05/01/2024

04/26/2024

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the 2024 Bienen School of Music Concerto/Aria Competition!

Sage Chen, Christian Santos, Natalia Warthen, and Seho Young will perform with NUCO and NUSO in the upcoming 24-25 academic year. More information about those performances will be shared in the coming months.

Congratulations as well to the Wind Ensemble winners, Philip Kleutgens and Ashrey Shah.

We look forward to all these performances next year!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Concerto/Aria Competition! 🥳 Winners will return next year to perform with one of our large ensembles.

Orchestral Winners:
Sage Chen, violin
Christian Santos, percussion
Natalia Warthen, saxophone
Seho Young, piano

Wind Ensemble Winners:
Philip Kleutgens, saxophone
Ashrey Shah, clarinet

04/24/2024

The Bienen School of Music has appointed Robert Taylor as professor of conducting and director of bands, effective fall 2024! As the fourth director of bands in Northwestern’s history, Dr. Taylor will conduct the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, teach graduate and undergraduate conducting, and lead all aspects of the band program.

Read the full announcement: http://spr.ly/6189bU93z

01/31/2024

"There is a strong force of mutual musical passion that exists at Bienen, and that energy translates powerfully into the work that I do daily," Chelsea Wang, a 2023 Concerto Competition winner, said of her experience at Northwestern. Chelsea will perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 with the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra this Thursday, February 1. Learn more about her musical career and what inspires her: http://spr.ly/6180pOfSk

📸: Ken Kubota

01/29/2024

It’s quite an exciting week for the Bienen Orchestras!

Current DMA candidate Chelsea Wang will join NUCO to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C-minor as one of last year’s Concerto Competition winners. This concert, taking place at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on Thursday, February 1st, will also include Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite in its original 13-instrument orchestration under the baton of NUCO conductor, Benjamin Manis.

Concerto Competition winner Caleb Wong (M.M. ‘23) will then join NUSO to perform Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major. The program for this February 3rd concert at Pick-Staiger will also include Rossini’s William Tell Overture, conducted by graduate assistant conductor Giang Vo, and Ravel’s lush Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 under the baton of Artist-in-Residence and Director of Orchestras, Don Schleicher.

Finally, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Composer-In-Residence, Jessie Montgomery, joined us for rehearsal last week in preparation for both orchestras performing her works on these upcoming concerts. NUCO will perform her exploration of the changing seasons, Shift, Change, Turn (also conducted by graduate assistant conductor Giang Vo), while NUSO will perform her meditative Hymn for Everyone.

More information about these concerts can be found at https://www.music.northwestern.edu/events.

06/23/2023

Charles Lilley, winner of the Bienen School's Concerto/Aria Competition, performs Kenneth Fuchs's "Rush" Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. Victor Yampolsky conducts. (00:17) Evening (08:35) Morning Program Note This performance was present...

06/16/2023

Congratulations to cellist Luiz Fernando Venturelli '21, who was recently named a winner of the Astral Artists 2023 National Competition. The winning musicians receive career development mentorship, a portfolio of promotion assets, and performance, community engagement, and networking opportunities. http://spr.ly/6188OIZQq

06/15/2023

Please join us in congratulating current NUSO member Jaime An who was recently offered the Assistant Principal Cello position at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra! Jaime frequently serves as principal cello with NUSO, and performed Samuel Barber's gorgeous Cello Concerto, Op. 22 with NUCO last year as one of NU's Concerto Competition winners. Congrats Jaime!

06/06/2023

Congrats to recent Orchestral Conducting DMAs Nicholas Koo and Taichi Fukumura on being selected as recipients of Sir Georg Solti Career Assistance Awards!