UNH Symphony Orchestra May Cease to Play

The University of New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra could face extinction if the UNH Music Department fails to find a new conductor and participation rates continue to drop.

The UNH Symphony Orchestra, which is a 1 credit class that meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m to 12:30 p.m has recently undergone some fine tuning as conductors have shifted in and out of the ensemble.

William Kempster, the current conductor of the ensemble, is also the director of the choir at UNH. He has volunteered to also take on the responsibility of orchestra and conduct the next upcoming concert on March 5.

Principal violist Alex Preece, a junior music major, says that the shift in conductors has required the students to make some changes. “I think it was definitely different for a lot of people who have never played or sang in choir with Bill Kempster,” says Preece, “But for those of us who have it was an easy transition. He is a great conductor and musician.”

Preece, a section leader, works with the other section leaders to help lead the ensemble. One of these leaders, the concertmistress, plays a very important role in the orchestra. She is supposed to be the best violinist and is in charge of leading the ensemble. “The concertmistress is responsible for coordinating the bowing and articulations of all the strings,” says Kathryn Skudera, the UNH Symphony Orchestra Concertmistress.

“It’s my favorite class,” says Skudera, who is a music major. However, Skudera, like many of the other musicians, have seen multiple conductors come and go. During Skudera’s four years at UNH she has already had three different conductors for this one class.

Skudera could soon be adding a forth to her list if the orchestra is passed from Kempster to the band conductor, Professor Orovich. Although Kempster denied commenting for this article, he has stated in the past that he will not serve the orchestra for the entire semester.

Preece says that he also has taken on many responsibilities as well to help improve the ensemble. “I lead sectionals for more group work to make sure that everyone is comfortable on their part,” says Preece.

Despite music students stepping up to help secure the ensemble, if the UNH Music Department fails to find a permanent conductor for the group, then it could potentially face being shut down. Without a strong orchestra group to advertise to potential new students, recruiting new musicians from high school into the program could prove challenging.

Another problem the orchestra faces is the fact that there are not enough music majors to fill the seats required. Non-majors are encouraged to join in order to help flesh out the ensemble and fill otherwise empty parts. “String sections always change because more of the players are non-majors and have classes that change semester to semester,” says Preece.

The constant shifting in both musicians and conductors may make it difficult for music majors, who are required to take the class, feel as if the program is secure and growing. Although the music department holds auditions every year around the beginning of second semester, finding many students to join the string section still can prove difficult.

Still, some may think that the real problem is that less and less people are interested in classical music these days. “I don’t think it’s a matter of recruiting violists as it is the fact that not a lot of people play viola,” says Preece.

The current conductor William Kempster, the head of the Music Department Mark DeTurk and the program coordinator Isabel Gray all declined the option of commenting on the UNH Symphony Orchestra.