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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

Camerata Orchestra to kick off season

Think of homelessness.\nThe images conjured are of the down-and-out, those who have fallen on hard times.\nIt's not something one associates with symphony orchestras.\nBut when the Creative Arts Auditorium closed down in the spring of 1999 because of the School of Music's ongoing budgetary problems, things looked bleak for the Camerata Orchestra.\nThe Buskirk-Chumley Theatre lacked the stage to host a 70-member orchestra. Other venues such as the Musical Arts Center raised questions of availability.\nBut the Camerata is back in business, kicking off its 12th concert season with a 3 p.m. performance Sunday at the Auditorium. The three remaining concerts are scheduled at Bloomington South High School.\n"For a while, it looked like we weren't going to have a place," said Lenore Hatfield, the Camerata's concertmaster and founder.\nThe esteemed Luis Biava, resident conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will serve as guest conductor of the program, entitled "Opulence."\n"Few musicians are as generous and as revered as Luis Biava, the ideal conductor," raved The Philadelphia Daily News.\nOnly three years ago, Bloomington audiences would not have had the chance to observe Biava in action. Keith Brown, a former professor at the School of Music, served as conductor and artistic director from its inception up through 1996.\n"Since he's left," Hatfield said, "we've brought in a good many nationally recognized guest conductors. It's just gotten bigger and bigger."\nThe Camerata Orchestra has expanded significantly from its humble beginnings in 1989. Hatfield, who has an extensive background in the violin, was new to the area. While she still serves as guest concertmaster at the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, she grew tired of traveling out to places as far as Cincinnati and Indianapolis to perform.\n"There really wasn't a chance for faculty at the school to play in an orchestra," she said. "So I sought to remedy that."\nEventually, she hoped to model the Camerata after the Aspen Music Festival, which features collaboration between students and faculty.\nAt first, the fledgling orchestra played primarily chamber music at local churches. But, rounded out by student performers, it soon began playing full-fledged symphony orchestra pieces.\nWhile it is out of a permanent venue, the Camerata Orchestra has gained such prominence in the community that it can now occasionally play at the MAC or the Auditorium.\n"I'd say we have a sensational orchestra," Hatfield said. "We certainly stack up to a lot of others in the state."\nAnd the orchestra now brings in more than $300,000 a year, which goes toward scholarships and grants. The revenue comes largely from corporate sponsorship.\n"Many of my clients attend the series each year," said Cary Curry of Curry Buick, which partially underwrites the orchestra. "I think they'd be pleased that I am giving back to the community in this manner."\nThe program for Sunday showcases popular standards -- Beethoven's "Overture Leonore No. 3" and Mahler's "Symphony No. 5."\n"I especially look forward to the chance to perform Mahler's 'giant,'" Hatfield said. "It has a great expanse of sounds and feelings."\nTickets are available at the IU Auditorium Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. They run at $10 general admission, $4 for students.\nFor more information, call (812) 333-9955.

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