Chamber orchestra inspire moods, invoke warmth at Auer Hall

A concert hall hidden away from the campus slowly filled last night as the IU Chamber Orchestra performed for the first time this year.

The Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Scott Sandmeier, performed in Auer Hall, a 400-seat auditorium in the Simon Music Center. The orchestra performed pieces by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Maurice Ravel and Joseph Haydn.

“I loved Ravel’s,” senior Michael Buschbacher said. “It’s like an exquisite blend of colors and has a warm sound.”

The Williams piece appeared as light and airy as it sounded. Sandmeier’s fluid movements looked like a gentle breeze moved his arms as violin bows moved in exact synchronization.

“There’s a variety of sounds and moods,” graduate student Cole Tutino said in reference to the orchestra.  

Many of the students in the audience, such as junior Dani Williams, came to support friends. Williams said she came to watch a friend play viola.

The orchestra is the smallest student orchestra in the Jacobs School of Music, Tutino said.

“This is a unique orchestra in IU,” Tutino said. “You can do a lot of things that you can’t do with the other orchestras.”

The audience was older, with few students who attended the performance. Buschbacher said he thought many students are just unaware of the shows. Tutino added he was equally unaware of the concert.

“I’m in the music school, and I didn’t even know about it until just a bit earlier,” Tutino said.

Williams said students aren’t likely to come to the shows because of ignorance of classical music.

“People don’t understand the variety,” Williams said. “They just think of what they hear in the elevator.”