Guest conductor leaves impression on Jacobs

The Musical Arts Center was filled with the sounds of traditional European culture and American elements when conductor Manny Laureano led the IU Concert Ochestra on Sunday.

Laureano, the principal trumpet and assistant conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra, was the guest conductor for the evening.

“He’s been doing this for a long time, and he has a great wealth of experience working with young people,” Executive Administrator of Instrumental Ensembles Thomas Wieligman said. “We’re glad to have him here.”

Laureano is no stranger to the Jacobs School of Music. He was first asked to conduct the University Orchestra in September 2010. When asked to return this year, Laureano was eager to accept.

“I knew that Indiana had a great music school, but I didn’t understand how great it was,” Laureano said. “What makes it great is the level of preparation the students go through.”

The Concert Orchestra treated the audience to three pieces, the first being “Cuban Overture” by George Gershwin.

The second selection was a piece composed by IU’s own conductor David Dzubay, titled “sun moon stars rain.” The piece, whose name comes from a poem by e.e. Cummings, is divided into four different seasons.

“I still think of him as a young composer,” Wieligman said. “But his music is being played by orchestras around the world.”

The final piece, “Enigma Variations” by Edward Elgar, has aged more than a century. It has become a staple of the orchestra’s repertoire, Wieligman said.

Laureano’s work with the concert orchestra left a lasting impression on not only Elgar but the students as well. Junior cellist Joseph Tatum reflected on the roughly 14-hour rehearsal the orchestra spent with the conductor.

“It was a wonderful experience working with a conductor outside the music school,” Tatum said. “Each conductor brings new energy, and it was enjoyable working with him.”

As Laureano returns to his duties with the Minnesota Orchestra, the students in the Jacobs school will carry on what they learned from their time with him.
“Everybody is excited to play. Everybody wants to work,” Laureano said of the concert orchestra. “That is a wonderful thing to see at their level.”