The IU Chamber Orchestra was the first group of music school students to tour Asia. The group, led by Jorja Fleezanis and Stephen Wyrczynski, performed at several venues throughout the week, according to a Jacobs School of Music press release.
“The decision to take a gifted group of our students outside the United States to perform is, in and of itself, a tremendous vote of confidence to them and to the school,” Fleezanis said in the release.
Artistic director and concertmaster Fleezanis is a professor of violin. She has also served as Henry A. Upper Chair in Orchestral Studies since 2009.
Wyrczynski is a professor of viola as well as chair of the string department, according to the release.
The group played at Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul National University, United States Army Garrison Yongsan and Seoul Arts Center, according to the release. For several of the performances, IU President Michael A. McRobbie and other ?University officials were there.
“Leaving their home turf of Bloomington to face audiences in a major international city will spark a level of growth and confidence like no other they will receive during their time in school,” Fleezanis said in the release. “It will teach them the importance of arts as the universal language and provide perspective.”
Seven of the students in the chamber music group are from South Korea, and six of those are from Seoul.
“The tools and skills they have attained at the Jacobs School of Music will carry them through this exciting week of four performances in four different venues,” Fleezanis said in the release. “They will be forever changed ?by this.”
Kathrine Schulze