News from Illinois Wesleyan

May 8, 2002
Contact: Sherry Wallace, 309/556-3181

Brigham Young University Chamber Orchestra to Perform

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—The Brigham Young University (BYU) Chamber Orchestra brings music to life for audiences around the world and on Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall, 303 E. University Ave., Bloomington, the widely-acclaimed ensemble will perform in concert at Illinois Wesleyan University.

The concert, which is part of a line-up of events for May Term 2002 at IWU, is free and open to the public. May Term, which is in session for a little over three weeks, provides IWU students an intense, focused, high-energy of study tempered by co-curricular experiences that are artistically or intellectually stimulating. Guest speakers and performers such as the BYU Chamber Orchestra, whose lifeworks are exceptional examples to this year’s theme "The Courage to Dare," have been invited to campus.
Under the direction of Kory Katseanes, the virtuoso chamber ensemble consists of approximately 47 of BYU’s finest student musicians between the ages of 18 and 27, who come from all over the world to pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in music performance or education.

The chamber orchestra performs a variety of classical music, including traditional orchestral works, and lighter compositions, as well as solo numbers. The orchestra performs 10-14 concerts each year in addition to regional and extended tours, as well as collaborates with BYU’s opera, choral and ballet departments. Since 1983 the orchestra has toured throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and China, making it one of the most widely-traveled university orchestras in the nation.

In May of 2000, the ensemble toured Russia, with performances at the Philharmonic Halls of Samara, Saratov, Volgograd and Rostov. The ensemble also did a concert at the 2000-seat Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, as part of the Russian-American Festival. Last February, the orchestra also performed for Olympic visitors in Salt Lake City.

The group has received the "Highest Recommendation" rating from the United States National Endowment for the Arts.

Katseanes joined the Utah Symphony in 1975 as a violinist, and was appointed assistant conductor of the Symphony in 1987. He joined the BYU faculty in 1999 as Director of Orchestras, while maintaining his title as assistant conductor of the Utah Symphony. Katseanes also has been a member of Illinois Wesleyan’s faculty, Ricks College in Rexburg, Ind., and the Violin Making School of America.

Katseanes received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Utah, and an associate degree from Ricks College. He has appeared with guest artists such as the King’s Singers, Marvin Hamlisch, Rosemary Clooney, Crystal Gayle, The Manhattan Rhythm Kings, Roger Miller, the Kingston Trio, Carol Channing, and Ray Charles, among others.