University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra was established in 1920s at the University of North Texas College of Music
— then known as North Texas State Teachers College School of Music. In 2008, the student musicians in the orchestra represented 25 states and 12 countries.
David Itkin
became Music Director of the UNT Symphony Orchestra and Director of Orchestral Studies, effective fall 2008.
— then known as North Texas State Teachers College School of Music. In 2008, the student musicians in the orchestra represented 25 states and 12 countries.
David Itkin
became Music Director of the UNT Symphony Orchestra and Director of Orchestral Studies, effective fall 2008.
— then known as North Texas State Teachers College School of Music. In 2008, the student musicians in the orchestra represented 25 states and 12 countries.
David Itkin
became Music Director of the UNT Symphony Orchestra and Director of Orchestral Studies, effective fall 2008.
Symphony Orchestra
University of North Texas College of Music
The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
— then known as North Texas State Teachers College School of Music. In 2008, the student musicians in the orchestra represented 25 states and 12 countries.
David Itkin
David Itkin
David Chester Itkin is an American conductor and composer. He served as music director and conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2010. He currently holds multiple appointments...
became Music Director of the UNT Symphony Orchestra and Director of Orchestral Studies, effective fall 2008.
Performance Samples
The University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra was established in 1920s at the University of North Texas College of MusicUniversity of North Texas College of Music
The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
— then known as North Texas State Teachers College School of Music. In 2008, the student musicians in the orchestra represented 25 states and 12 countries.
David Itkin
David Itkin
David Chester Itkin is an American conductor and composer. He served as music director and conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2010. He currently holds multiple appointments...
became Music Director of the UNT Symphony Orchestra and Director of Orchestral Studies, effective fall 2008.
Performance Samples
The University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra was established in 1920s at the University of North Texas College of MusicUniversity of North Texas College of Music
The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
— then known as North Texas State Teachers College School of Music. In 2008, the student musicians in the orchestra represented 25 states and 12 countries.
David Itkin
David Itkin
David Chester Itkin is an American conductor and composer. He served as music director and conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2010. He currently holds multiple appointments...
became Music Director of the UNT Symphony Orchestra and Director of Orchestral Studies, effective fall 2008.
Performance Samples
Symphony Orchestra
- New World Symphony, Scherzo (Molto viavace) (live), Anton Dvorak (2005)
- Anshel BrusilowAnshel BrusilowAnshel Brusilow is an American conductor and violinist.Anshel Brusilow began his violin study at the age of five and entered the Curtis Institute of Music when he was eleven. He attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy and at sixteen was the youngest conducting student ever accepted by Pierre...
, conductor
- Anshel Brusilow
- Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra - Mvt III, Eric EwazenEric EwazenEric Ewazen is an American composer and teacher. Ewazen studied composition under Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, Warren Benson, and Eugene Kurtz at the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School...
(1999)
- Ming-Jen Suen, solost
- Hyunseok Chang, conductor
- Rehearsal, Concerto for Trumpet, Henri TomasiHenri TomasiHenri Tomasi was a French classical composer and conductor.- The early years :Henri Tomasi was born in Marseille, France, in the working class neighborhood on August 17, 1901. His father Xavier Tomasi and mother Josephine Vincensi were originally from La Casinca, Corsica...
(2002)- Anshel BrusilowAnshel BrusilowAnshel Brusilow is an American conductor and violinist.Anshel Brusilow began his violin study at the age of five and entered the Curtis Institute of Music when he was eleven. He attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy and at sixteen was the youngest conducting student ever accepted by Pierre...
, conductor
- Anshel Brusilow
Conductors
| 1924–1925 | Raymond Stubblefield Riggs (1884–1933); In 1926, Riggs moved on to become head of the Department of Wind Instruments at the College of Music and Arts located at 4400 Gaston Avenue, Dallas, Texas Dallas, Texas Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... (founded 1926). |
| 1925–1927 | Amos Elbert Barksdale (1894–1963); born and raised in Chico, TX, was a graduate of Baylor University Baylor University Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:... (BA 1921) and in 1930, studied at the University of Chicago University of Chicago The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890... . |
| 1927–1944 | Floyd Freeman Graham (1902–1974); Although the Symphony Orchestra had existed since 1924, it gave its first public performance under the direction of Floyd Graham in 1927. Beginning that same year, student musicians received college credit for participation. In the fall of 1939, when the School of Music was experiencing a surge in enrollment, the caliber of student musicians in the Symphony rose and deepened. The orchestra performed several times a year and was regarded as outstanding. |
| 1936–1944 | Robert Lincoln Marquis, Jr. (1910–1990), conducted the symphony orchestra during the summers. He was the son of the former UNT President Robert Lincoln Marquis (1880–1934). Robert Marquis, Jr.'s, mother, Mrs. R. L. Marquis (née Lula Mae Parkey; 1878–1957), held two degrees in music: a Bachelor of Music from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Cincinnati Conservatory of Music The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, which is now part of the University of Cincinnati.The... and a Master of Music from Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church... . Mrs. Marquis was a native of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee Cumberland Gap, Tennessee Cumberland Gap is a town in Claiborne County, Tennessee, near the Cumberland Gap pass, the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, and the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park... , near the vicinity of earlier residences of two former UNT Music administrators, Eliza Jane McKissack Eliza Jane McKissack Eliza Jane McKissack was a music teacher who, in 1890, became the founding head of music at the University of North Texas College of Music, then called Normal Conservatory of Music, part of Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute, which was... (1828–1900) and Sallie Thornley (1854–1921). |
| 1944–1947 | Joseph Kirshbaum (1911–1996) was a violinist, composer, conductor, and an alumnus of Yale YALE RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications... (bachelors and masters), where he also had taught. He is the father of Ralph Kirshbaum Ralph Kirshbaum Ralph Henry Kirshbaum is an American cellist currently living in Los Angeles. During his career he has performed solos with major orchestras worldwide, won prizes in several international competitions, and recorded extensively.... , cellist. He had joined the North Texas faculty in 1944. Before joining the faculty, Kirshbaum had directed the Messiah Festival Orchestra of Lindsborg, KS. And before that, he had organized and directed the Oberlin Conservatory String Orchestra. He also had taught strings at Cornell. His wife, Gertrude Morris Kirshbaum (1912-1973) taught harp at Texas Woman's University Texas Woman's University Texas Woman's University is a co-educational university in Denton, Texas, United States with two health science center branches in Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas... . Kirshbaum, for 25 years, was a celebrated conductor of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra. He retired from the ETSO in 1978. |
| 1947–1948 | Walter Hutchinson Hodgson, PhD (1904–1988), was the Dean (see University of North Texas College of Music University of North Texas College of Music The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies... ) |
| 1948–1972 | George Ellers Morey, PhD (1915–1995), conducted the University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra for 25 years. He earned an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute and graduate degrees from the University of Illinois and the University of Iowa University of Iowa The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees... . An influential teacher and mentor to generations of musicians throughout his distinguished career at North Texas, he served as Professor of Flute and taught viola and composition. He retired in 1980 as Professor Emeritus. Morey was one of five faculty members hired by the Acting Dean Walter Hodgson in 1947, along with Gene Hall Gene Hall Morris Eugene Hall was a music educator, saxophonist, and arranger, most known for creating and presiding over the first academic curriculum leading to a bachelors degree in jazz at an institution of higher learning, being at the University of North Texas College of Music Morris Eugene Hall (aka... (professor of "Dance Band"), Frank McKinley, and Dorothy Young. Morey also researched ways to reach children with autism Autism Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their... through music |
| 1973–1982 | Anshel Brusilow Anshel Brusilow Anshel Brusilow is an American conductor and violinist.Anshel Brusilow began his violin study at the age of five and entered the Curtis Institute of Music when he was eleven. He attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy and at sixteen was the youngest conducting student ever accepted by Pierre... (born 1928) inherited a high caliber symphony, and transformed it into an internationally acclaimed student orchestra. University concerts under his direction never performed to less than capacity audiences; and the capacity overflow – people sitting on the floor and in the isles, even on the stage and in the wings – amplified the urgency to build a long overdue larger, superior concert hall. The Murchison Performing Arts Center, which houses Winspear Auditorium (a 928 seat & 97 choral seat concert hall) and a 400 seat Lyric Opera Theater. Brusilow also greatly intensified and expanded orchestral conducting studies. Brusilow made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut on violin in 1944. He served as Concertmaster Concertmaster The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader... of the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra (1954–1955); served as associate Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall... (1955–1959); served as concertmaster Concertmaster The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader... of the Philadelphia Orchestra Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900... (under Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five... ) (1959–1966); founded and conducted the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra (1961–1965); conducted the Philadelphia Chamber Symphony (1966–1971); served as and Executive Director and Conducted the Dallas Symphony (1971–1973). Brusilow entered the Curtis Institute at age 11, and attended Philadelphia Musical Academy at sixteen, becoming the youngest conducting student ever accepted by Pierre Monteux Pierre Monteux Pierre Monteux was an orchestra conductor. Born in Paris, France, Monteux later became an American citizen.-Life and career:Monteux was born in Paris in 1875. His family was descended from Sephardi Jews who came to France in the wake of the Spanish Inquisition. He studied violin from an early age,... . |
| 1982–1984 | Geoffrey Simon Geoffrey Simon Geoffrey Simon is an Australian conductor resident in London.-Recordings:Geoffrey Simon was born on 3 July 1946 in Adelaide. He was a student of Herbert von Karajan, Rudolf Kempe, Hans Swarowsky and Igor Markevitch, and a major prize-winner at the first John Player International Conductors' Award... (born 1946) is a prolific conductor, originally from Australia, with several acclaimed recordings with major orchestras. Simon conducted the UNT Symphony, as well as the Opera orchestra, and taught conducting. Simon was a former student of Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years... , Rudolf Kempe Rudolf Kempe Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929... , Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth and Jewish descent.Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss... , and Igor Markevich. |
| 1984–1989 | Serge R. Zehnacker, born in Alsace, France, conducted the university orchestras as well as the opera orchestra and taught conducting. Zehnacker led a distinguished career as a conductor and after North Texas, from 1989 to 2006, conducted and taught for 17 years at the North Carolina School of the Arts North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the... . |
| 1989–2008 | Anshel Brusilow Anshel Brusilow Anshel Brusilow is an American conductor and violinist.Anshel Brusilow began his violin study at the age of five and entered the Curtis Institute of Music when he was eleven. He attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy and at sixteen was the youngest conducting student ever accepted by Pierre... (born 1928) returned to conduct the UNT Symphony and teach conducting, filling the longest artistic appointment of his life. Before returning, he had served as Professor and Director of the Symphony Orchestra at Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church... . His tenure at North Texas was highly acclaimed and spanned 28 years. |
| 2008–present | David Chester Itkin (born 1957) became the conductor of the UNT Symphony in the fall of 2008. He holds a bachelors (1980) and masters degree (1982) from the Eastman School of Music Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester... . |
Major Tours
- 1992 — The UNT Symphony Orchestra performed in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and throughout Mediterranean. - 1993 — By invitation, the Symphony Orchestra performed Verdi’s RequiemRequiem (Verdi)The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
in MonterreyMonterreyMonterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
