Bloomsburg University Community Orchestra
I am the director of the Bloomsburg University Community Orchestra, one of the leading performing ensembles on Bloomsburg University's campus. It is comprised of students, alumni, and surrounding area community members who perform a wide variety music, ranging from Baroque to contemporary classical music, including today's film and pop music.
The BUCO has been around, in one form or another, since the middle half of the 1900s, but it has been in its current form since 1972. Over the course of almost 50 years, the Orchestra has performed the majority of the standard repertoire along with numerous premieres. It has also performed notable performers in the like of Edgar Meyer, Forte (2013 America's Got Talent 4th place finalist), and many others.
Since the 1970s, the orchestra has undergone numerous developments. Starting with only two concerts per year, over the course of the next 40 years, a Young Persons' Concert was added to the performance schedule. Inspired by Leonard Bernstein's concerts with the New York Philharmonic, the BUCO's Young Persons' Concert reaches 1,200 regional elementary students annually.
The 2016-2017 concert season was one of change. In the 2016-2017 season, a fourth concert was added in March that then morphed into an annual Concerto Competition Winner's Concert in 2018-2019. The concert was dedicated to showcasing the talented university music students that participated in the newly established Concerto Competition. Additionally, Spring 2017 saw the first combined performance of university ensembles, performing Brahms' Schicksalsied, since the orchestra took its current form.
With our upcoming 50th anniversary season, we plan to revisit our history and invite alumni back for a concert in April of 2023.
The BUCO has been around, in one form or another, since the middle half of the 1900s, but it has been in its current form since 1972. Over the course of almost 50 years, the Orchestra has performed the majority of the standard repertoire along with numerous premieres. It has also performed notable performers in the like of Edgar Meyer, Forte (2013 America's Got Talent 4th place finalist), and many others.
Since the 1970s, the orchestra has undergone numerous developments. Starting with only two concerts per year, over the course of the next 40 years, a Young Persons' Concert was added to the performance schedule. Inspired by Leonard Bernstein's concerts with the New York Philharmonic, the BUCO's Young Persons' Concert reaches 1,200 regional elementary students annually.
The 2016-2017 concert season was one of change. In the 2016-2017 season, a fourth concert was added in March that then morphed into an annual Concerto Competition Winner's Concert in 2018-2019. The concert was dedicated to showcasing the talented university music students that participated in the newly established Concerto Competition. Additionally, Spring 2017 saw the first combined performance of university ensembles, performing Brahms' Schicksalsied, since the orchestra took its current form.
With our upcoming 50th anniversary season, we plan to revisit our history and invite alumni back for a concert in April of 2023.